The astonishing rebirth of Sergio Busquets
When asked to think of a player who is synonymous with the position of defensive midfielder, millions of minds the world over turn to Sergio Busquets. The Barcelona stalwart made his debut in La Liga in September 2008 and has been a fixture in their XI ever since. For a little while, it seemed like his enormous influence might be fading. Yet now, at age 31, he has vaulted back into the spotlight as perhaps the most influential Barcelona player besides a certain forward-cum-sporting-director from Argentina.
Let's start by taking a quick look at Busquets's overall metrics in the past few seasons:
Although he's been a fairly aggressive defender, the quality of his defending was only middling in 2017-18 and in the 2018-19 Champions League. This season it's been outstanding both in the continental competition and in La Liga. He's also been extremely aggressive, with defending quantity of 92, and his ball retention is as high as ever. And yeah, he's one of the best in the world in ground duels, and not too shabby in the air, either.
But perhaps the least expected stat is Busquets's attacking output, up to 67 at a La Liga standard, the highest rating he's recorded in our database. So what's changed? Here's a quick look at how his style has evolved over the past three seasons:
Busquets's style has been virtually unchanged, with one big exception: ball recoveries. He's been hunting down more and more loose balls, and now he has the highest recovery rate among DMs in La Liga, with a 99 style rating. Age is just a number – Busquets is working harder than ever.
Yet that's hardly the end of the story. An even more important aspect of Busquets's play may be the location of his touches. We can compare his positioning by looking at our smartermaps for 2018-19 and 2019-20 in La Liga:
Busquets was more constrained to the middle of the pitch in 2018-19, and this season he's been more mobile side-to-side. He's also been getting more touches in the attacking half. So those ball recoveries are likely happening further up the pitch, where they're even more valuable. As a result, has Busquets been able to start more dangerous possessions? You bet he has. Just take a look at these involvement statistics:
Busquets has never before been involved in so many productive attacks. To jump from the low 40% range last year to around 60% of attacks this season is nothing short of incredible. So it's no surprise that his attacking output is so high. The question is, why?
One reason has been the improvement in defending behind him. Clement Lenglet has come into his own, with massive improvements in both the quantity and quality of his defending. His improved partnership with Gerard Pique has allowed Busquets to range further forward. And that range has been necessary, with Ivan Rakitic and Arturo Vidal becoming less influential in central midfield. Busquets has had the freedom to fill a gap that absolutely needed filling, and he's done it admirably well.
Not many star athletes get an opportunity to reinvent themselves late in their careers, and even fewer succeed. Busquets doesn't have the most visible role on the pitch, and he's not a media star like Lionel Messi. But if Barcelona go on to win La Liga, this season's performance by Busquets could deserve a place among the great second acts in sporting history.
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[Photo: Анна Нэсси]
