Kerrybai
New member
For me he is the second best player I've witnessed , albeit I've only been watching football since 1999 and I never watched Ronaldo in his prime at Inter Milan.
hellsangel1
New member
Iniesta is a legend and will go down as one of the best to ever play the game but I've never seen anyone control and dictate the tempo and flow of the game better than Xavi. He is probably the main architect of the possession-based game of Barca and Spain, his decision-making is ridiculous. When Xavi plays everything flows smoothly and he makes life for everyone easy.
Zidane was also very special due to his ability to do special things in the most important of games and in the most toughest of situations. The only thing that might not be in his favour when it comes to his ranking among legends is that he didn't do it on a regular week-to-week basis the way you see Iniesta etc do but there is hardly any difference when it comes to talent.
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Noldorin
Guest
I think someone like Lampard stands out in his team because he's forced to contribute in goals almost. He's a major outlet for his team, whereas Iniesta really doesn't need to be. Barcelona have Messi, and before him other great strikers -- and wingers that usually assist with the large number of goals. Simply put, he doesn't need to be a prodigious goal scorer. He's actually got decent shooting ability (not outstanding perhaps), but he's never really needed to develop that side of his game too much.
Kerrybai
New member
I agree with u about Xavi and it's quite clear you have seen him play much more than I have. However I find that Iniesta is generally accepted as the better footballer by both the media and non - cules. I imagine it's largely due to the fact he can dribble so well which football fans tend to go crazy for.
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Noldorin
Guest
Messi rates Iniesta as the greatest all-round footballer amongst his team mates. Pep Guardiola, speaking near the end of his career in 1999 said, "People keep saying Xavi will retire me from professional football, but the truth is Andres Iniesta will surpass us both!"
So in my view, while Xavi is a superb player and integral to the team and the style it developed over the past 10 years, he does not quite match the multi-dimensional qualities that Iniesta shows all the time. But this is a bit of a silly battle anyway; they both fulfil different roles and are legends of the game in their own rights.
So in my view, while Xavi is a superb player and integral to the team and the style it developed over the past 10 years, he does not quite match the multi-dimensional qualities that Iniesta shows all the time. But this is a bit of a silly battle anyway; they both fulfil different roles and are legends of the game in their own rights.
footyfan
Calma, calma
Source? Besides this year, Messi has always voted Xavi ahead of Iniesta for Ballon D'Or.
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Noldorin
Guest
It's true, I'm extrapolating a little, but one should note that Xavi was playing just about the best football he's ever played last year (as was Iniesta), and Iniesta was ranked ahead by Messi. In addition, Messi almost had a duty to vote for Xavi in his previous two dominations due to his legendary status, his leadership in the time (vice-captainship), and integrality to the Barcalona style (which I may admit is greater than Iniesta's).
Henry_IB
Banned
Strongly disagree that Xavi played the best football in his career last year.
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Noldorin
Guest
He's a consistent player. I've watched him throughout his heydey, and he's been more or less at the same (top) level for the past 2-3 years. Nothing more to say.
Paganinisrvnge
New member
Awesome video. I love videos like that with the crowd noise. I wish there were more. I remember one I saw with just crowd noise a while back of Messi's 4 goals vs Arsenal. It was amazing.
TornAndFrayed
Banned
Xavi's last season was definitely his least memorable in terms of football quality since 2008 imo, despite scoring quite a lot of goals. Also, Iniesta is hitting his peak since 2011. When it comes to comparison with Zidane, they both were the most elegant in dribbling, but consistency is Iniesta's
Ender
New member
Wonderful video. I much prefer to listen to the rising and falling of the crowd's roar than the silly music most editors use nowadays.
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