In a surprise move, Luis Enrique the Barcelona coach has left out Sergio Busquets for Saturday’s La Liga fixture against Leganes. He is one of the four players who has been left out of the squad for the trip as the Barcelona coach continues with his rotation policy.
Barcelona who lost last weekend chose to use Messi and Suarez as substitutes. Busquets, on the other hand, has started all the six games since the start of the season. The 28-year old who has come through the youth system has been an integral member of the side ever since Pep Guardiola promoted him from the B Team.
The other players who have been left out of the travelling party are Lucas Digne, Aleix Vidal and third-choice goalkeeper Jordi Masip. The coach when quizzed about his decision, stressed on the importance of rotation, given that the club plays around 70 games a season.
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Busquets, in addition to club fixtures, is also a regular starting member of the Spanish national side which creates an additional burden on the player.
Busquets’ rise to the Barcelona team has been nothing short of phenomenal. Having been picked out of the obscurity by Pep, his sparkling and assured performances in the Blaugrana midfield enabled him to earn his first international cap within a year of his club debut.
Such was his form that he was picked for the 2010 World Cup squad replacing Marcos Senna of the 2008 EURO winning squad.
Busquets who has made the pivot role his own in the Barcelona team recently signed a contract extension in the summer which will keep him at the Nou Camp till 2021. The buyout clause has been raised to €200million, thus establishing him as one of the key players in the squad.
Speaking to The Guardian, he once explained his role as that of being tactically astute rather than being a physical presence. His job, he explained in the team, is to provide solutions both offensively and defensively by positioning himself properly.
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His positioning skills have become better over the years having been compared to the likes of Guardiola and Dutch legend, Johan Cruyff.
Although there were talks of Busquets teaming up with his former coach Pep at Manchester City, it was unlikely to happen as Enrique considers the Spaniard an integral member.
Barca, though, will be looking to avenge their last La Liga defeat to Alaves at Camp Nou, with the strike force of Neymar, Suarez and Messi expected to start the game for the first time as a trio this season.
