From 2009 to 2015, one team ruled over European football, and that team was FC Barcelona. With players like Xavi, Iniesta, Henry Neymar, Suarez, and Lionel Messi, it was no mystery as to how they were dominating for so long.
However, there was one player that was often left unnoticed in the shadows and out of the spotlight. But without him, all of their success wouldn’t have been possible, and his name was Sergio Busquets.
He won more trophies in his 15 years at the club than European Champions Manchester City have in their entire history, making him one of the winningest players in football history.
Today, we’re going to be going over exactly why Sergio Busquets is considered by so many to be the most underrated player in the history of football and breaking down his incredible three-step formula that he used to become one of the greatest midfielders of all time.
The Genesis Of Sergio Busquets
Sergio Busquets, born on July 16th, 1988, in Barcelona, is a Spanish international footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder. He is the son of Carles Busquets, a former professional Spanish goalkeeper who also played for Barcelona in the 1990s. So, it was poetic that Sergio would join the Catalan club 20 years later.
He stayed at Barcelona for 15 years, playing at least 40 games every single season, rarely getting injured. When you’re good enough to be in the starting 11 of Barcelona for 15 years straight, that says a lot about a player.
Pep Guardiola was one of his biggest fans and sang his praises on a number of occasions. “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 Carlos Puyol and Shavy. “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 would like to be like him.”
Busquets’ role within the Barcelona team was that of the bottom of a midfield triangle. The trio of Iniesta, Xavi, and Busquets was one of the most well-renowned and most feared midfield lineups of all time. Whilst the other members of the trio created chances and provided moments for Barcelona that would put them in the spotlight, Sergio acted as the immovable barrier between the midfield and the defense.
Sergio’s Positioning
His ability to predict where the play was heading, making key interceptions, and breaking up opposition attacks was second to none. And that brings us to the first step of Sergio’s incredible three-step formula: positioning.
When you watch Busquets play, it can often appear as if he barely moves, maybe a yard or two at most, with an extremely nonchalant playing style. It’s quite a rare sight to see him accelerate past a swift jog or even break a sweat. This is because of his positioning.
His spatial awareness and appreciation of the developing move of the opposition allows him to identify where to be, what their next move will be, and what to do once they regain possession. But don’t just take our word for it. Barcelona legend Johan Cruyff had this to say: “Positionally, he seems like a veteran with or without the ball. With the ball, he makes what is difficult look easy. He disposes of the ball with one or two touches.”
Without the ball, he gives us a lesson. Scanning for passes, even when they’re out of possession, allowed Barcelona to counterattack at lightning speed before the opposition had even lost the ball.
The art of anticipation is one that has been mastered by few in world football, but his ability to spot a counterattack when Barcelona lost possession and single-handedly stop a breakaway was one of the reasons why they were so dominant for so many years.
Whilst the football world bows down to Xavi and Andres Iniesta as the masters of tiki-taka, they should not forget that Busquets is also a key component in the success of that style. Often providing the first pass after an interception to set off the chain that would lead to a goal or simply providing the bottom of the triangle for the playmakers to pivot off of.
The Passing Maestro
If you mention passing stats, the first Barcelona player that springs to mind is Xavi Hernandez, of course. There can be little doubt that Xavi is possibly the greatest passer of the ball in world football.
Busquets regularly exceeds a 90% pass completion rate, but bear in mind Xavi himself had this to say: “He is a player who has made history, a legend, one of the best midfielders in world football, and the best defensive midfielder in the history of Spain. I congratulate him.”
Without Busquets, Barcelona and Spain could never have achieved what they achieved. At the base of the triangle, he’s the pivot that allowed the likes of Xavi, Iniesta, and Messi to create and venture into advanced positions while he held down the fort in front of the defense and provided support when they wanted to switch play or reset an attack.
Don’t get it wrong, even compared to Xavi, Busquets’ passing still stacked up very well. Long passes, short passes, clever flicks that were hard for the opposition to predict – he really could do it all.
He really had mastered the art of the disguised pass. He would twist his opponents with supreme ease and then pass in the complete opposite direction to where you expected the ball to go. This made the job of the opposite defensive midfielder an absolute nightmare.
How do you predict where the ball is going to go if you have absolutely no idea? Sergio could be considered a boring player to watch – he doesn’t have the flare of Neymar, the dribbling of Messi, or the goal-scoring of Ronaldo, but take some time to dive deeper and just realize how impactful he was.
One of the biggest parts of his game wasn’t his ability, his positioning, or his passing, but instead how easy he made everything look, which brings us to the final step of Sergio’s game, and maybe the most important of all: composure.
Busquets Composure; On & Off the Ball
As we’ve already mentioned so many times before, it doesn’t look like Busquets really does much, and he never seems to feel pressure. That’s because every moment, every part, and every piece of skill he does looks so effortless.
Sergio keeps everything extremely simple. There isn’t any unnecessary movement; there’s no showboating. He simply does what is effective at any given moment, whether that’s a piece of skill or a 2-yard pass. He doesn’t break a sweat, and this allows him to pick the right path, pass every single time, even when he has a player trying to tackle him.
HHis feet seem to have a mind of their own, allowing him to wiggle away from the opponent and place the ball at his teammate’s feet. Even when your defenders have someone they can trust to pass to, to get themselves out of a sticky situation, it helps build confidence throughout the whole team. The team is pressing just past Sergio; he’ll know what to do.
He also managed to master the no-touch turn, making transitions between defense and attack much smoother and without breaking the momentum by taking a touch. This allows him to go from a standstill to a sprint with the ball at his feet. This was often the trigger that sent Barcelona attackers looking for space.
Sergio Busquets Gameplay
In 2017, Busquets played one of his best games ever, dominating a Real Madrid side who went on to win three Champions Leagues in a row. We’ll show you exactly how he did it.
How he did it was, he receives the ball in the middle of the pitch and looks for a forward pass. He doesn’t see anyone free, so he keeps it simple and passes to his center-back, but continues to scan for potential passes in case he receives the ball back quickly.
Busquets intercepts the ball by predicting whether the Real Madrid player would make a pass without having to move more than two yards. He then turns to look for a pass to attack.
In the game, Busquets sits in the space and provides a supporting option for his teammates. He receives the ball and connects the two attackers by making a forward pass, which allows them to burst quickly into space and score a goal.
Busquets receives the ball after the play has turned over, and whilst being pressed, has the composure to pick out a simple pass by using a little bit of flair that allows Barcelona to go on the counter. He acts as the pivot that we mentioned earlier for his attacking teammate to try and create space and make attacking runs. He allows them to reset their attack and then switches the play to try and attack from a different angle.
Busquets reads how Madrid are trying to counter and tracks back to intercept a pass, stunning the counterattack completely and resetting, which allows Barcelona to spring an attack of their own. He always the first to react to the movement of the ball, predicting where players will pass it after his team has lost possession, and then acting as a pivot to switch play and attack and score a goal.
Sergio predicts the run of the attacker and simply sticks out a leg to stop the attack, calmly averting any danger, and then makes a cheeky pass to make an attack of their own. Barcelona went on to win the El Clasico game 3-2, with Sergio playing a pivotal role in their victory.