Culés hear it all the time – like an old-wise tale that isn’t that old and wasn’t that wise. It wasn’t a mark of genius for Luis Enrique to try Sergi Roberto out at right-back in the summer of 2015. The truth was that Dani Alves had time off due to international duty and Martín Montoya had orchestrated a loan move to Inter Milan, so the right-back depth was suspect for the tour.
That season Roberto played at right-back 13 times, but he also played at left-back four times and 30 times in midfield, split between an interior spot and the defensive midfield role. The next season, however, the transition was complete – 42 appearances as a right-back and just five appearances elsewhere.
The three seasons since has been a little more consistent with most of his minutes coming at right-back with 10-15 games per season coming in other positions. Those other positions have included right winger, central midfield, defensive midfielder, left-back, and even centre-back. Always the Swiss Army Knife, Roberto’s fundamental understanding of how Barcelona want to operate makes him invaluable to the set-up. More realistically, his understanding how long-time teammates and fellow La Masia graduates Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, and Gerard Piqué operate makes him a key cog.
All that said, over the last six seasons, most Culés would agree that right-back has consistently been a position where the Blaugrana may be outmatched by the best clubs in the world. Nelson Semedo and Roberto both do an admirable job, and as Francesc and I often discuss on The Barcelona Podcast, they are tasked to do more than other right-backs due to the attacking responsibilities of a Barça outside back and the lack of quickness from the forwards and central defenders.
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This is why the question of Sergi Roberto’s position needs to be revisited again. When the club’s personnel needed him to fill the right-back spot, he did it, and did it well. Now it looks like the club need a left interior midfielder that can cover space and defend for the forwards, but also dribble with the ball and create numerical advantages.
Roberto has said that while he’s played as a right interior with the first team, he’s actually most comfortable on the left, where he played with Barcelona B. Maybe the fourth captain is on to something.
The only problem now is the one that moved Roberto back to right-back in the first place. If Barcelona are strapped for cash, even willing to sell another right-back not yet on the books in Emerson, the club certainly won’t be able to go out and buy another top candidate like Sergiño Dest or João Cancelo. Plus, unlike the midfield or the wings, there is no right-back with Barcelona B pushing to enter the picture – 22-year-old Dani Morer probably would have gotten his opportunity already.
For now, at least through the Champions League campaign, Sergi Roberto may actually be the best option as the left interior in the midfield. With Frenkie de Jong returning soon, the best midfield trio may still be Roberto, de Jong, and Busquets supporting Suárez, Messi, and Griezmann.
If, and this is a big if, Roberto’s performances in midfield convince the club to move on from some midfielders than the Spaniard could stay there. But even if Ivan Rakitic and Arturo Vidal find new clubs, would it really be better for the club to hurt the depth at right-back to take away minutes from a combination of Riqui Puig, Carles Aleñá, potentially Pedri, and any other young midfielder that could do a similar job?
Roberto is 28-years-old now – if he doesn’t have a permanent position yet he never will. But if the club did pick one for him this summer (and had a coach with a long-term future at the club in charge), it might help the club make some transfer decisions.
Dan Hilton is an American journalist, broadcaster, and current Editor-in-Chief of BarcaBlog. Extensive work as a play-by-play broadcaster, producer behind the scenes, and quite average player in his younger years has given him a well-rounded and informative perspective on the sport. Alongside BarcaBlog founder Francesc, Dan started The Barcelona Podcast in 2017.
