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Barcelona's Sergio Busquets is a rare type of player. He is lanky, slow and weak, attributes that should have made it difficult for him to excel in the highest levels of the game. But Sergio Busquets is one of the greatest ever in his position.
For starters, Sergio Busquets plays the game with his brain as much as he does with his feet. Pep Guardiola sold the great Yaya Toure to make place for a young Sergio Busquets. The rest, as they say, is history.
Perhaps nothing describes Sergio Busquets better than what Vincente Del Bosque, Spain's manager during La Roja's golden era, said about the player:
“Watch the game, you won’t see Busquets; but watch Busquets, and you’ll see the game".
But all good things come to an end. Sergio Busquets is now 32 and has never been worse physically. His body is now that half a second slower to respond to his brain and watching him chase attackers on a counter is painful.
Make no mistake, though. Sergio Busquets may not run as well as he did in the past, but no one runs games of football better than him. And that is why Barcelona must find a successor to Sergio Busquets.
Over the years, numerous players have been touted as Sergio Busquets' successor. Be it Sergi Samper or Oriol Busquets, for some reason or the other, they haven't been able to replicate Sergio Busquets' exploits. Barcelona bought Frenkie De Jong, presumably as a successor to Busquets. But he's been much more resourceful a little higher up as an interior instead of a pivot.
Sergio Busquets' successor might emerge from La Masia
Once again, as is the norm at Barcelona, La Masia holds the answers. The current Barcelona B crop have been doing really well. They have not one but two players who could step up and play the 'Busquets role' with aplomb.
Let's take a look at the two players.
Firstly, there is Nico Gonzalez, the son of Fran Gonzalez, who made more than 500 appearances for Deportivo La Coruna in the 1990s.
Gonzalez has seemingly captured the attention of Koeman and his staff and with good reason. The midfielder, who has been at Barcelona since he was 11, is supremely comfortable in breaking opposition lines, be it through his dribbling or penetrative passing. Although he's 6' 2" and weighs 85 kg, he's surprisingly agile in pressing and wins most of his defensive duels.
Nico Gonzalez's best trait is his technique, without a doubt. He is always aware of space and time and weaves through challenges beautifully.
Barcelona are currently negotiating a contract renewal, as they seek to promote Nico to the first team. While the player seeks to don the Blaugrana jersey, Manchester City and Ajax are reportedly interested in his services as well.
The second player who deserves mention is Jandro Orellana.
For large swathes of the season, Jandro Orellana has donned the role of a pivot. It was because of his injury that made Garcia Pimienta play Nico Gonzalez in his position. Nevertheless, Orellana has had a fabulous campaign.
Orellana's main strength lies in reading the game and his positional awareness. That helps him snuff out opponents' attacks with relative ease.
Jandro Orellana can also dictate the pace of a game from midfield, much like Busquets, thanks to his passing prowess. His leadership is another strong attribute. The way he guides younger players like Alejandro Balde is noteworthy.
Moreover, the 20-year-old is great in set-pieces; he scored a wonderful free-kick against Olot for Barcelona B this season. He, too, at the very least, needs to do pre-season training for the Barcelona senior team next season.
