Alves bemoans Barca without Guardiola

Posted Thursday, February 23, 2012 by Supersport.com

Brazilian defender Dani Alves on Wednesday said Barcelona would be "nothing" without Pep Guardiola, as the coach ponders whether to renew his contract at the Nou Camp.

"I think that Guardiola will sign again because without him we're nothing. Without him we'd lose our anchor and we'd drift away. Guardiola has given us stability," Alves told a news conference in Barcelona.

Guardiola's contract with the Catalan club is up at the end of the season but he sparked concerns within the club last weekend by saying he still needed more time to decide his future.

"If he decides not to stay on it wouldn't be a betrayal of Barca. You need a happy medium in life. If he goes, everything he's done for the club will remain," Alves said, adding that he was "convinced" the coach would stay.

Barca are currently 10 points behind rivals Real Madrid at the top of La Liga and Alves was critical of the club's performances.

"The gap is perhaps a bit overstated but we must have made some mistakes to be where we are," he told reporters.

"We've played badly in patches away from home. We've lacked balance when pushing forward. But there's still time to improve. We have to take the Valencia match as an example," he added.

Barcelona ran out 5-1 winners against third-placed Valencia at the Nou Camp last Sunday.