Will we ever see another midfielder dominate a midfield with such simple touches? The game is so simple when you are aware of the space around you.
In England we yearn for your Roy of the Rovers kind of midfielder but some players show you that football is simple when you let the ball do all the talking.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzLtxw6wQv4
I always ask myself why do countries like France and Spain consistently produce better footballers. At the start of the Premier League there was a long moan about introducing quotas to produce better home grown players.
But the issue is what kids are actually taught in the academies. Simply not good enough to teach younger players to concentrate on being athletes than hone skills with the ball first.
Sergio Busquets
posted on 19/1/20
Messi probably would
posted on 19/1/20
comment by merrysupersteve - Jose'd he wouldn't be our Special One? (U1132)
posted 1 hour, 43 minutes ago
Busquets? Honestly, I always thought he was a good player but not all that he's made out to be. He's no Makelele, or even a Kante imo. He does and always has done a specific job. But those guys did and do more. With Busquets too, I always questioned over how well he'd do if he wasn't a Barca player.
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First of all, he is not meant to be a kante or makelele type of DM, he is way better as he has more to his game.
Secondly, only reasin he is underated is because he played in a barca team packed with other stars.
posted on 19/1/20
He's not remotely underrated. And he's not capable of doing what those guys could. He could only excel in that Barca side
posted on 19/1/20
More to his game = keeps the ball moving in a team that keep the ball moving
posted on 20/1/20
Doing more doesn’t mean doing better
It’s pretty clear too that Busquets’s game is perfectly suited to Barça and that he might not adapt elsewhere.
Conversely, would either of the players you mentioned have been capable of reaching his standard for Barça? Iirc, Kanté found it difficult under Sarri, who was a couple of magnitudes lighter on the possession front than Guardiola.
Remember Busquets sas barely even starting out in football when he dislodged Yaya Touré, possibly the more skillful footballer, definitely more powerful, and far more threatening in attack. He even ‘put himself about’ quite a bit back then. But he still wasn’t as good as Busquets for the DM role that team required.
posted on 20/1/20
They don't make em like scholes no more
posted on 20/1/20
Such sacrilege on this thread.
Busquets is a once-in-a-generation midfielder. A player who has always played with his head up and who has eyes in the back of his head.
Always offers an outlet for possession even under extreme duress. And then go on to fashion a killer pass out of nothing. Doesn't matter if you're holed up inside a cave in the Afghan mountains, he will find you.
The kind of leader I like having on the pitch who's always offering his teammates an extra pair of eyes and pointing out open channels and potential threats. All without necessarily being a know-it-all cùúuûnt about the whole thing.
He's also been a master at quickly and cleverly closing down space for the opposition and regaining possession without necessarily running all over the place kicking everything in sight.
At the risk of turning this into a love letter to the man, I also have something for the kids here who only look at trophies. He's pretty much swept up the lot. For both club and country.
posted on 20/1/20
Busquet's been crap the last 3 years or so. He represented everything that was wrong with Barca in their loss to Liverpool last season. In Pep's Barca, or Del Bosque's Spain, where his team most often had 70% or more of the ball and territorial dominance, he was the best player for the system in the deepest role where his super-efficient passing and awareness complimented the efforts of the more creative players. In the modern Barca where they've struggled to assert their dominance in games, his lack of athleticism/agility/recovery pace/aggression is exposed.
posted on 20/1/20
comment by Gillespie Road. (U18361)
posted 7 hours, 2 minutes ago
Such sacrilege on this thread.
Busquets is a once-in-a-generation midfielder. A player who has always played with his head up and who has eyes in the back of his head.
Always offers an outlet for possession even under extreme duress. And then go on to fashion a killer pass out of nothing. Doesn't matter if you're holed up inside a cave in the Afghan mountains, he will find you.
The kind of leader I like having on the pitch who's always offering his teammates an extra pair of eyes and pointing out open channels and potential threats. All without necessarily being a know-it-all cùúuûnt about the whole thing.
He's also been a master at quickly and cleverly closing down space for the opposition and regaining possession without necessarily running all over the place kicking everything in sight.
At the risk of turning this into a love letter to the man, I also have something for the kids here who only look at trophies. He's pretty much swept up the lot. For both club and country.
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This
I remember in Vieira last season at Arsenal, he was 29 I think, he mentioned that he was teaching himself to play the game at a relaxed pace well within himsekf to be more effective.
there is a wierd and stupid narrative that you have to run around and kick a lot of people to be a great player. As if there are players who could easily play for Barca as Busquets could.
Football has moved on but some just refuse to move with the times.
posted on 21/1/20
Great player, but he took playacting to a new level. Could dish it out but breathe on him and down he went. I found him annoying to watch as he more often than not didnt have to hit the deck. So whilst I can appreciate his immense talent and how good he was in that Barca team, I also cant stand him