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No. 40 Sergio Busquets, Barcelona/Spain
Why he's ranked: This has been the era of Spain's majestic, silky midfield performers, yet Busquets has emerged as a star with an entirely different skill set. Hard working, strong in the tackle and a good distributor of the ball, the 25-year-old does the gritty work that allows his teammates to shine. Expect him to form a potent holding midfield partnership with Xabi Alonso at Brazil 2014.
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Key stat: Led La Liga in pass completion percentage this season at 92.4 (minimum 10 games).
What the experts say: "Sergio Busquets is brilliantly authoritative in possession -- and extremely intelligent positionally, too. He's improved so much in the four years since he starred in Spain's World Cup victory, which is no great surprise considering at that point he'd only been a club regular for one season. His passing has become more incisive, and he goes haring up the pitch to shut down opponents in advanced positions to win possession quickly. Still the best defensive midfielder around." -- Michael Cox
Other articles:
- Graham Hunter: Busquets, the man you hate to love
- ESPN FC Blogs: Spain
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