Most of the focus in Spanish football this week is on Real Madrid as they prepare for their Club World Cup campaign.
On Wednesday evening in Tangier, Copa Libertadores champions Flamengo were surprisingly knocked out by Asian kings Al-Hilal, courtesy of a brace from Salem Al-Dawsari (Argentina fans will remember him from their opening game in Qatar) and a winner from ex-LaLiga player Luciano Vietto.
Al-Dawsari’s goals both came from the penalty spot, and perhaps the Brazilians will lament the fact that they no longer had an expert among their ranks. Diego Alves parted ways with Flamengo at the end of 2022, and is now on the verge of signing for Celta Vigo.
The Galicians were rocked last week when ever-present goalkeeper Augustín Marchesín ruptured his Achilles tendon in training and was sidelined for the rest of the season. The timing of the injury could hardly have been worse, given the January window had only just closed. This meant that they could only sign unattached players to reinforce the position.
Iván Villar stood in for their game away against Real Betis, but his lack of experience is a concern for Carlos Carvalhal’s side. The homegrown shot-stopper has made just 31 senior appearances for the club, and focus was quickly shifted towards securing a more experienced pair of hands.
That pair of hands belong to Diego Alves, a veteran well known to LaLiga and Spanish football. The 37-year-old played out the prime of his career in the top-flight, spending a decade playing for Almería and then Valencia between 2007 and 2017. In all, he made 269 league appearances, and briefly featured in the Champions League and Europa League. Only seven Brazilians have played in more LaLiga matches than him.
At the back end of 2020, he had the ‘honour’ – or maybe ignominy – of being recognised as the goalkeeper who conceded the highest number of goals to Leo Messi in a Budweiser promotional campaign. The beer company sent 644 bottles to 160 different goalkeepers to commemorate Messi overtaking Pelé’s record for goals at a single club. Diego Alves received 21 bottles, ahead of Gorka Iraizoz (18) and Iker Casillas (17).
The Brazilian accepted in good faith and humour, but will be relieved to know that Messi can no longer add to that tally.
His real trump card and claim to fame, however, is his penalty-saving ability, which is nothing short of remarkable. He saved a staggering 22 out of 47 penalties faced in LaLiga, just shy of 47%, well above the average. In his final season in the league, 2016/17, he set a record by saving six in a single campaign.
He described the battle between himself and the taker as “psychological warfare” in an interview with Spanish radio, and he certainly got in the heads of the elite players. He denied Cristiano Ronaldo three times out of four, and made saves from Antoine Griezmann, Ivan Rakitić and Messi (in the Copa del Rey).
Having saved so many, his reputation stood before him, serving as a positive reinforcement effect. Players knew how proficient he was at saving penalties, and thus were perhaps even more nervous than normal when facing him.
Providing everything goes to plan with the medical, he will sign a short-term contract with Celta. He never confessed to being a student of the data, emphasising intuition more, but with the advancement in metrics and analysis, it will be fascinating to see him in action again. One thing is for certain: many forwards will be having fresh nightmares about the prospect of staring him down from 12 yards.