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Sergio Busquets

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Template:Spanish name

Sergio Busquets
Busquets at the 2015 UEFA Super Cup
Personal information
Full name Sergio Busquets Burgos[1]
Date of birth (1988-07-16) 16 July 1988 (age 36)
Place of birth Sabadell, Spain
Height 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Barcelona
Number 5
Youth career
Badia
Barberà Andalucía
1999–2003 Lleida
2003–2005 Jàbac Terrassa
2005–2007 Barcelona
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006 Barcelona C 1 (0)
2007–2008 Barcelona B 32 (1)
2008– Barcelona 237 (6)
International career‡
2008–2009 Spain U21 3 (1)
2009– Spain 83 (2)
2008– Catalonia 8 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:55, 3 March 2016
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 26 December 2015

Sergio Busquets Burgos (Catalan: [busˈkɛts], Spanish pronunciation: [ˈserxjo βusˈkets]; born 16 July 1988) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for FC Barcelona and the Spain national team. He is considered by many to be the best holding midfielder in the world today.[2]

He was a relatively obscure player when he arrived in Barcelona's first team in July 2008, but eventually made a name for himself in a relatively short period of time, reaching the Spanish national team in less than one year after making his professional club debut.

Busquets helped Spain win the 2010 World Cup and the Euro 2012 tournaments. He also represented the nation at the 2014 World Cup, earning over 80 caps in total.

Club career

Born in Sabadell, Barcelona, Catalonia, Busquets began playing football with local team CD Badia del Vallès,[3] followed by spells with CEF Barberà Andalucía, UE Lleida and UFB Jàbac Terrassa,[4] before joining FC Barcelona's youth ranks in 2005. He scored seven goals in 26 games for the Juvenil A team in his second season and, two years later, Busquets was promoted to the B-team under Pep Guardiola, and helped it achieve promotion to the third division. In that same season he would make his first-team debut, coming on as a substitute in a Catalonia Cup match.

"Positionally, he seems like a veteran with or without the ball. With the ball he makes what is difficult look easy: he disposes of the ball with one or two touches. Without the ball, he gives us a lesson: that of being in the right place to intercept and running just to recover the ball."

Johan Cruyff, 15 September 2008[5]

On 13 September 2008 Busquets played his first La Liga match, featuring 90 minutes in a 1–1 home draw against Racing de Santander.[6] During Barcelona's UEFA Champions League match against FC Basel at St. Jakob-Park on 22 October 2008, he scored the second goal in the 15th minute in a 5–0 group stage win;[7] in early December, in another start, he scored his second with Barça in the competition, netting in the 83rd minute of a 2–3 home loss against FC Shakhtar Donetsk.[8]

Busquets with Robin van Persie and Cesc Fàbregas in a Champions League match in 2011.

On 22 December 2008 Busquets signed a contract extension until 2013, with a buy-out clause of €80 million.[9][10] On 7 March of the following year he scored his first league goal, in a 2–0 home win over Athletic Bilbao. On 27 May, having been regularly played as he competed for the spot with internationals Seydou Keita and Yaya Touré, he also featured in Barcelona's starting eleven in the Champions League final, a 2–0 win over Manchester United; with that victory, Carles and Sergio Busquets became only the third father-and-son combo to both have won Europe's top club competition playing for the same team, joining Manuel Sanchís Martínez and Manuel Sanchís Hontiyuelo (won it with Real Madrid) and Cesare Maldini and Paolo Maldini (A.C. Milan).

Busquets' fine form continued in the 2009–10 season,[11][12] with Guardiola preferring him to Touré as Barcelona's central holding midfielder, developing a fine playing relationship with Xavi Hernández and Andrés Iniesta, which would see Barcelona go on to win La Liga for the 20th time in their history.

In the Champions League semi-final against Inter Milan at Camp Nou on 28 April 2010, he went down to the ground after Thiago Motta had raised his arm and appeared to push Busquets in the face.[13] As a result of this action, Motta was shown a red card and dismissed for violent conduct. Busquets was subsequently criticised by Motta and the media for apparently feigning injury.[13][14][15][16]

Busquets was again ever-present for Barcelona in the 2010–11 campaign, even playing as a central defender on occasion. On 27 January 2011 he signed a contract extension that would keep him at the club until 2015 – the buyout clause was increased to €150 million.[17] On 8 March, playing at centre back, he scored an own goal from a corner kick against Arsenal, in the season's Champions League round-of-16, levelling the score at 1–1; Barcelona eventually won the game 3–1 (and 4–3 on aggregate).[18]

"He's one of the greatest talents that has been given to Spanish football. This is a discovery. The first time I saw Busquets playing, I called a friend and said: ‘I saw a player from an extinct species’. He's a star."

César Luis Menotti, July 2011[19]

On 24 April 2012, Busquets scored a rare goal – only his sixth official one in four seasons – netting from an easy tap-in after an Isaac Cuenca cross to make it 1–0 for the hosts in the season's Champions League semi-finals' second leg against Chelsea, but Barça could only draw 2–2 against ten men, losing 2–3 on aggregate.[20]

On 16 July 2013, the day he celebrated his 25th birthday, Busquets agreed to a contract extension until 2018, with the buyout clause remaining unaltered.[21]

On 1 August 2014, after the retirement of Carles Puyol, and at Puyol's personal request, Busquets was given the number 5 shirt for the 2014–15 La Liga season.[22]

On 6 June 2015, Sergio Busquets started for Barça in the 2015 UEFA Champions League Final, as the club won its fifth European Cup by beating Juventus at Berlin's Olympiastadion.[23] This made Barcelona the first club in history to win the treble of domestic league, domestic cup and European Cup twice.[24] Busquets, Lionel Messi, Andrés Iniesta, Xavi Hernández, Pedro Rodríguez, Gerard Piqué and Dani Alves are the only players to have been a part of both treble winning teams.[24]

International career

Busquets on action for Spain.

On 11 October 2008 Busquets earned his first cap for Spain's under-21, in their 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship qualification play-offs first leg match against Switzerland: he scored in the 17th minute but the national side lost 1–2 away, eventually emerging victorious 4–3 on aggregate.

On 11 February 2009 Busquets was called up to the senior squad for the friendly against England.[25] He finally made his debut for La Furia Roja on 1 April 2009, in a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Turkey, playing 16 minutes in a 2–1 win in Istanbul after replacing David Silva; four days earlier he had been named as a substitute when the same sides met in Madrid, with Spain winning 1–0 through a goal from teammate Gerard Piqué.

"If I were a player, I would like to be like Busquets."

Vicente del Bosque, June 2010[26]

Busquets was selected by manager Vicente del Bosque for the finals in South Africa, assuming the holding midfielder role naturalized Brazilian Marcos Senna had previously had in the conquest of UEFA Euro 2008: he played all the games and minutes for the eventual World champions, save for the last 30 minutes of the 0–1 group stage loss against Switzerland.

On 8 September 2014, Busquets scored his first international goal in a 5–1 win over Macedonia in Euro 2016 qualifying.[27] He added another during the qualification campaign on 15 November, in a 3–0 win over Belarus in Huelva.[28]

Style of play

Busquets is usually deployed as a defensive midfielder, although he is also capable of playing as a central defender.[29] Busquets is known for the pivotal midfield-anchor role that he plays for both Barcelona and the Spanish national side; a hard-working player, he excels at breaking down opposition plays due to his positional sense, defensive attributes, tactical intelligence, and ability to read the game.[29][30] Due to his vision, ball control, and accurate passing ability, he rarely relinquishes possession, and alongside Xavi, Andrés Iniesta, and later Ivan Rakitić, he plays an important role in setting his team's tempo in midfield through his passing game.[30] Vicente Del Bosque has highly praised Busquets, saying that "You watch the game, and you don't see Busquets, you watch Busquets, and you see the whole game".[31]

Personal life

Busquets' father, Carles, was also a footballer, having played as goalkeeper for Barcelona for several years during the 1990s, although almost exclusively as a backup.[32]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 3 March 2016.[33][34]
Club Season League Copa del Rey Europe Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Barcelona B 2007–08 30 1 — 30 1
2008–09 2 0 — 2 0
Total 32 1 — 32 1
Barcelona 2008–09 24 1 9 0 8[a] 2 — 41 3
2009–10 33 0 4 0 11[b] 0 4[c] 1 52 1
2010–11 28 1 5 0 12[a] 0 1[d] 0 46 1
2011–12 31 1 8 0 11[e] 1 2[f] 0 52 2
2012–13 31 1 4 0 8[a] 0 2[d] 0 45 1
2013–14 32 1 5 1 9[a] 1 2[d] 0 48 3
2014–15 33 1 4 0 10[a] 0 — 47 1
2015–16 25 0 4 0 6[a] 0 4 0 39 0
Total 237 6 43 1 75 4 15 1 370 12
Career total 269 7 43 1 75 4 15 1 402 13
  1. ^ a b c d e f All appearances in UEFA Champions League
  2. ^ Ten appearances in UEFA Champions League, one appearance in UEFA Super Cup
  3. ^ Two appearances in Supercopa de España, two appearances and one goal in FIFA Club World Cup
  4. ^ a b c Appearances in Supercopa de España
  5. ^ Ten appearances in UEFA Champions League, one appearance in UEFA Super Cup
  6. ^ one appearance in Supercopa de España, one appearance in FIFA Club World Cup

International

As of match played 12 October 2015[35]
National team Year Apps Goals
Spain 2009 10 0
2010 16 0
2011 11 0
2012 14 0
2013 12 0
2014 11 2
2015 8 0
Total 82 2

International goals

Scores and results list Spain's goal tally first.[36]
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 8 September 2014 Estadi Ciutat de València, Valencia, Spain  North Macedonia 3–1 5–1 UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying
2. 15 November 2014 Estadio Nuevo Colombino, Huelva, Spain  Belarus 2–0 3–0 UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying

Honours

[37]

Club

Barcelona

International

Spain

Individual

Decorations

References

  1. ^ "FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010: List of players" (PDF). FIFA. 4 June 2010. p. 29. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
  2. ^ "Is Barcelona's Sergio Busquets the best midfielder in the world?". Mirror.co.uk. 4 November 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  3. ^ Jugadores salidos de Badia (Departed players Badia); CD Badia del Vallès, 20 December 2015 Template:Es icon
  4. ^ Sergio Busquets (Sergio Busquets); Sport, 20 December 2015 Template:Es icon
  5. ^ Sergio Busquets completa un viaje vertiginoso que en 8 meses le ha llevado de Tercera a la selección (Sergio Busquets completes metheoric journey that took him from Tercera to national team in 8 months); El Periódico, 7 February 2009 Template:Es icon
  6. ^ "Trata de arrancarlo, Pep" (in Spanish). Marca. 13 September 2008. Retrieved 9 July 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ "Basel overwhelmed by five-star Barça". UEFA.com. 22 October 2008. Retrieved 22 October 2008.
  8. ^ "Shakhtar brush aside youthful Barcelona". UEFA.com. 9 December 2008. Retrieved 15 January 2010.
  9. ^ "Busquets thrilled to commit future to Barça". UEFA.com. 22 December 2008. Retrieved 22 December 2008.
  10. ^ "Busquets signs new Barcelona contract". Tribal Football. 23 December 2008. Retrieved 23 December 2008.
  11. ^ Barcelona responds like a true champion; The New York Times, 25 November 2009
  12. ^ Distractions looming as Barca bid for the double; BBC, 16 March 2010
  13. ^ a b Giles Mole (29 April 2010). "Barcelona v Inter Milan: Thiago Motta fumes at Sergio Busquets' 'terrible behaviour'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
  14. ^ Lyon, Sam (28 April 2010). "BBC Sport - Football - Barcelona 1-0 Inter (agg 2-3)". BBC News. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
  15. ^ Pete Jenson (30 April 2010). "Banned Motta asks Uefa to act over Busquets 'theatre'". The Independent. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
  16. ^ Paul Hayward (2 May 2010). "Fair Play 0, Foul Play 1 – a cynical classic from the Camp Nou conmen". Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  17. ^ Busquets signs new Barca deal; ESPN Soccernet, 27 January 2011
  18. ^ "Brilliant Barcelona outgun ten-man Arsenal". UEFA.com. 8 March 2011. Retrieved 9 March 2011.
  19. ^ "El fútbol se lo robaron a la gente" ("The people were robbed of football"); El País, 11 July 2011 Template:Es icon
  20. ^ Ten-man Chelsea hold off Barça to reach final; UEFA.com, 24 April 2012
  21. ^ "Barcelona renews Sergio Busquets' contract through 2018". Sports Illustrated. 16 July 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  22. ^ Www.Fcbarcelona.Cat. "Sergio Busquets inherits the legendary number 5 shirt". FC Barcelona. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
  23. ^ "Barcelona see off Juventus to claim fifth title". UEFA. 6 June 2015.
  24. ^ a b "Barça make history with second treble!". FC Barcelona. 6 June 2015.
  25. ^ "Lista de convocados para el amistoso ante Inglaterra (Callup for friendly with England)" (in Spanish). Real Federación Española de Fútbol. 6 February 2009. Retrieved 6 February 2009.
  26. ^ Del Bosque: "Si yo fuera jugador me gustaría parecerme a Busquets" (Del Bosque: "If I were a player, I would like to be like Busquets"); Libertad Digital, 22 June 2010 Template:Es icon
  27. ^ "Euro 2016 qualifiers: Spain back in groove with easy win over Macedonia". The Guardian. 8 September 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  28. ^ Hunter, Graham (15 November 2014). "Much-changed Spain dominate Belarus". UEFA. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  29. ^ a b "Sergio Busquets Burgos". Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  30. ^ a b "Sergio Busquets: Barcelona's best supporting actor sets the stage". Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  31. ^ Ahmed Shahin (21 March 2015). "FC Barcelona v Real Madrid CF: El Clásico Combined XI - When Stars Collide". Barca Blaugranes. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  32. ^ "Tú, tranquilo; ya me pondré nervioso yo" ("You, be cool; i'll be nervous for two"); El País, 26 May 2009 Template:Es icon
  33. ^ "All Barça's football | FCBarcelona.cat". Fcbarcelona.com. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  34. ^ "Busquets". Soccerway. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  35. ^ Sergio Busquets at National-Football-Teams.com
  36. ^ "Sergio Busquets". eu-football.info. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
  37. ^ "Sergio's profile". FCBarcelona.com. 26 January 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  38. ^ "UEFA Champions League squad of the season". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 9 June 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  39. ^ "Los campeones del mundo de fútbol ya tienen la Real Orden del Mérito Deportivo" (in Spanish). El Mundo Deportivo. 5 January 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
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