Andrés Iniesta

[Carefree]

Even though we all have different opinions on whose better, we can all agree that Messi and Iniesta will be known as two of the best players who ever lived.

Messi will, Iniesta certainly won't.

After they got whopped in the champions league final shrek said iniesta the best midfielder his ever faced.

Yet we all know Xavi's far better than Iniesta. Iniesta can't work a midfield like Xavi, and without him he looks very ordinary. Messi ends up being the one pulling the strings in his absence - that's how he is.

 

[Elite-BkD]

Yet we all know Xavi's far better than Iniesta. Iniesta can't work a midfield like Xavi, and without him he looks very ordinary. Messi ends up being the one pulling the strings in his absence - that's how he is.

Iniesta can't do what Xavi does but it goes both ways, you know damn well Xavi could never do what Iniesta does. And how could you possibly justify saying that Iniesta is a very ordinary player without Xavi on the pitch, are you mad? There isn't a midfielder on the planet (or any player other than Messi for that matter) who is far better than Iniesta.

 

[Pepe Silvia]

He's been showing top performance and class so far this season.

The 3-4 times floating in the box and passing on an open shot though? Inexcusable.

 

[Daemul]

Carefree, watch more Barca games :hmm:

 

[Elite-BkD]

He's been showing top performance and class so far this season.

The 3-4 times floating in the box and passing on an open shot though? Inexcusable.

Agreed, the man needs to shoot more!

 

[Carefree]

Iniesta can't do what Xavi does but it goes both ways, you know damn well Xavi could never do what Iniesta does. And how could you possibly justify saying that Iniesta is a very ordinary player without Xavi on the pitch, are you mad? There isn't a midfielder on the planet (or any player other than Messi for that matter) who is far better than Iniesta.

What, make a few hollywood dribbles? Give over mate. Xavi can boss an entire midfield on his own, and his brain is a step ahead of almost everyone else on the pitch. As far as midfielders go, Iniesta's good, but there are a fair few better.

For someone apparently rated so highly, his assist and goal records are absolutely shocking. In just over 8 seasons now, he's played 327 games, and amassed just 26 goals and 30 odd assists...

Now compare that to Xavi who gets 20 assists a season (40 alone in 2008/09) and chips in with a few goals himself (45 goals since Iniesta broke into the first team) and Messi whose now managing 30+ goals and 15+ assists a season, it's shocking.

Lampard's a better midfielder than him, never fails to produce 20 goals and 20 assists a season (142 goals and 91 assists since Iniesta's debut), yet because he lacks the outrageously good technique Iniesta does, apparently that makes him a superior midfielder/player.

Couldn't fukin make it up mate. Put Iniesta in any other team except Barcelona and he would look ordinary. As I say, great technique, but he doesn't have the vision, passing ability or creativity/goal scoring threat that makes a Xavi and Messi a level above everyone else in world football, and Iniesta is an attacking mid, players like Xavi and Lampard are central midfielders yet produce the goods far more than Iniesta does.

 

[silky_soccer]

Oh dear.

Iniesta lacks vision and creativity...

 

[yusuf]

What, make a few hollywood dribbles? Give over mate. Xavi can boss an entire midfield on his own, and his brain is a step ahead of almost everyone else on the pitch. As far as midfielders go, Iniesta's good, but there are a fair few better.

For someone apparently rated so highly, his assist and goal records are absolutely shocking. In just over 8 seasons now, he's played 327 games, and amassed just 26 goals and 30 odd assists...

Now compare that to Xavi who gets 20 assists a season (40 alone in 2008/09) and chips in with a few goals himself (45 goals since Iniesta broke into the first team) and Messi whose now managing 30+ goals and 15+ assists a season, it's shocking.

Lampard's a better midfielder than him, never fails to produce 20 goals and 20 assists a season (142 goals and 91 assists since Iniesta's debut), yet because he lacks the outrageously good technique Iniesta does, apparently that makes him a superior midfielder/player.

Couldn't fukin make it up mate. Put Iniesta in any other team except Barcelona and he would look ordinary. As I say, great technique, but he doesn't have the vision, passing ability or creativity/goal scoring threat that makes a Xavi and Messi a level above everyone else in world football, and Iniesta is an attacking mid, players like Xavi and Lampard are central midfielders yet produce the goods far more than Iniesta does.

welcome back justin

 

[Carefree]

Oh dear.

Iniesta lacks vision and creativity...

The number's do not lie fella. He's got a great knack for making some tremendous runs and beating a couple players, getting the crowd on their feet, but he'll then lay it off to Xavi or Messi to work the real magic unlocking the defence. Like I say, for someone with this world class/great player tag, his stats are quite abysmal, and anytime he doesn't play next to Xavi, Messi's the one doing the work between midfield and attack and Iniesta looks far from comfortable.

welcome back justin

Excuse me?

 

[CesDel]

The great zizou wasn't that much of a stat man either, he only had 95 goals in 506 matches and, unlike iniesta, zizou took penalty! Don't know how many assist he had though, but I bet it wasn't that much either.

My point is stat is not everything in football, and in some cases it can be misleading.

 

[Carefree]

The great zizou wasn't that much of a stat man either, he only had 95 goals in 506 matches and, unlike iniesta, zizou took penalty! Don't know how many assist he had though, but I bet it wasn't that much either.

Zidane was very special, and he was a maestro on the ball. His career didn't take off till he was in his mid-20's though, like Drogba's didn't till he was mid-20's at Marseille. Zidane still managed over 100 goals and he used to boss teams much like Xavi does, except creative wise he wasn't quite as good as Xavi.

Iniesta will be lucky to ever be mentioned alongside his name.

 

[Daemul]

What, make a few hollywood dribbles? Give over mate. Xavi can boss an entire midfield on his own, and his brain is a step ahead of almost everyone else on the pitch. As far as midfielders go, Iniesta's good, but there are a fair few better.

For someone apparently rated so highly, his assist and goal records are absolutely shocking. In just over 8 seasons now, he's played 327 games, and amassed just 26 goals and 30 odd assists...

Now compare that to Xavi who gets 20 assists a season (40 alone in 2008/09) and chips in with a few goals himself (45 goals since Iniesta broke into the first team) and Messi whose now managing 30+ goals and 15+ assists a season, it's shocking.

Lampard's a better midfielder than him, never fails to produce 20 goals and 20 assists a season (142 goals and 91 assists since Iniesta's debut), yet because he lacks the outrageously good technique Iniesta does, apparently that makes him a superior midfielder/player.

Couldn't fukin make it up mate. Put Iniesta in any other team except Barcelona and he would look ordinary. As I say, great technique, but he doesn't have the vision, passing ability or creativity/goal scoring threat that makes a Xavi and Messi a level above everyone else in world football, and Iniesta is an attacking mid, players like Xavi and Lampard are central midfielders yet produce the goods far more than Iniesta does.

:hmm:

 

[Carefree]

I'm not trying to be a wind up here, I just genuinely don't get why some people rate him so highly, and I only mention it because soemone had the audacity to say his technique was better than Lionel Messi's!!!!

 

[Daemul]

I'm not trying to be a wind up here, I just genuinely don't get why some people rate him so highly, and I only mention it because soemone had the audacity to say his technique was better than Lionel Messi's!!!!

 

[fcbarcatenerife]

Iniesta is often mentioned in the same breath as Zidane, and the frequency grows with each passing season. They both have that elegant, seemingly effortless control of the ball. Iniesta's main contribution to Barça is in link up play, not finishing, his ball control in tight spaces is unparalleled and this is why he is far more incisive than Xavi and Messi in matches in which teams park the bus. This was strikingly clear against Inter last year when Iniesta was injured. Both Xavi and Messi were basically nullified by the packed defense, but they would have had more room to operate if Andres was making his insane runs in and out of the area.

Oh and without a doubt Iniesta's technique is better than Messi's; if we are just talking about technique, his is the best on the team and probably the best in the world. Of course, Messi has amazing technique as well, but he is the best player in the world because on top of the technique he also has incredible speed, strength and agility coupled with an unmatched desire to put the ball in the fucking net. That said, nobody has the ball on a string like Don Andrés.

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