Iniesta in my honest opinion is the most overrated player in the world.
It was ridiculous that he was voted amongst the top 5 players in the world; what an insult to the likes of Cesc, Lampard, Gerard, Essien!!
Iniesta hasn't even scored a single goal this season which is beyond pathetic for an attacking midfielder.
Iniesta does fancy flicks and dribbles, but provides very little end product and substance. Most of the time he passes sideways and backwards, dives and loses the ball.
Iniesta might be good to watch but he provides very little real substance and is very very ineffective, I challenge someone to prove me wrong.
When I explain clearly when I feel Iniesta is overrated its not my fault the Iniesta supporters feel wound up and can only respond with petty insults instead of counter-arguments.
text.. when he isn't on the pitch.
..Even when he plays at LW
when i explain clearly when i feel iniesta is overrated its not my fault the iniesta supporters feel wound up and can only respond with petty insults instead of counter-arguments.
The fact remains that iniesta is a decent all-rounder but he does not excel at anything and is heavily reliant on the rest of his team to function. He cannot do anything himself because he is simply not good enough defensively or offensively.
Has iniesta ever shown he can run a game as the primary creative force of the team (as opposed to a complementary player)??
He is a good complementary player but not one of the best in his position.
Being good in possession and a good passer in barcelona's system does not automatically make him very creative as you seem to think. You could put numerous players in that system and they would look great. Players like fabregas or arteta in terms of their passing, creativity and how they would perform just as well if not better in barcelona's midfield.
He might be among the top 20 midfielders, but I wouldn't have him in my top 10 midfielders. For people to be talking about Iniesta to be amongst the top 5 players in the world is plain ridiculous in my opinion.Are you sure your counter-arguments to us are really valid arguments? From what I've seen, they've all been petty insults. It's no surprise as to why we say petty things against you. The Madridistas/Chesea-istas/Nuts (your alt) etc. bring good arguments against our opinions here. I wish you were one of them.
From what I've seen, Iniesta is and has been able to do everything you've said. You can keep your opinion, but trying to establish it as fact that he's no where near the top 20 is pushing the limits of the footballing world.
I'm not suggesting those players are better than Iniesta, but you have to take into account that Iniesta has been playing in the Barcelona system for many years where as those players are new to the system. I talk about Cesc or Arteta because those two can easily match the "amazing ball control" and "vision" and they offer more offensively than Iniesta.We've put many players in Iniesta's position. Gudjohnsen definitely couldn't do it. Neither could Deco after '06 and '07. Heck, even Hleb, who was class at Arsenal, who has amazing ball control, couldn't match Iniesta's vision and dribbling skills. I thought he had the ability, and he never showed it. Keita's another example. He can't open up defenses in the midfield nearly as effective as Iniesta can. How many more players do I need to list in order for this to get it to your head? You can talk about Cesc and Arteta replacing Iniesta in Barça, but has that ever happened? Nope, didn't think so. This can never be proven.
So you've basing your argument about Iniesta being better than Cesc on one single game. Also being a better fit in a system doesn't make one a better player.In the Confed Cup, all the commentators were asking for Iniesta to play for Spain (which includes the US commentators that don't know the game outside England). They even stated that the lack of Iniesta (and Silva) was one of the reasons why they lost the US. Guess who started that game, too. You're beloved Cesc! I take it you thought he'd be the star of the show? If so, you were wrong.
The Barcelona system which suits Iniesta makes him appear to be better than he is by virtue of having time/space on the ball, great attacking movement around him and always having an outlet to retain possession. The problem is anything who is good on the ball and with one and two touch passing could do the same.Our formation doesn't have a man in the center to be the "center of attention" anyway. So I still don't see the point of this argument for any of our players. Might as well call every player in our system complementary players as well.
As I said before many people fail the realise that the Barcelona system makes Iniesta better than he is because he benefits enormously from the movement and passing game of the rest of the side, and does not excel at anything and is heavily reliant on the rest of his team to function.justin...u are a fool
why do u think Madridistas wanted Iniesta.
why do u think Man u players like Rooney said he is the best in the world
why do u think Alex Ferguson pointed at him and xavi as the real danger of barca and not messi
why do u think Pep Guardiola said to Xavi (when seeing iniesta at young age) he would out"live" them both
You talk about Iniesta penetrating tight defenses, but it is Xavi who provides most of the killer passes. People on this board have been making all sorts of excuses for Iniesta lacks of assists, but the bottom line is providing the killer pass against tight defenses is one of the hardest thing to do in bottom, so your argument about Iniesta having a "unique gift of penetrating tight defenses" is wrong.At Barca they teach everyone to protect the ball at all cost/times and even when heavily marked (body positioning and technical skill combined with vision).
Iniesta is not only a master at that but he has the unique gift of penetrating tight defenses combined with/while protecting the ball. He splits defenses or he gets a fault when attacked upon (because of ball protection skills). He never loses the ball, not only when under pressure but even while seeking up danger/pressure (attacking)