Understanding Luis Enrique's rotations in Barcelona's central midfield
Barcelona's 3-1 win over Athletic in the Copa del Rey can serve as an example of the coach's tinkering
With the signings made last summer, central midfield is the area that Luis Enrique has the most resources in. The Barcelona caoch is squeezing the most out of it, with his rotations to share minutes between the players. Denis Suarez and Andre Gomes arrived, as Arda Turan and Rafinha Alcantara started to bed in, adding to the established trio of Sergio Busquets, Ivan Rakitic and Andres Iniesta.
No untouchables
Injuries, ups and downs in form and international commitments, as well as the characteristicso f the opponents, have been variables that affected Lucho's selections. Even someone seemingly untouchable like Sergio Busquets has had moments of being rested, with Gomes taking his pivote position.
Barcelona's 3-1 win over Athletic in the Copa del Rey can serve as an example. It was expected that Ivan Rakitic would return to the first team, but Lucho chose Rafinha to accompany Sergio Busquets and Andres Iniesta.
The Croatian only played 10 minutes, even though he had rested against Villarreal the game before. A surprise, perhaps even for the player too.
Looking at the minutes played, it's clear Luis Enrique has been faithful to his rotations, with the aim of getting the majority of the players to arrive at the key stage in the season in good condition.
| Games played | Games started | Minutes played | |
| BUSQUETS | 24 | 24 | 1.989 |
| RAKITIC | 20 | 17 | 1.387 |
| ANDRÉ GOMES | 20 | 12 | 1.165 |
| ARDA TURAN | 20 | 12 | 1.162 |
| ANDRÉS INIESTA | 16 | 12 | 1.031 |
| DENIS SUÁREZ | 19 | 10 | 998 |
| RAFINHA | 16 | 8 | 786 |
Gala midfield?
The formula most usd by Lucho is the 'classic' one, Busquets-Rakitic-Iniesta, in five of 29 games, tying with Busquets-Gomes-Rakitic, and on one occasion less there was a Busquets-Rakitic-Denis Suarez.
These are the 15 different midfields that Luis Enrique has used this season, and the number of games in which he has used them...
- 5 Rakitic - Busquets - Iniesta
- 5 Gomes - Busquets - Denis Suárez
- 4 Rakitic - Busquets - Denis Suárez
- 3 Iniesta - Busquets - Gomes
- 2 Gomes - Busquets - Turan
- 1 Gomes-Busquets-Denis Suárez
- 1 Rafinha - Iniesta - Rakitic-Alba
- 1 Turan - Rakitic - Busquets - Digne
- 1 Rafinha - Rakitic - Denis Suárez
- 1 Rafinha - Busquets - Denis Suárez
- 1 Aleñà - Carbonell - Denis Suárez
- 1 Iniesta - Gomes - Denis Suárez
- 1 Iniesta - Busquets - Denis Suárez
- 1 Rakitic - Gomes - Denis Suárez
- 1 Rafinha - Busquets - Iniesta
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