Why Bruno Alves’ Arrival Is A Move In The Right Direction For Rangers
Rangers have kicked off their first summer under new boss Pedro Caixinha, by confirming the signing of Portuguese centre-back Bruno Alves.
The 35-year old spent the last season with Italian club Cagliari in the Serie A and has signed for the Gers for free on a two-year deal. He became the first signing for the club in the Pedro Caixinha era and expressed his delight on joining the Light Blues. As quoted by the Rangers’ official website, Alves said:
“I am very happy to join and I will do my best to win. The main reason that I come here, I have this feeling and desire to win and to move here will bring this back to me and my career. In almost all the clubs I have played for, I win and I expect to win here, for the fans, for the club and I think I can do this here. It is going to be an amazing journey, I am sure about that.”
Rangers returned to Scottish Premiership last season, but did not have the best of the campaigns as they finished 3rd in the top flight, miles behind champions and their most bitter rivals Celtic. A dull season also led to the sacking of manager Mark Warburton late into the season after which Caixinha was handed over the reins at the Ibrox Stadium.
They needed a strong summer with good investment in order to compete on equal footing to their Old Firm rivals and they seem to have started off on the right note.
Alves is a vastly experienced centre-half, who has had a very successful career both at the club and the international level. His latest club is the 8th of his career, after enjoying great success with his former teams that include Porto, Zenit St. Petersburg and Fenerbahce. The 35-year old has collected an amazing 14 major honours throughout his club career and also won the UEFA Euro 2016 with the Portuguese National team just a year back.
He comes on the back of an extremely strong season with Serie A side Cagliari, making 36 appearances to help the Rossoblu stay up quite comfortably in the Italian top-flight on their return from the second tier. He also scored a goal in the process for the club.
An old school, no-nonsense defender, Alves brings a certain doggedness and a winning mentality to the team. A real warrior on the pitch, who has faced some of the best strikers in the world, the veteran centre-half adds a sense of tenacity to the backline with his extremely aggressive mindset. At 35, many may think he is done and dusted, but the fact that he missed just 2 Serie A games in this past season is a testament to his brilliant fitness levels. Strong, physical and a domineering presence at the back, he will certainly strengthen the Rangers defence that has been under some criticism in the past.
A leader both on and off the pitch, his presence, his hunger for succeess and his professionalism will definitely rub off on the other members of the squad. Alves’ sheer volume of experience – having made a total of 474 club appearances and 89 international appearances, having won so many trophies over the years, will surely benefit the Gers as they go about putting in a better performance next time around.