AS.com

FC Barcelona full-back Jordi Alba has disclosed that the Catalan outfit are battling to win all of their games so that they can dedicate their victories to their coach Tito Vilanova who is recovering from cancer in New York. The players says that he and his team mates will be taking this mentality into Saturday's Clásico against Real Madrid and into the Champions League return leg against AC Milan in which they must overturn a 2-0 deficit from the first leg.

"Tito is a great guy. He is a very humble person. He is battling hard to get well again. We are fighting for him and for Barcelonísmo. Whenever we win, we dedicate the victory to him". Alba said in DiR magazine's front cover story this week.

And despite being knocked out of the Copa del Rey by Real Madrid earlier this week, Barça's intention, according to Alba, is to continue their strong league campaign in which they are runaway leaders with a 12-point lead over their nearest rivals.

He went on to say that he is very happy to be back at Barça, who gave him a second chance. "When I left La Masía aged 16, I really thought that my time at Barcelona was over", he recalled. "At Valencia, I spent several months without playing because the left wing position was already covered by Vicente, Silva or Mata. It was just a stroke of luck that I ended up at left-back, I was only deployed there because other players were out injured. Playing in that position opened the door to the national team for me and allowed me to sign for Barça".

To end, Alba saluted his team mate Leo Messi , who he feels, is the best player in the world, "Some players make all the difference and right at this moment, the player who does that is Leo. It's a real pleasure to have him as a team mate, he has treated me really well since the day I arrived and has always been humble and kind. Apart from that, out on the field of play, he has shown that he's the best", Alba concluded.