Andrés Iniesta

[89Norcal]

watch it now as youtube will probably remove the video soon.

I love that pass to Thiago at 1:26. perfect placement and pace for him to control it in a tight area.

 

[Bilal Khan]

I hate when people bring up xavi vs iniesta.. its just a no-no.. you just cant compare the two..
both are great in their own rights.. yes Iniesta was magnificent today but that doesnt mean he is better than xavi
both of them are fucking legends!

 

[Tazim]

 

[karthik]

Puto Gusiluz !

 

[DonAndres]

Him on the left wing makes it very difficult for our wingers to get starting positions but if we rotate the squad well, I don't think it will be a serious problem. Here are some of my ideas on what will happen in the future:

-Villa leaves. Sad to say, but it's likely true and I wish him luck wherever he goes.
-Iniesta sticks with left wing predominantly for the next 2 years until he loses his acceleration.
-Cuenca rotates with Pedro for a starting position (if he impresses at Ajax)
-Alexis sees less and less playing time until he leaves (with 3 young talented and rapidly improving wingers in the squad, I don't see room for him)
-Deulofeu gets a decent amount of playing time from subs and smaller games for a few years on the left/right until/if he makes the left wing his home.
-Tello rotates as well but is mainly used as a power sub. He impresses most when coming on late and taking advantage of tired defenders with his speed. He adds an extra dimension to our attack and could be very deadly for us (though I doubt he will be a fixated starter)
-Pedro will continue to be a fairly important winger for us but won't see as much playing time as he does now. He'll have to deal with more rotation.

What do you guys think?

 

[Noldorin]

Him on the left wing makes it very difficult for our wingers to get starting positions but if we rotate the squad well, I don't think it will be a serious problem. Here are some of my ideas on what will happen in the future:

-Villa leaves. Sad to say, but it's likely true and I wish him luck wherever he goes.
-Iniesta sticks with left wing predominantly for the next 2 years until he loses his acceleration.
-Cuenca rotates with Pedro for a starting position (if he impresses at Ajax)
-Alexis sees less and less playing time until he leaves (with 3 young talented and rapidly improving wingers in the squad, I don't see room for him)
-Deulofeu gets a decent amount of playing time from subs and smaller games for a few years on the left/right until/if he makes the left wing his home.
-Tello rotates as well but is mainly used as a power sub. He impresses most when coming on late and taking advantage of tired defenders with his speed. He adds an extra dimension to our attack and could be very deadly for us (though I doubt he will be a fixated starter)
-Pedro will continue to be a fairly important winger for us but won't see as much playing time as he does now. He'll have to deal with more rotation.

What do you guys think?

* Yep, Villa will leave in summer sadly, but it's not too devastating.
* Iniesta will move back to midfield soon, he is just too good there. Fabregas will have to rotate with the wingers.
* Cuenca could indeed rotate with Pedro if he impresses; I still see Pedro holding a predominantly starting position.
* Alexis could prove himself very soon in which case he may see a regular starting position in time, otherwise the management will ditch him this summer or next January at latest.
* Deulofeu will be an infrequent sub next year, and probably promoted to the first team for 2014-2015 season when he'll be subbed in a lot.
* Tello will continue to be used as a power sub (albeit a little more often). UNLESS Alexis regresses into his awful form again, in which case he'll be fairly regular next season on the LW.
* Pedro will see almost as much time on the RW as now in the future, at least until Deulofeu takes a guaranteed starting position (if he indeed does).

 

[messi_xavi_iniesta]

Camp Nou is a great stadium but it lacks a proper atmosphere like in many spanish stadiums. Fans are lazy in supporting the team.
I envy Dortmund fans, they are so passionate in the stadium.

 

[Cule4life]

Camp Nou is a great stadium but it lacks a proper atmosphere like in many spanish stadiums. Fans are lazy in supporting the team.
I envy Dortmund fans, they are so passionate in the stadium.

 

[Doobs]

^ He's actually correct. The Camp Nou is not very atmospheric. Some much aristocracy and all that.

 

[SeloBarca]

He proved my point once again, Iniesta is wasted on the wing but have been forced out there becouse for some reason we have to make room for Fabregas in the central midfield.
His play with Messi also becomes so much better in that position and Villa was great on helping out open up space on the wing, much better then Iniesta can over there.
Fabregas is a good player but we should never break up Xaviesta in the central midfield just to make room for one player.

 

[Deco 20]

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.

Although Iniesta is probably my favourite footballer I still hold Xavi higher due to his consistency and importance throughout the last decade (and especially the last 5 or 6 years), but they're different players anyway. Xavi is the pulse of the team whereas Iniesta is the player needed for the team to reach it's highest level, he holds got the key to our top gear.

But both players are at their best together, when they're able to turn teams to shreads by their own, just like they did vs Man Utd. Fusing into Xaviesta, the player to rule them all.

 

[DonAndres]

Xavi is definitely the more vital player I'd say (or at least he plays a more vital role) because he sets the tempo for our tiki taka and makes sure we keep possession (which is vital for both our attack and our defense). Iniesta is more of the fluid connection between the midfield and attack and carries the ball around while drawing defenders in to set up attacks. The only thing is, I think Iniesta is a rarer type of player. I honestly don't see anyone who can replace him and do even 25% as well as he does. Whereas for Xavi, Thiago can evolve into our teams orchestrator and so can Samper in the future possibly and both could do a pretty great job of it.

 

[footyfan]

Although Iniesta is probably my favourite footballer I still hold Xavi higher due to his consistency and importance throughout the last decade (and especially the last 5 or 6 years), but they're different players anyway. Xavi is the pulse of the team whereas Iniesta is the player needed for the team to reach it's highest level, he holds got the key to our top gear.

But both players are at their best together, when they're able to turn teams to shreads by their own, just like they did vs Man Utd. Fusing into Xaviesta, the player to rule them all.

I think the same. However, Iniesta, being 4 years younger, can easily take Xavi's claim to "Best Spanish footballer ever" when he retires. And it's much easier for him to garner admiration and respect due to his style of play and elegance.

 

[Kerrybai]

I think the same. However, Iniesta, being 4 years younger, can easily take Xavi's claim to "Best Spanish footballer ever" when he retires. And it's much easier for him to garner admiration and respect due to his style of play and elegance.

Exactly, I couldn't have said it better myself. Amongst casual football fans a player like Iniesta will receive much more applause that Xavi. Anyways back on topic i hope he starts in midfield against Milan. I'd be worried that he will be lost on the wing against a team of milans quality.

 

[Kerrybai]

Camp Nou is a great stadium but it lacks a proper atmosphere like in many spanish stadiums. Fans are lazy in supporting the team.
I envy Dortmund fans, they are so passionate in the stadium.

Spanish fan culture is much different, on top of that German ultras tend to behave while many Barca ultras turned into racists. Barca have had to remove their ultras which has been unfortunate.