Barcelona will be aiming to continue their five-game La Liga winning run when they take on Sevilla at Camp Nou on Sunday.
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Barcelona will be aiming to extend their five-game La Liga winning run when they take on Sevilla at Camp Nou on Sunday. With a victory, the Blaugrana can leapfrog the Adalusians into second spot. Xavi’s side has been going through a rebuilding process and veteran midfielder Sergio Busquets has been a key figure in the side during the transition phase. Given the international break, several players from Barca had given interviews and in one such interview, Busquets was heard explaining about the precise nature of his position at the club.
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During the pre-match press conference, Xavi was asked if he preferred to have specialists or all-rounders in his side. Mundo Deportivo carried his response.
“Busquets has an exact position and it isn’t necessary for him to be versatile. Saying that, if there are players who are more versatile who can help us, like [Ronald] Araujo, who can play at centre-back or full-back, or [Sergino] Dest, who can play on both sides, They are all important. It depends on the needs of the team.”
Busquets has been one of the few players who stayed at the Camp Nou during the financial crisis at the start of the season and he along with Gerard Pique are playing the role of a mentor to guide the younger players in the team.
Busquets also spoke about his own future at the club and made it clear he still has enough left in him to carry on for a while but has started to think about how much longer he has left at the very top. It appears Xavi is counting on him being there for a while.
“I think Busquets can go for longer. With this style of play which is very similar to that of the national team, he can play for a long time and we can get a lot out of him.”
The midfield trio of Busquets, Pedri and Frenkie De Jong has a perfect blend of youth and experience, 34-year-old Busquets marshals the midfield while Pedri(19) offers youthful exuberance and De Jong(24) is a versatile playmaker.
“Frenkie and Nico can play there, although I think of them more as interiors. For the way we want to play, Busquets is fundamental. The day he is no longer here, we will have to come up with a plan, but that isn’t the case.”
After hosting Sevilla on Sunday, Barca will travel to Frankfurt for the Europa League quarter-final first leg fixture against Eintracht Frankfurt. Xavi’s side is currently 12 points adrift of the leaders Real Madrid, but have a game in hand and with a few more victories in the upcoming fixtures, the final lap of the La Liga title race could become tighter than many would have expected at the start of the season.
