Andrés Iniesta

[linetty]

Kept misplacing his passes and was colourless. Is the injury serious?

 

[hardyboy]

Rakitic should play as AM in his absense and Xavi as CM.

 

[FC B]

No news of the extent of his injury yet?

 

[StarLord]

http://www.football-espana.net/49764/no-serious-injury-iniesta


Good news is good.

 

[Vlom]

http://www.football-espana.net/49764/no-serious-injury-iniesta

Good news is good.

Good, though I was happy he was subbed yesterday..

 

[Mido]

I wanted Xavi to actually start against Paris and then let Iniesta start against Valencia. But this would be a ridiculous amount of risk to take as long as he still feel discomforts at his back.

 

[zanela]

Not only has he disappointed in regards his performances, he even managed to bore me in that face-face video, which is meant to be a fun segment. And I didn't think that was even possible.

 

[StarLord]

Good, though I was happy he was subbed yesterday..

I am his biggest ever fan, but yes, he has been poor all season long, but we still badly need him. Rakitic, no matter how hard he ever tries, will never be an adequate replacement for Xavi or Iniesta. Xavi, as great as he has been lately, is simply too old for this shit, and can only deliver if he is played as sparingly as possible. Rafinha has had a few good games this season, but is still a raw specimen that can only serve as a squad player for the time being at the very least.

I am of the opinion that Xavi and Iniesta should roughly split the playing time between them for the remaining games of the season. Maybe with Iniesta playing 60% of the time, and Xavi playing for 40% of the time. It's time for the two ageing legends to complement each other again, but in a different form this time round.

 

[linetty]

Official: New tests have shown that Iniesta has no injury, he has a knock in his lower back and worked individually today

 

[Ini8]

Good news. Despite his form this season, he is still important for us given the lack of alternatives.

 

[Devils]

Great news!

 

[PhilS]

Iniesta still fits in just fine in this squad, he clearly belongs in the first 11. He does not have to be splendid all the time. I thought he was particularly good on defense yesterday, that is a significant edge he has these days on Xavi. Hope he rests vs. Valencia, then does it again for PSG at Camp Nou.

 

[Kohe321]

What do you guys think about what TotalBarca has to say about Iniestas performance in this article? Player in focus: Andrés Iniesta

It kind of sheds some light on how Iniesta can be such an important part of our most successful big game linesups while seemingly having very quiet and unimpressive performances on paper. His movement off the ball has been key, as well as his linkup and understanding with the other players.

Now, I'm obviously not saying that this means he hasn't declined. I feel like his game yesterday was very poor, he was messing up far too many easy passes, and also made some poor passing decisions into players who were under pressure. I also feel that the writer of this article belittles Xavis importance and how well he has been doing in Luchos system by saying "Xavi only knows one way to play, and that way is possession". Xavi is more versatile than that, which is precisely what he has shown this season. Being the undisputed champion of orchestrating tempo doesn't mean all you can do is possession, far from it.

What do you guys think?

 

[Barcaman]

I think you can make any player look good, depending where from you're looking.
Iniesta is having his worst season and it's not due to tactics (only). Check out Xavi's stats with much less minutes and with 5 years more on his back.

 

[Vlom]

It's just unbelievable that he is 30.. some friends I was watching the game with yesterday were convinced he was 36 or 37, I had to google it for them to make sure because I wasn't myself, he looks 40 lol always looks so fatigued and exhausted ..