Welcome aboard, I'm Dani Alves, your flight attendant
We knew Dani Alves would be fun to watch at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, but we didn't think he'd go viral before he even arrived.
Football
"The exits are here, here, here, and here," Dani Alves delivers, intercom in hand, dressed as a flight attendant, as the Brazil football team took off for the Tokyo 2020 Games.
Just Dani Alves doing Dani Alves things.
Wherever he goes, the party follows and the 38-year-old Brazilian is loving his role as captain and leader of this young Brazil squad, even taking over the pre-flight announcements on the plane.
"Every moment is unique, don't let it pass you by," he wrote on Instagram. "Always be present in the present. Do not forget that we are made of energy, choose what you will generate and be happy… or not.
"The choice is yours and the consequences too!"
Footballer, philisopher, flight attendant, is there anything that Dani Alves can't do?
Now in Tokyo, he's focused and ready.
Brazil at Tokyo 2020
Led by Alves, Brazil will be fun to watch on and off the pitch despite the absence of Neymar with a constellation of young and exciting stars set to shine like Gabriel Menino, Reinier, Malcom, Richarlison, Paulinho, and Matheus Cunha.
The team is composed of under-24 players with three 'overage' players allowed in each squad - one of them Dani Alves.
He might be one of the most decorated footballers in the history of the game having won 52 titles, but his passion to play stays undimmed and his desire to win more burns bright.
"Today is another unforgettable day in my life," he posted when he found out he was included in the Brazil squad, "being called up to represent my country and with the responsibility of defending an Olympic medal is indescribable."
"He is a leader, a winner"
When Brazil Olympic coach André Jardine was asked why Alves was called up for the Tokyo Games he said:
“He is a leader, a winner, he has a lot of charisma and he is respected by all the Brazilian players," as reported in Marca.
Alves is a FIFA U20 World Cup and double Copa America champion with Brazil, a three-time Champions League and six-time La Liga winner with Barcelona during their greatest era ever, won Serie A with Juventus, and Ligue 1 twice with PSG.
52 titles in all means he has lifted more trophies in his career than Messi, more than Maradona, more than Pelé.
And now he's back in Brazil playing with Sao Paolo, bringing the same joy and fierce competitiveness that he did while he was still working on his father's farm in Juazeiro, the state of Bahia.
"Thank you football for changing my life," he recently wrote in a love letter to the game, published for his 32.6 million followers on Instagram.
“He is a great example for this generation of players that we have," continues Jardine, "and, curiously, he has never competed in the Olympic games, so we think it is the perfect fit.
“He is going to be an example to the squad and a leader on the pitch.
“And if we think of the player with excitement to become a champion…he has a rich history of titles.”
Watch out for the Seleção in Japan, they have the youth, experience, talent and unity to go all the way.
Brazil Tokyo 2020 Olympic squad
Goalkeepers: Brenno, Lucao, Santos*.
Defenders: Nino, Ricardo Graca, Guilherme Arana, Gabriel Menino, Dani Alves*, Diego Carlos*, Abner Vinicius, Bruno Fuchs.
Midfielders: Matheus Henrique, Bruno Guimaraes, Douglas Luiz, Claudinho, Reinier.
Forwards: Gabriel Martinelli, Paulinho, Richarlison, Matheus Cunha, Antony, Malcom.