Barca´s Alves puts team values above star cult

Ahead of Barcelona’s ‘El Clasico’ showdown with title rivals Real Madrid, Barca defender Dani Alves told reporters Friday he preferred to be part of a team unit, rather than the Real model of recruiting top star names.

Alluding to the megabucks signing of Cristiano Ronaldo, just one top new name brought in along with the likes of Brazilian Kaka, Alves said: “He is a great and very important player … but in a team there are 20 to 22 players – not just one.”

Ronaldo, back in action after almost two months sidelined with an ankle injury, is set to feature at the Nou Camp and was at pains to insist earlier Friday that Real do not have a “Ronaldo dependance,” as some media have asserted.

“The team is top” of the table as well as poised to advance from its Champions League pool and Ronaldo noted that “we are playing well. If I can play well and score then so much the better but for me there is no dependance.”

However, former Barca coach and total football protagonist Johan Cruyff said Thursday that the Catalan club are playing “a thousand times better” in terms of panache than Real.

Alves insisted that the fact Real are top of the table for now was “circumstantial” and added that Barcelona would retain the title come the end of the campaign.

Real midfielder Xabi Alonso meanwhile forecast an “intensive, important – but not decisive” match on Sunday.