Barcelona's best ever XI ... The holding midfielder 🧠 | OneFootball

With the football on hold at the moment, we’ve been thinking about who gets in Barcelona’s all-time XI.

Today we’re choosing the first midfielder and, being Barcelona, we’ve had no choice but to go for a deep-lying player in front of the defence.

Here are the nominees …

3rd – Luis Suárez

No, not that one. From 1955-1961, a Spanish Luis Suárez played for Barcelona. A superb playmaker, Suárez had great vision and was an excellent dribbler, linking midfield to attack seamlessly.

Strictly speaking, Suárez didn’t sit in front of the defence during his time with Barcelona, playing a more advanced role and joining the attack  … but he was used there for Inter later in his career and did so superbly.

Before heading to Italy, he was crucial in two LaLiga title-winning campaigns and, in 1960, was the first Spanish player to win the Ballon d’Or.

2nd – Pep Guardiola

Before he was one of the most successful coaches on the planet, Pep Guardiola was also an incredible midfielder.

It’s unfair to say he changed the game – there were similar players before him and he didn’t exactly become an immediate template for other sides – but the use of Guardiola in this position was an uncommon one. A wiry player averse to charging into tackles, he helped Barcelona control matches with his reading of the game, understanding of space, and precise passing ability.

Always calm, Guardiola disproved the stereotypes of what a holding midfielder should be.

A European Cup winner, a six-time LaLiga winner, a Barcelona legend.

And the winner is …. Sergio Busquets

If Guardiola was the prototype, Busquets is the finished article.

The current Barcelona man has been one of the best midfielders in the world for a decade now. Always picking the right pass and almost impossible to press, the Spaniard has everything to play this role at the very highest level. And he’s done just that at Camp Nou for the last 12 years.

His body feints are legendary, his trademark drag-back to evade oncoming opposition players is sublime. And he’s a superb defender too, capable of playing centre-back and reading the game like almost nobody else. There’s no need to be flashy when you can do everything this well.

We won’t go into his trophy cabinet, what’s the point? Let’s just say there isn’t much space left in it.

Here’s how the team is looking so far …

GK: Andoni Zubizarreta RB: Dani Alves CB: Carles Puyol CB: Ronald Koeman LB: Sigfrid Gràcia DM: Sergio Busquets

Check back tomorrow when we will be choosing the next midfielder.