Luis Enrique confused by Busquets' UEFA team of the year omission

Andy West 09:29 28/11/2015
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  • Underrated?: Busquets.

    Barcelona boss Luis Enrique is baffled by the lack of recognition shown to Sergio Busquets after the midfielder was omitted from the 40-man shortlist for the UEFA team of the year award.

    Busquets has played more minutes for Barca than any other player this season and was a mainstay of last season’s treble triumph, but has been overlooked in favour of players such as Sevilla’s Grzegorz Krychowiak and Claudio Marchisio of Juventus among the list of candidates for the UEFA award, which was announced earlier this week.

    That adds insult to injury because Busquets also does not feature on the 23-man list for the FIFA Ballon d’Or award, which will be presented in January and is expected to be claimed by Lionel Messi.

    Enrique said: “It’s surprising, that’s for sure. It’s very unfair, a great injustice. “You can see his quality from afar, but when you train with him every day you appreciate it even more.”

    After a sensational week which yielded an aggregate scoreline of 10-1 from meetings with Real Madrid and Roma, Enrique’s side will look to maintain their firm grip on La Liga’s top spot in today’s home clash with Real Sociedad.

    Enrique confirmed that midfielder Sergi Roberto will be absent with a muscle strain, but Javier Mascherano is back in contention after limping out of last weekend’s Clasico victory at the Bernabeu.

    He also revealed that Messi is showing no signs of discomfort after making his comeback from a knee injury, saying: “He’s not 100 per cent yet but he doesn’t need to be at 100 per cent to make the difference.

    “He just needs more minutes to get his full fitness back but he’s not far off, and he’s looking good.”

    Saturday’s visitors are heading into their first away game under new coach Eusebio Sacristan, who was appointed to replace David Moyes and kicked off his reign with a 2-0 home win over Sevilla last weekend.

    Eusebio will be on familiar turf after spending seven years with Barca during his playing career, and later succeeding Enrique as the club’s B team coach in 2011.

    Enrique said: “Knowing us is one thing, but stopping us is another. If our players perform like they can, there’s nothing you can do.”

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