European Team of the Season: DR - Dani Alves (Juventus)

It’s fair to say Barcelona’s loss has been Juventus’ gain as far as Dani Alves is concerned. While the blaugrana are still on the lookout for a right-back after a season without league or European glory, the Old Lady will aim to complete a historic treble at the weekend.

Their Brazilian summer signing has been pivotal to Allegri’s second shot at the Champions League in particular, excelling in the knockout stages, though his form in the league since the winter break has also been superb. Whilst scoring his first goal for the Italian champions back in September it understandably took time for Alves to adjust to the change in style in Serie A, saving his best performances in general for Europe.

It saw the 34-year old used in rotation in the league with Stephane Lichtsteiner early in the campaign, before a leg fracture in November threatened to hamper the full-back's impact in Turin further. By contrast, however, the former Barca man returned to fitness in February and has been sensational ever since.

In 19 league appearances Alves was unsurprisingly influential going forwards, scoring twice and registering two assists - as well as a further 3 and 4 respectively in the Champions League - and his effect on the side was clear to see in possession. Only centre-back-cum-quarterback Leonardo Bonucci averaged more passes per game (65.1) for Juventus in Serie A than the Brazil international (60.8), while right-back rival Lichtsteiner averaged just 35.7 by comparison.

Moreover, the veteran leads the team in tackles per game (2.5) to compliment impressive figures of 1.7 key passes and 1.4 accurate crosses per game at the opposite end, helping to a WhoScored.com rating of 7.28 and a place in our European team of the season.

Alves is now the undisputed first choice under Allegri and his form in the calendar has rebuilt his reputation as the best right-back in the world. A season that could so easily have been curtailed by serious injury could yet end in a 34th trophy of a hugely illustrious career to move clear of former teammate Zlatan Ibrahimovic once more as the third most decorated player on the planet.