Sergio Busquets has established himself as a key man capable of collecting 14 titles with Barcelona and the highly-prestigious World Cup and European Championships with Spain within just four seasons of his professional debut. However, the Catalan midfielder is still one of the most underrated footballers in the world, loved and hated in equal measure.
I honestly can't understand why.
Doubters believed Pep Guardiola promoted Sergio from our Barcelona B team back in 2008 simply because of his friendship with dad Carles, his former Blaugrana teammate during Johan Cruyff's Dream Team era. They couldn't have been further from the truth, according to his instant impact in a team already full of talented play-makers such as Xavi, Iniesta, Yaya Toure or Keita.
Sergio Busquets went on to make 41 appearances in his first professional season, developing dynamic partnerships in the middle of the field which allowed Xavi and Iniesta to advance their positions and rotate much more freely. The result? Barcelona went on to complete the most successful season in our over 110 years of history, winning each and every one of the 6 competitions we entered in 2008/09, including La Liga, Champions League and the Club World Cup.
His tremendous achievements at Barcelona didn't go unnoticed for long. Vicente Del Bosque was quick to realize Busquets was the missing link in Spain's midfield and pretty much followed Guardiola's lead when building his team for the 2010 World Cup, taking our Barcelona formation as the basis for La Roja. The result? Spain came back home with the legendary golden trophy after Sergio played every match in the biggest competition in world football.
Despite the fact that Busquets has just started his 5th professional season, he has already made 198 appearances for the Blaugranas thanks to his brilliant footballing mind.
When in possession, Sergio is able to either retain the ball (which inevitably attracts many fouls) or find quick passes into space. He knows how to pace the game, often mixing short passes to Xavi or Iniesta, wide openings to the wings and through passes to Messi. When defending, he gets to those loose second balls before anyone else, reading the plays before they actually happen.
The biggest names in our beloved sport seem agree, as the following quotes prove:
Pep Guardiola: “Busquets is the best defensive central midfielder in the world. He's tactically very strong and will only become more important for Barcelona in the future. He can follow in the footsteps of Carles Puyol and Xavi. He's very humble and calm, but doesn't mind speaking up when he sees fit either. If I was reincarnated as a player, I'd like to be like him."
Vicente Del Bosque: "If I were a player, I would like to be like Busquets."
Xavi: “Without Busquets, Barcelona and Spain could never had achieved what we have achieved”
Pacho Maturana: “For me, Sergio Busquets is the best player in the world. He never plays badly, always solves all the problems.”
Cesar Luis Menotti: “The first time I saw Busquets playing, I called a friend and said: ‘I saw a player from an extinct species’. An absolute talent.”
The list goes on and on, but I'm sure you get the idea: The guy is a genius and, at 24 years of age and judging by his performances so far this season, we can all be sure his best is yet to come.
I am obviously not saying that the success of Barcelona is entirely up to Busquets, as the contributions from stars such as Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol or Eto'o can obviously not be overlooked, but the truth is Barcelona has improved dramatically because of him. We are a much more creative, consistent and organized team whenever Sergio is on the pitch.
Sergio Busquets doesn't score as much as Messi, run as fast as Alexis or tackle as spectacularly as Puyol but he definitely ensures our widely-admired midfield rotation continues to run like clockwork which, ultimately, is what has made Barcelona so successful in recent years.
As a life-long Cule, I simply can't understand how a guy who has given us so much since his Barcelona debut can get criticized so regularly by our own fans. While I respect everyone's opinion, I strongly hope the above reasons are powerful enough to tame the ongoing "he's slow", "he's a diver", "here comes the drama" debate.
If Barcelona are successful this season and regain our former glory, you can be sure it will thanks to, not in spite of, Sergio Busquets.
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