Sergio Busquets

[Markouskas]

He goes unnoticed because most people only watch the highlights of Barca matches. You see Messi netting in goals, Xavi and Iniesta making glorious defense splitting passes, but you dont see Busquets pulling the strings behind the majestic trio. He hardly does the final pass, but creates space with runs, one-twos, body feints and so on, but that doesnt get time on Sky News.

Whenever I read forums about him, even when ignoring the diving/acting jabbering, he still doesnt even get credit for the things he´s really good at, which is passing and creating space with runs. I´ve seen him called "lazy player, weak passer" and then "brilliant midfield destroyer" and I´m just thinking WOW, its actually the complete opposite.

I agree that if you put him on a more physical, counter attacking side, where his duties are more to break the opposition and make tackles all over the pitch, he´d be far less effective and just another solid DM, but in a possession oriented team with great passers in midfield, theres nobody better than him at the moment.

 

[xaviniesta]

To quote a wide, stocky but not fat Milanista, Busquets is "underrated by most, overrated by Cules, but actually somewhere in between."

good to know that an average player can make it in one of the best club side in the history and as well in one of the best national teams at the same time.


btw was that sergio who said it?

 

[Henry_IB]

good to know that an average player can make it in one of the best club side in the history and as well in one of the best national teams at the same time.

To be fair, the guy said he deserved to be top 23 in world so it's not like he's saying he's average.

 

[xaviniesta]

no, he literally said he is somewhere between underrated and overrated which seems pretty much like average to me no?

 

[PearLBLacK]

No, I said he's underrated, by most people who say he shouldn't be a starter for a club like Barca and alongside players like Xavi & Iniesta, and I also said he's overrated by Cules. Never mentioned "average" but if you want to twist my words and believe your misinterpretation, knock yourself out.

And nope, it wasn't Super Pippo.

 

[Henry_IB]

no, he literally said he is somewhere between underrated and overrated which seems pretty much like average to me no?

You cules tend to overrate him though. He deserves top-23, sure, but he's not as spectacular as he's made out to be.

And also "underrated by most, overrated by Cules, but actually somewhere in between." means nothing if you don't know the parameters. Let's say we Cules think he's top 10 in the world and the rest of world think he's top 30, then inbetween would mean he's top 20 in the world.

So yes, you did twist his words or simply chose to ignore what he wrote.

 

[PearLBLacK]

Thank you, Henry

 

[XxBradKennedyxX]

no, he literally said he is somewhere between underrated and overrated which seems pretty much like average to me no?

this might be the stupidest thing ive ever heard.

 

[DavidVillano1]

I agree that if you put him on a more physical, counter attacking side, where his duties are more to break the opposition and make tackles all over the pitch, he´d be far less effective and just another solid DM, but in a possession oriented team with great passers in midfield, theres nobody better than him at the moment.

Man United and Real Madrid are two of the most counter attacking side's in world football, his statistics are not far off their deepest players.

vs Alonso - 47 tackles to 61, 29 interceptions to 35, 19 clearances to 25.
vs Carrick - 47 tackles to 36, 29 interceptions to 39, 19 clearances to 39.

Busquets defensive side is probably more underrated than anything, especially for Spain. He often covers his CB's and makes interceptions to win possession back. If he was asked to do so in such a team at United/Real he would do it more efficient and often that passing/creative spark in the midfield.

 

[footyfan]

I think it would depend if said team plays with a high back-line. That would make things easier for Busquets because he wouldn't have as much space to cover. Teams like Man Utd/Chelsea are crying out for a player like Busquets. He is the kind of player around whom the team can be built.

 

[BerkeleyBernie]

vs Alonso - 47 tackles to 61, 29 interceptions to 35, 19 clearances to 25.
vs Carrick - 47 tackles to 36, 29 interceptions to 39, 19 clearances to 39.

Not sure where you are getting those statistics, but I would suggest they don't tell the whole story. The reason is Barça's possession. Because opposing teams have less time on offense, Barça spends less time on defense, so defensive numbers are lower by default. There are less tackles/interceptions/clearances because there are fewer balls to tackle/intercept/clear.

Let's say Barca has 65% possession to Madrid's 55% (Barça on defense 35%, Madrid on defense 45%). Then the adjusted stats (if Busquets was on D as much as Alonso) would be:

45/35 = 1.29
Busquets (X*1.29)----Alonso
60 tackles--------------61 tackles
37 interceptions-------35 interceptions
24 clearances----------25 clearances

 

[GiantKiller]

I think it would depend if said team plays with a high back-line. That would make things easier for Busquets because he wouldn't have as much space to cover. Teams like Man Utd/Chelsea are crying out for a player like Busquets. He is the kind of player around whom the team can be built.

Agree. I don't get why people think that Busquets may not be as good in any other team or system for that matter. A modern DM should have the positional ability to cover space and intercept balls and is no longer required to be just a destroyer like Makelele. Also, his distribution should also be convincing and should only be limited to passing to the nearest man. Busquets is very good in both aspects and it looks to me as if he'll be good in any team irrespective of the system. The fact that Barca doesn't have the strongest back four in the world should also be kept in mind....

 

[xaviniesta]

And also "underrated by most, overrated by Cules, but actually somewhere in between." means nothing if you don't know the parameters. Let's say we Cules think he's top 10 in the world and the rest of world think he's top 30, then inbetween would mean he's top 20 in the world.

So yes, you did twist his words or simply chose to ignore what he wrote.

i didn't quote PearLBLacK, but the whoever guy said this: "underrated by most, overrated by Cules, but actually somewhere in between."

 

[xaviniesta]

Let's say we Cules think he's top 10 in the world and the rest of world think he's top 30, then inbetween would mean he's top 20 in the world.

the reality is more like cules think he is top 25, other think he is top 1000. overrated. worst DM ever. so he is somewhere inbetween which is average. i doubt that any no cule than meta and raed think he is more than top 1000.

 

[GiantKiller]

the reality is more like cules think he is top 25, other think he is top 1000. overrated. worst DM ever. so he is somewhere inbetween which is average. i doubt that any no cule than meta and raed think he is more than top 1000.

He's in the top 10. Maybe even the top 5.