Barca: The Making of the Greatest Team in the World by Graham Hunter

Author:Graham Hunter
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: BackPage Press
Published: 2012-01-28T00:00:00+00:00

SERGIO BUSQUETS:

THE ENFORCER

IN MY TIME IN SPAIN I can’t recall a player who has divided opinion like Sergio Busquets did when he emerged into the first team as part of the Pep Guardiola revolution.

As it transpired, every member of the first-team squad understood from the start what his talents were, but very few in the outside world appeared to share that knowledge – fans or media. Busquets changed all that, of course, but those early days were strange.

He seemed unusual. Maybe it was because this lanky organiser appeared to be so different to the small, deft improvisers to his left and right. However, what became clear to us all – and what was underlined every time we spoke to any one of his team-mates – was that Busquets added three vital things to the transition out of the poisonous end of the previous manager’s reign.

First, he is a ferocious competitor and there are many people who believe he uses those instincts to nefarious ends. Nevertheless, I believe he is the member of Guardiola’s team who, in percentage terms, most resembles his manager as a player.

At Gol Television in Barcelona, I worked with a guy who played some exceptional stuff in his day, Jordi Lardín. A Catalan contemporary of Guardiola’s, but an Espanyol star, Jordi emphasised that while Pep was a towering footballer, he would also employ the dark arts to put an opponent off his game if it helped gain a yard of space. Insults, studs on the foot – let’s not sully his image unnecessarily, but you get the picture. Now think about how Busquets plays.

Next, there is an extremely keen football brain in there. In Guardiola’s idea of a utopian Camp Nou, he would have at his disposal 20 fantastic footballers, but their brains would also be expected to function at top speed all the time. The impact Busquets has had on where the pressing takes place – an aspect which has become a signature part of the Guardiola era – and how regularly effective it is, makes an eloquent case for his importance to this team.

This is what Javier Mascherano told me about “Busi”. “He has the talent to play for any team anywhere in the world, but he’s made to play for this team, literally the perfect guy. He robs the ball, has superb technical skills and brings tactical order. I watch him and try to learn.”

Víctor Valdés allows the back line to push high, Busquets shoves the midfield up a few metres, so as to support the strikers when they press. It’s all a process.

Finally, I’m happy to hand over “plaudit duty” to Xavi, who knows a little bit more about this than I do. It was the elder Catalan who pointed out a lack of mala leche, or nastiness, in the squad. He revealed that Busquets learned his football on the mean streets of Badia del Vallès, and was willing to take this “enforcer” personality into situations where Barcelona’s artists were being bullied. The wee guys like that.

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