Sergio Busquets – the unsung hero of Barcelona’s supreme dominance
Ahead of the Champions League Final on the 28th May…
Reputation is everything in football. Sergio Busquets would rather you not talk about his, though. Not long ago, the 22-year-old was celebrated solely for his talents. Robust in the tackle, an eye for a pass and blessed with “an excellent first touch and great balance”, according to Xavi Hernandez. Sometimes simplicity is the best option in a position where Busquets says is, in a 4-3-3, the “most demanding” in football.
Every now and then, some would label him ‘cheat’, but that is certainly bearable; after all, he’s not the only one to dramatise and look for decisions during a game. For a player as young as he is, and to win as much as he has, the alleged events that took place in that most unseemly first leg of Barcelona’s semi final tie with Real Madrid was disgraceful if true, but equally as disappointing for such a gifted footballer.
A simple Google search of ‘Busquets’ in present day tells you all you need to know; the word ‘racist’ beside his name is the very first search suggestion and many, including his Spanish teammate and ‘friend’ Iker Casillas, are not happy at UEFA’s failure to charge him. If indeed Busquets called Marcelo “a monkey” then a lengthy ban should be the bare minimal – especially for an organisation who campaign to prevent this very thing. (In UEFA’s defence, the evidence itself is deemed suspicious and many have dismissed it altogether.) As it happens, he is free to play in the Final on Saturday and while we can rightfully claim injustice (because, if true, Busquets has no defence), there is no question as to how important the Spaniard will be at Wembley.
Busquets will be crucial for Barca at Wembley
Busquets’ emergence as one of the best defensive midfielders in the world happened in a relatively short period of time. He has been somewhat lucky, it must be said having had the ideal environment for any footballer but that’s not taking anything away from him. His contribution to the team, be it Spain or Barcelona, has been integral and despite not earning nearly as many rave reviews as Xavi or Iniesta, he remains just as essential to his side. Javier Mascherano, signed last season by Pep Guardiola with intentions to bolster their midfield (an area with undoubted quality, but lacking depth), has been forced to play second fiddle to Busquets yet seems unfazed, instead rather envious of his talents:
“Xavi and Iniesta are the most creative midfielders in the world, but, above all, there is Busquets,” says Mascherano. “He has the talent to play for any team anywhere in the world, but he’s made to play for this team. Literally, he’s the perfect guy. He robs the ball, he has superb technical skills and brings tactical order. I watch him and try to learn from him.”
via the Total Football Application<
<Figure 1> Adding onto the fact that he managed so many successful passes in 90 minutes, note his positional discipline.
The notion that the holding midfielder is as important as any other player on the pitch is an almost correct one; their role might seem fairly straightforward but for a player like Busquets, he must be able to read the game and again, it is harder than it sounds. When Spain beat the Netherlands in the World Cup Final last summer, many had observed Wesley Sneidjer, talked up pre-match as the player who can win the game for the underdogs, was uncharacteristically forlorn. The tactics site Zonal Marking had analysed how Sergio Busquets was able to keep Sneidjer quiet, also noting just how disciplined he was in doing so. He will look to do something similar on Saturday – any battle with Wayne Rooney will be intriguing.
It’s important to recognise just how good a player Busquets is. Ian Holloway, in trademark fashion, spoke of the importance of the defensive-minded player in midfield and how they are just as essential as the match winner himself: “It’s all very well having a great pianist playing but it’s no good if you haven’t got anyone to get the piano on the stage in the first place, otherwise the pianist would be standing there with no bloody piano to play.” There’s a tune we can all sing to.
Back in 1991, Busquets’ dad, Carles, kept goal and conceded twice in a game he’d rather forget where Manchester United ran out 2-1 winners over Barca in the 1991 Cup Winners Cup - but when Sergio had his chance against the same opponents, he didn’t blow it. He produced a midfield masterclass in Rome back in 2009; since then, he’s improved considerably. If United lift what the Spanish call La Orejona (meaning big ears) on Saturday night, it may well be that Busquets has a bad game – but, as teams in the Primera División know only too well, that doesn’t happen often.
To end, I’ll leave you with this video. Try not to press the ‘replay’ button too much though, like I did.
<Figure 2> A compilation of all that we should envy of Sergio Busquets. Note his positional awareness. (You might want to mute the sound.)
13 Responses to “Sergio Busquets – the unsung hero of Barcelona’s supreme dominance”
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THank you for writing a good piece on Busquets. Im a Barca fan and, while we know he is quite theatrical he only does it in really big games and i see it as an act of fear, not cos he wants to cheat. Something needs to fix for sure.
But as a player i adore him, his tactical awareness, positioning, skill and balance are incredible. Really does not get as much credit as he should
Nice article.
I think the equivalent to Busquets was Hargreaves minus the diving.
That diagram of his passing v Panathanikos is astonishing and I’m worried about what he can do to us on Saturday, because no doubt he is a very talented and important player to Barca, but those theatrics worry me too.
hes a racist simple as and should be banned for a long long time but of course UFEA favor Barca.. 2 sets of cheaters in my eyes.. cmoooooooon UNITED
Is he a racist or are you a muppet for believing Mourinho? He is friends with Alves, Abidal and Keita. Nevermind the non-white youth players. Sir, you are a fool!
oi footy fan, are you blind or slightly retarded or both, for not being able to see him clearly mouth racist comments? doesn’t matter if he has black friends end of the day he still made racist remarks. back to barcelona with your brown tongue SIR!
I would disagree that Hargreaves is similar; Rather, I would say that he’s the Spanish Michael Carrick (who is my favourite player, and who I believe to be criminally and tragically underrated by the British football fan). Busquets was my Man Of The Match in the World Cup final, too. That said, there are two things I don’t like about him. First, his cheating, and the second, the Marcelo incident. Clearly, he said something, and it is a complete and utter disgrace that Uefa let this go. As a fan of football, there is plenty to admire about Busquets, but I also buy into a player’s character on and off the pitch as much as I do his ability; As a person, he’s shown a side that I detest. As a person of colour, for me, that incident was heartbreaking to see, and worse to stomach, and while I think the CL final would be a better spectacle with a player of his ability in it, I’m not sure that he should be there on matters of principle.
Yeah, I would agree on most points, there. Though it’s difficult, I tried my best to ensure this article focused on his playing ability rather than anything else but that’s a fair comment.
As for the Carrick point, yes indeed, as I pointed out here:
http://manutd24.wordpress.com/2011/03/03/every-team-needs-a-michael-carrick/
If you were to look at their average touch positions or heat maps, a striking similarity is just how positionally disciplined they both are.
Thanks for the comments guys, appreciated.
Just want to say; can we keep our comments about the article useful to discussion? Perhaps, it’d be better if we dwell on his game (like the first two comments have done) instead of debating whether he’s a racist or not.
Cheers.
Carrick make actually the same job on the pitch…keep possesion, destruct oponent’s attacks, always available…the key players for their teams, no doubt about that
oscar ivan que hacer tu por favor
I think you’re right to bring up Busquets’ excellent close control and passing abilities. In essence what Barcelona have is a player who, as you argue in your defence of Carrick, has the toolkit of a deep-lying playmaker, but whose command of the ball is overshadowed by the presence of more established creative forces in Xavi and Iniesta.
Do you think that Ferguson will prioritise disrupting the service to Busquets in the Champs League final?
Yes; I think they are better off targeting him than the centre-backs, to tell the truth. If they stop him, passing and getting the ball, United have every chance. He’s arguably their most important player. Whether Fergie’ll prioritise stopping Busquets, in particular, I doubt. But I’d recommend it