Sergio Lobera: Oriol Romeu is the ideal replacement for Busquets

Sergio Lobera endorses Romeu's return to Barça. Lobera was the one who signed the player from Ulldecona for Barça's Infantil A and he was also the one who bet on 'Busi', bringing him to La Masia at the age of 17.

There aren't that many people better than Sergio Lobera to talk about the change in the pivot position in Xavi's Barça.

Busquets, whom Lobera signed from Jabac Terrassa, has left and Romeu, whom the Aragonese coach convinced to leave Espanyol and join Barça, has arrived.

SPORT was able to interview the coach who is currently in charge of Odisha in the Indian Super League. Lobera worked from 1999 to 2007 in Barça's youth teams where, in addition to Romeu and Busquets, he coached players such as Jordi Alba, Thiago, Pedro, Bojan and Bartra, among many others. Away from La Masia, he has also sat on the bench at Terrassa and Las Palmas as well as coaching Moroccan, Chinese and Indian football.

In the summer of 2004, Barça signed Oriol Romeu, a midfielder who had previously played for Espanyol, for their Infantil A team. What was the story behind that signing?

It wasn't easy, Espanyol had no intention of letting him go, but when Oriol found out about Barça's interest he decided he wanted to play here. He was able to leave Espanyol and join the Barça youth academy.

Why did you want to bring Romeu to Barça?

It was a similar case to Sergio Busquets. Oriol Romeu at Espanyol was not, apparently, one of the most outstanding players in his team, but as a coach, I was struck by his qualities as a pivot. He had everything a coach looks for. He was very good on the ball but he was also very good defensively. He was very competitive, won duels and closed down very well. To excel so much in both facets of the game convinced me.

Did your perception of Romeu change at all when you started coaching him?

I was very surprised by his winning character, his hard-working spirit and his maturity unbefitting his age. All these factors added up to the fact that football-wise, he lived up to the high expectations I had set for him. Going from Espanyol to Barça is never easy because the idea of the game was different. He needed a period of adaptation but it was quite short, his ability to assimilate concepts was brutal and he did it in a meteoric way.

Did he always play as a pivot?

We were always clear about the position we wanted to put him in. His aggressiveness and defensive ability helped us a lot to consolidate the type of '6' we needed. The role of the midfielder at that time had undergone an important evolution. From a more creative profile, we moved on to a more self-sacrificing role that sought to avoid the opposition's transitions. This extra balance that he offered us helped us to consolidate the idea of this more tactical pivot. As well as being a pivot, on some occasions he played as a centre-back so that he could grow even more in terms of defence and ball control.

Did you work with him on any specific aspect of the game?

Oriol Romeu was already a very complete player but what I worked on most with him was knowing how to manage the tempo in defence-attack and attack-defence transitions. He has always been a very intense player and a duel winner but I tried to instil in him more calmness when playing once we had won the ball back. It was important to know how to slow down when we had control of the ball.

What is Oriol Romeu like in the dressing room?

Oriol is always a loved and respected person in the dressing room. He's rather introverted and has few words but when he speaks he makes himself heard. He reminds me a lot of Busquets in the way he is. He earns the respect of everyone because he is an example of work, behaviour, sacrifice and professionalism.

Did growing up in La Masia help him to grow?

La Masia helped him a lot to acquire concepts of the Barça style. Growing up in the Barça youth academy is a luxury because you have the best resources and the best teammates to help you progress. You also have to think that overcoming so much competition is not easy, only the strongest can keep going and Oriol never gave up. And the fact is that Romeu is a player who believes in himself, being at Barça didn't change his personality at all and he continued to work very hard to grow. Sometimes you don't know what is ideal to be a complete player. I think, for example, that the fact that Busquets arrived late in the Barça youth system gave him an edge that other Barça players don't have. The same thing happened to Oriol when he spent years away from Barça, being in teams that are not so dominant you have to become strong in aspects that you don't need when you compete as a Blaugrana.

You signed both of them for Barça, how are Busquets and Romeu similar?

I start from the premise that all comparisons are odious, I don't like to compare Pedri with Iniesta or Romeu with Busquets. I will say that, from the point of view of technical characteristics, Oriol Romeu has everything to occupy the position vacated by Sergio Busquets.

Can playing alongside De Jong, Gundogan or Pedri benefit Romeu?

I am convinced that Oriol Romeu will grow alongside the great players that Barça have. With Xavi as a coach and surrounded by great players, Romeu will be able to show even more of his great qualities.

What virtues of Oriol Romeu do you think are most important?

His competitive spirit and his aggressiveness without the ball. His tactical intelligence when positioning himself and at the same time the great judgement he shows on the ball. Oriol also stands out a lot in terms of the right decision-making on the pitch.

So do you think Romeu is the natural replacement for Busquets?

I think he is. He's a player with the ideal footballing profile and the mentality to be at the level of a club like Barça. I also think that with a coach like Xavi, he could grow a lot. For the professionalism that Oriol always shows I think he can still perform at a high level for many more years.

Many years have passed since his first spell at Barça, do you think that his past at La Masia can help Oriol Romeu in the present?

Without a doubt, the fact of knowing the club you are going to and his years in the youth team and seeing how demanding Barça is in every way helps. Also in terms of football, the concepts that he will be working on with Xavi will not be new to him, he has already acquired them from his years of training at La Masia. His return to Barça makes me very excited because he is a player I bet on when he was younger and he has worked hard to achieve his dream, he has worked spectacularly hard.