Dani Alves Taunts Real Madrid After Barcelona's Clasico 2015 Victory

Barcelona’s Dani Alves has questioned Real Madrid’s stomach for the fight in Clasico matches, insisting the Blaugrana are mentally superior going into these massive games.  

Addressing the media on Monday, the Brazil international was in typically colourful form after Barcelona romped to an excellent 4-0 victory over Real in Saturday’s derby match. Alves didn’t hold back in his assessment of why the visitors dominated this fixture, per Dermot Corrigan of ESPN FC (Warning: NSFW language):

Alves is one of the longest serving players in this current Barcelona squad, and his surges down the right flank have been central to the Blaugrana enjoying so much recent joy over their bitterest rivals.

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Despite now being a little more reserved in his playing style, Alves had another fine game against Los Blancos at the weekend. As noted by Sid Lowe of the Guardian, there’s nobody in a better position than the full-back to discuss how best to beat Real Madrid:

Alves’ comments on the fortitude of both sides may hold true in this instance, but that’s not the only area in which Barcelona were superior at the Bernabeu on Saturday.

Tactically, Real were completely undone. Under pressure manager Rafael Benitez moved away from his usually pragmatic principles, fielding a very attacking team which gave Barcelona a lot of space in dangerous areas of the pitch. On reflection, the result probably could have been more heavily stacked in the favour of the visitors come full time.

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The Madridistas weren’t happy with the result, brandishing their white handkerchiefs in protest throughout the contest. Alves revealed he didn’t pay too much attention to what went on in the stands, per AS English:

The Brazilian also sought to play down the significance of the match, with some of Barcelona’s key figures getting a little carnal in their descriptions of what it was like to win at the Bernabeu in the buildup to the game.

Indeed, Gerard Pique stated “the Clasico turns us on,” per Ben Nagle of the MailOnline, while Andres Iniesta, who scored Barcelona’s third goal in the recent rout, admitted the matches “keep turning me on, like kick-starting a scooter,” per Moises Llorens of AS. Alves was adamant those kinds of thoughts are reserved for his girlfriend, per AS English:

The defender was also asked about the erratic form of Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo at the moment, with speculation beginning to gather pace that he could be on his way out of Madrid, per BBC Sport.

"He likes to be the protagonist, so when you win you will be in the limelight, but when you lose, you take the flack," said Alves, per Sport. "If your team doesn’t win, it’s your fault. People who are like that have to accept this situation. But we have enough to worry about ourselves, so to be honest I don’t care what Cristiano does."

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While the full-back was happy to provide these exuberant responses to the majority of the assembled journalists, he refused to answer any direct questions from some Madrid-based outlets, such as Marca and AS, per Sergi Dominguez:

It’s no coincidence Alves has enjoyed so much success in this fixture. His outlook on the game is an enamouring one: someone who can relax and enjoy himself off of the field but is an unshakeably fierce competitor on it.

Alves also admitted it’s important Barcelona don’t get complacent in the wake of this win and they go on to lift silverware at the end of the campaign. With a six-point advantage secured over Real in the league and a superior head-to-head record, the talent and temperament of this group surely means that’s an inevitability, even at this early stage.