‘A waste’: Dani Alves shares what Chelsea boss Tuchel told him about him playing full-back

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Legendary Brazilian defender Dani Alves has given an insight into what it was like working under current Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel.

Alves, 38, is still going strong in the Barcelona first team after recently returning to Camp Nou.

He’s regarded as one of the sport’s finest ever right-backs due to his success with Barcelona but did spend a couple of yeas in France with Paris Saint-Germain between 2017-19.

The South American got to work with then-PSG manager Tuchel, who made an interesting claim about his impact at full-back.

Apparently, Tuchel felt Alves wasn’t always receiving enough of the ball at right-back, and that’s why he sometimes played him in midfield.

He’s an attack-minded full-back with 60 goals and 171 assists in his illustrious club career, but there’s no doubting he’s a brilliant technician that you want in possession as much as you can.

“I remember when he said to me, ‘Dani, it’s a waste to have you as a full-back because you’re not going to touch the ball as much as you should’. I thought that was a great compliment. It did work well, too, as I felt comfortable in that [midfield] position,” Alves told Four Four Two’s magazine.

Tuchel has mastered similar headache at Chelsea

First of all, we are not saying Blues youngster James comes close to the kind of legacy Alves has created.

It’s fair to say Tuchel has a right-back in James that Tuchel will be looking to get the most out of, just like he was with Alves.

Tuchel’s solved that issue by playing with wing-backs, really allowing his full-back pairing to press high up the pitch and be heavily involved in attacking phases of the game.

James, 22, has the capability to play in midfield, something he’s done sparingly for the Blues and during his loan development away from Stamford Bridge.

However, it’s great to have him hogging the touchline providing exquisite delivery.

The emphasis put on full-backs nowadays to contribute in attack has been largely shaped in the past couple of decades by players like Alves.

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