Dani Alveshas mocked how Barcelonaare stuck in a lose-lose spiral at
the moment, in his opinion, claiming when they win the referees are
blamed and when they lose it is perceived as the end of their cycle of
dominance.
The Catalans stumbled somewhat last month, sparking suggestions that
their Liga season was over, before recovering with a win at Real
Madrid and in the local derby with Espanyol.
However, both of those victories were sullied somewhat by criticism of
refereeing decisions after the match and the Brazilian full-back
suggested there was simply no way of winning outright for Gerardo
Martino's men at the moment.
"Referee accusations are a motivation," he told reporters on Monday.
"It is customary for our wins to be dressed up like this. It seems
that part of our life.
"If we win it is because of referees and if we lose it is because the
cycle is over. We are above this and it does not affect us. Arguing is
what they want.
"After theClasico, the press were discussing our penalties while they
kept quiet about Madrid's penalty, the only one that wasn't one."
Atletico Madrid travel to Camp Nou on Tuesday for the first leg of
their Champions League last-eight tussle with the Catalans, with the
return leg next week at the Vicente Calderon.
Dani Alves suggested that, if he had the choice of anyRojiblancosstar
to sign, he would pick star striker Diego Costa, but he insisted that
Diego Simeone's men are more than just the newly converted Spain
international.
"If I could choose any of them, then Diego Costa, because of his goals
and his work," the defender added. "The game goes beyond him though.
He's a great player and will make a difference, but Atletico are more
than him.
"We can not look back at past three draws with Atletico. It's another
game, another competition, another time. We need to step up here,
because the tie will be decided in the second game.
"We have to compete well to break the streak against Atletico."..
BY RAMSEY DUBEM
