Marcelo and Alves will take centre stage in Cardiff

Andy West 21:13 02/06/2017
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  • It’s always the same old people who get the glory in football. First and foremost, the goalscorers. Even if they only touch the ball 10 times over the course of 90 minutes, if one of those happens to be the match-winning strike, they will still dominate the headlines.

    Just occasionally, attention is turned to the people at the other end: the goalkeepers whose spectacular saves (or costly howlers) can make the difference between defeat or victory. And every now and then, creative midfield types also muscle their way in on the action – but only if they are playing extremely well indeed.

    It’s no surprise, then, that the majority of noise surrounding this weekend’s Champions League final between Real Madrid and Juventus will cover the exploits of players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Gigi Buffon, Paulo Dybala and Isco.

    But if there have ever been two players occupying other positions who are worthy of their share of the limelight, they are Marcelo and Dani Alves. For the last decade, the Brazilian duo have been the best full-backs in the world – and among the best of all-time.

    Between them, they have won no less than 44 major honours at club level, earned nine selections into FIFA’s world team of the year and combined for nearly 150 international appearances for Brazil.

    For many years, they were part of the fiercest rivalry in football as Alves plied his trade for Barcelona while Marcelo starred for Real Madrid, before the former’s departure to Juventus at the end of last season seemed to have put an end to their personal duels.

    Now, though, we have been blessed with another chance to see these two magnificent players go head to head. Never mind Ronaldo vs Buffon or Isco vs Dybala… Saturday night’s showdown is Marcelo versus Alves, one more time.

    The match-up is even more intriguing for the fact that they are direct rivals on the field of play, with Alves marauding down Juve’s right flank while Marcelo does the same along Madrid’s left touchline. And maraud they will, because these two players epitomise Brazilian exuberance more than anyone else – a country which has produced more iconic attacking full-backs than any other.

    Both possess seemingly endless reserves of energy even though Alves is now well into his 30s and Marcelo will soon join him. Those relentlessly rechargeable batteries, as much as their technical skills or their game understanding, make both men extremely important for their teams.

    Marcelo could always be relied upon to lift Madrid when they endured their regular flat spells this season, doing so to most dramatic effect when he scored a crucial late winner against Valencia towards the conclusion of Los Blancos’ title charge.

    In a season which only really saw Madrid click in the final few weeks, Marcelo has been their most consistent player and a constant source of inspiration, epitomising their never-say-die spirit. And as for Alves…the man is simply a dynamo, and his performances in the semi-final victories over Monaco – which saw him create three of Juve’s goals and score the other – were just as good as anything he produced during his legendary spell with Barcelona.

    These are two players who defy the modern trend of measuring everything by statistics. Forget their assist and goal tallies, and don’t worry about pass completion percentage or the number of aerial duels won: the greatest strength of both Marcelo and Alves is their intangible, exuberant human spirit.

    Thanks to that shared characteristic, they are among the most popular personalities in their respective dressing rooms. Alves is (in)famous for his unorthodox dress sense while Marcelo is instantly recognisable from his bouncy afro, and they are both capable of lighting up a room and making everyone around them feel better about themselves.

    Only one will be smiling on Saturday, of course, and it will be fascinating to see who comes out on top of their personal battle – because it could also be a key to deciding the outcome.

    But when the dust has settled and everybody is saluting Ronaldo for yet another trophy or Buffon for his first Champions League crown, spare a thought for the influence of two men who manage to inspire their teams despite being full-backs. They are among the greatest.

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