In years to come, this period of time at Barcelona is likely to be defined as the ‘Messi era,’ though there’s one player who is just as important as the Argentinian for the Catalans.
Ten years ago this week, Sergio Busquets made his debut under Pep Guardiola, and ever since then he’s exuded a calm authority in Barcelona’s midfield.
Often misunderstood by supporters and handed the somewhat derogatory ‘water carrier’ label, ‘Busi’ has been a vital part of Barca and Spain’s success story.
Let’s not forget that when he was handed the reins to both senior teams, he was just 21 years of age and straight out of Barca’s B side.
He replaced Yaya Toure in the first team and forced Pep to convert Javier Mascherano into a centre-back, despite the Argentinian having more experience than Busquets in his desired defensive midfield slot.
Marcos Senna had to make way for him in the La Roja side, and ever since then Busquets has remained first choice.
A string of top-level coaches and players can’t espouse his virtues enough. Guardiola himself once said that if he came back as a player, he’d want to be Busi, and Xavi went as far as suggesting that both Barcelona and Spain wouldn’t have been so successful without him in place.
But it’s perhaps the famous Vicente del Bosque quote that sums up the player the best.
“If you watch the game, you don’t see Busquets. You watch Busquets, and you see the whole game.”
Tactically astute, his level of passing is on par with the very best players in the world. Whether short or long, Busquets rarely doesn’t find his target, and even under the most extreme pressure, he manages to make the right decision almost every time.
He’s now just 14 games away from making 500 appearances for Barcelona, and in that time, he’s been on the winning side on an incredible 356 occasions. His 28 titles spread across domestic and European triumphs are well deserved too.
Economical in terms of his output and playing style, even 50+ games a season at 30 years of age isn’t beyond him, and there’s an expectation that he will carry on for a good few years yet.
Can he be classed as the best ever in his position? That’s a conversation for another time, but if he isn’t then he surely comes close.
It won’t just be Spain and Barcelona’s loss when he hangs up his boots.
Football will be the poorer for his absence too.
