One person whose opinion i would love to hear is beast since i know he has great respect for maradona and zidane.
great post Maz and since you ask for it.. here is what i think
IMO Iniesta will go down in history as one of the best hidden talents of his generation
the same way people forget Garrincha and remember Pele, the same way Ramon Diaz (bet many people didn't hear about him ) was crucified for god (Maradona to common people ) , Zola didn't get the light of day for Baggio till Zola moved later in his career to Cheslea ..etc
Iniesta grow on me.. i didn't notice him at first.. i was surprised when i read Pep said he will be better then Both himself & Xavi cause at first he didn't strike me anyone worth watching .. a good midfielder nothing more..
once again when i read some of Madrid candidates were thinking of paying his 50 Mil release clause in the last elections i was like "Wtf , he is not worth that much "
Iniesta problem he will never get the recognition beyond his own fans .. will always be second best in Barca, will always be over looked
At the same time it's one of his strongest points.. he is like an Assassin .. he comes out of nowhere, dribble with ease you feel like " nah he won't pull it, he won't shoot,he won't score " .. u keep that feeling going on even when its 2/3-0 for Barca
Personally what i noticed the most about Iniesta is his level of consistency .. u can have an off day from Messi to Rafa but not Iniesta.. coming back from Injury / coming from Int. duty.. u'll always get the same performance and the same level from that magical midget ..
Being a great player in the history of football ? i doubt it.. not because he is not worthy or his football is not WC but because Iniesta goes unnoticed he miss this Aura/presence of previous great players .
It's a personal thing about him , while Messi will dribble past 5-6 players to pass the ball to E2 , Iniesta will do the same job with less flashy moves/less time and the simplest of passes he fools everyone
for example Iniesta was impressive in the Euro.. everyone talked about Senna-Xavi -Torres-Villa-Iker.. it's the same for Barca.. the same for Pep who for Cule's is god.. for neutrals & outsiders just a good midfielder
I believe Iniesta will end up bigger then Pep but he won't reach the second batch of players.. not while Messi is here or Iniesta is still in Barca.. his game dictate his fame .. a simple lad who work for the group more then himself .. those players won't reach much in terms of Int. recognition
I'd take Iniesta to Madrid in a heart beat i admire him a lot especially the level of consistency he offer with his talents but i'm afraid he will never be a Zidane or Ronaldo ..sadly .
football legends needs talent & amazing goals.. that's what make people take notice of them.. all those legends u talk about had impressive goals /scored in big occasions/carried their team on their own
.. Iniesta would rather pass the ball in the same situation and give others the spot light ..so as much as they will be time when he will be worthy of Ballon D'or he will be overlooked... as i write this Iniesta do what i'm trying to explain .. one on one.. anyone would score.. Iniesta prefer to give to Messi to score Barca first goal.. classic Iniesta (Iniesta was offside for the record
)
for the record Zidane would have ended the same way .. until WC 98 when his goals mattered Zidane started to push for goals a little more still preferring to pass but can score some out of this world goals when needed
