Gines Muñoz/Francisco Avila |
Barcelona (EFE).- After fifteen seasons in which he has won 32 titles, Barcelona captain Sergio Busquets is betting on one last adventure abroad before hanging up his boots.
In an interview with EFE, ‘Busi’ reviews his career as a Barça player and anticipates that, after his retirement, he would like to train as a coach and start a new stage on the bench.
His farewell at the Spotify Camp Nou
“A lot of people have told me that he didn’t seem very excited, but he was a little excited. Not to the point of crying a lot, but a few tears escaped me. What happens is that, at the level of emotions, you are much happier, fuller, enjoying the moment and proud than not embarrassed, sad or excited”.
His calm character
“Surely it comes from the family, although more from my mother, who is calmer than my father. Perhaps the first years I was a little more nervous, more rebellious within the tranquility, but then over the years I have calmed down more. I have been gaining experience and also, being a father and having stability, it calms you down a bit”.
Their trainers in the Barça
“I have learned a lot from all of them and they have all respected me a lot and have given me a lot of confidence. I am very grateful”.
“Pep (Guardiola) was the first, I already had him for a year in the subsidiary and he was the one who gave me the opportunity to start all this and to live the first years of my career, which I think were the most spectacular in history. of the club, for everything we achieved and the way we did it”.
“I also learned from Tito (Vilanova), who was on Pep’s ‘staff’ and continued with that idea although, unfortunately, he couldn’t stay for much longer.”
“From Luis Enrique, who also had him in the national team and who is a crack. A guy who knows how to transmit, very natural, and has very clear ideas”.
“Tata’s (Martino) was a different kind of football, but he was very committed, always wanting to do new things, to try to have the ball and apply himself to learning the methods we were used to here at Barça”.
“Valverde was a very natural, very sensible, very honest guy who always managed the dressing room very well.”
“Quique (Setién) was in love with Barça, with a very guardiolista and very demanding idea. What happens is that we were in a somewhat complicated situation there”.
“Koeman opted for the young and was a very sincere coach and also with very clear ideas, although he also had to live through a difficult situation.”
“And Xavi has been a bit light. With him, the club has also improved in every way, because it has been possible to sign. He has a very clear idea of the Barça style, which is the position game. He came from being my partner in the locker room, but it was clear to both of us from the first day that we would carry out our relationship based on respect and the position that each one had. I think that we have been intelligent and adult people and we have made it very easy for both of us ”.
“They have made me feel very important, but above any player is the club and the idea. There are many years with the same player with very marked conditions in a very important position, but you don’t have to look for a new Busquets but a player with other characteristics and, from there, try to hook him to the style”.
His decision to leave Barça
“It has not been an easy decision, because I was in the club of my life, in my house, with my family, with everything I needed. But I think it was time, because I’m leaving as I want, being an important player, captain and winning titles”.
“On a mental level, spending fifteen years at a club like Barça is not easy. And we also wanted to live a different family experience abroad, abroad”.
Play again with Messi and Jordi Alba
“I have several proposals and I would like to decide in three weeks at the latest. Many things have been said, and I understand that it is morbid. But the reality is that each one will decide his future based on what is best for him and his family.
“As of today, Jordi has left Barça, me too and it is not yet known if Leo is going to renew, so we are free, but I see it as difficult. I don’t know if Leo is going to come back here or if he is going to go somewhere else. But I think it’s difficult to get three players together, anywhere.”
His relief in the defensive pivot
“Rodrigo, for me, is now the best in his position. Apart from him, he is in a team like City, which is very dominant and has great players and a great coach, and has everything to keep improving.”
“After Rodri, Zubimendi is one of those who can best adapt, because he has already played, in the lower categories of the national team and at Real Sociedad, a football similar to ours.”
“And Kimmich is the one who seems the most different to me from all those who have come out, because he is a player who has converted to that position.”
“And then there is the option of Nico (González), who we have on loan, who has left the house and I think he has conditions.
Surely this loan (to Valencia) will have helped him to be a better player and gain a little experience. And I believe that it should be given the opportunity, apart from being the cheapest option”.
His future on the benches
“Playing in a position that requires a bit of knowing how to manage the team has influenced me and made me interested in being a coach. Preparing things, having everything under control. I’m going to get my coach’s card when I quit football and, from there, I think I’m going to try. I think I have the conditions, that I am qualified”.
What football has given him
“Football has given me many joys, many friends and unique moments. I have always dreamed of being a footballer because it was my passion since I was little, what I have experienced at home, in the family, and what I later did with my friends”.
“It has given me a very full life, in the sense that I have achieved everything I have set out to do, even much more. And, above all, the recognition and human treatment with all the people I have met”.
“My father always told us: ‘you can be whatever you want except goalkeepers, you suffer a lot’. Since I was little, it was always clear to me that he didn’t want to be a goalkeeper, that he wanted to be a player and score goals. Well, the goals, now not so much (laughs)”.
His advice to youngsters who play for Barça
“I would tell them that they are privileged, that they value where they are. That above all feel it and give the maximum. And in the end, it all depends on whether they want to be here. If they stick together in the locker room, there is no better club than this one to be at and to win”.
How will Barcelona remember you?
“I think people will remember me as a team player who has tried to make his teammates better, who has given everything for the club, who cannot be blamed for anything and who has always been through thick and thin. moments”.