football Yaya Touré Too Good for Bench Role at Barcelona

Earlier this week, FC Barcelona midfielder Yaya Touré told the media that: “I am happy at Barcelona and there is no bigger club than this one.” While Touré’s statement may be true in regards to the stature of Barcelona, but he is certainly not pleased with the amount of playing time he has received of late.

The Côte d'Ivoire international was an integral part of Barcelona’s run to the “Triplete” last season (La Liga, Copa del Rey, and Champions League) particularly in the latter stages of the Champions League when he was employed as an emergency center back.

He flourished in an unfamiliar role, winning the battle against international teammate Didier Drogba in the semifinal before have little trouble with Wayne Rooney and his mates in the final.

This season, the former Monaco star suffered from a bout of swine flu, but even before coming down with H1N1 Touré was not even a regular. Since returning, the Ivorian found himself on the bench as an unused substitute in a tough away match against Deportivo La Caruna, but was given a run out against last placed Xerez.

A player of Touré’s pedigree should be rested for relatively easy matches, such as those against Xerez, and used against Champions League contenders, not vice-versa.

What makes Yaya’s sporadic playing time even more surprising (he has just nine starts in all competitions) is that the man often charged with taking his place, Sergio Busquets, has struggled.

Back in September, Touré was on the bench during a home game against Atletico Madrid and Busquets was handed a starting role by Pep Guardiola. Busquets sent a headed back pass towards Victor Valdes that came up woefully short. Sergio “Kun” Aguero picked up the gift and scored, at the time cutting Barcelona’s lead to 2-1.

Although the Blaugrana went on to win the game 5-2, the score was not a proper representation of the match.

This past weekend, in the Riazor against Deportivo, Busquets pulled off an equally pathetic back pass towards Valdes, allowing Adrián to nip and tie the game at one.

Busquets may well be the future of Barcelona, but the 21 year old has shown that he is not Barcelona’s present, especially in big matches. Although the Catalan did put in a good shift in the Champions League Final against Manchester United last season, he has often failed to stand up to the test against some of the top clubs around Europe.

In Spain’s Gran Clásico , Sergio was sent off for a deliberate handball, and Guardiola was forced to bring on Touré to help preserve the lead.

It looks as though Yaya will return to the Barcelona starting 11 against Dynamo Kiev, a match he described as a “cup final”, but if he is does not feature on a more regular basis, no one can blame Touré for wanting to leave the Camp Nou, perhaps to join his brother Kolo at Manchester City or his cross town rival, Manchester United.

Guardiola must also remember that Touré’s versatility is not the only thing he offers Barcelona. He is also one of the tallest players (6’3”) on an otherwise diminutive line up. His height has helped Yaya become instrumental at defending set pieces since his arrival in Catalonia.

Although hardly a prolific scorer, Touré at least offers a powerful shot from long range, particularly in his days in Greece with Olympiakos and in France with Monaco.

Hopefully, for the sake of Barcelona and Touré Guardiola will put the Côte d'Ivoire star in his line up because he would be a monumental loss for the European Champions.