Yeah but the point of this thread is to compare them as they are now! You can't take age into consideration.
Messi is almost guaranteed to be better in 2 years time but that has no bearing on the ratings.
Yeh i know, u dnt have to remind me tht all the time
Infact, I've given iniesta a higher rating for it. So, i havnt considered the age factor here.
I was just pointing tht out to him coz he made it seem like it was sme weakness in leo's game as iniesta
always makes right decisions with the ball and leo doesn’t.(when its obvious y it is)
Iniesta has proven on several occasions that he will show up and help his team to victory in the big games. Messi? Not so much.
Once you look beyond Messi's flash, there's no debate.
This season - A.Madrid(la liga+copa), Sevilla(A), Espanyol(A), RealMadrid, B.Munich, S.Donestk, Copa Final – All big games apart frm his match winners agst Osasuna, Racing, Getafe,etc.
In the past - Chelsea(SB), ManUtd(OT), Real Madrid, Sevilla,Copa America(2007) etc
U dnt win as many individual awards and intl recognition in such a short career if there isn’t much beyond the flash…
And I’d like to know abt these
several big games tht iniesta has helped his team to victory(apart frm Chelsea,Man utd)….?...
Not to forget Leo was playing with a lot of fatigue towards the end of the season – a 21 yr old who is known to be injury prone. So to bag 38 goals, 18 assists in his first injury-free season is commendable.
A great half season by iniesta and hez suddenly > thn a player whose dne it every season since hez arrived on the scene.
While Messi usually does great against Madrid, who tend to give him a shitload of space, he has struggled every single time against top English teams that take away space for his runs. This cannot be said for Iniesta.
So Messi usually does great against Madrid coz hez given shitload of space...wht abt iniesta thn, he isnt?...but still hasnt made a similar impact...Also, wht did iniesta do agst manutd last season? (as he seems do it agst Top English oppositions acc. to u)
When given space and time...even a blind man ll tell u...Messi > Iniesta. Smething which most top teams(English or non-English) realise, only stupid Madrid doesnt (to be fair they did try a tactic in the first leg last season which was to kill him but even tht didnt work out for thm
) Anyway, he ll obliterate the opposition wen given space which is y a lot of effort goes in to containing Leo when compared to Andres..and when they are top english teams doing it who are known for their organised & tactical defending and u get tightly marked, are put 3/4 worldclass defenders on u, its near impossible for any1 to make any kind of impact. Now dnt tell me, this tactic used to contain Leo is applied to Andres as well...Leo's very presence on the pitch frees up the likes of Iniesta, Xavi etc...which was also a reason y Iniesta did well agst chelsea...Leo got crowded & closed down everytime he got the ball. watch both the legs agn , hell! even wtch the goal agn u ll know wht im talking abt...take off Leo frm the team, put Iniesta in his place and i'd like to see how well he does when the same tactic is applied to him...Its all easy saying Iniesta is the better player wen u have a bias agst the other which is very obvious frm ur ratings as well
U give him 1 for tackling and 5 for strength but 7 to Iniesta for the same...
If hez so shite at tackling, i'd like to know ur ratings for c.ronaldo & p.scholes
for the same.
Its clear u dnt watch Leo on a regular basis. He can actually make good tackles when needed.(eg, Valencia (A) his tackle to block a cross), hez also a good crosser of the ball (eg, his cross to tevez vs venezuela(wcq), or the one to henry vs espanyol(h).These are only a few examples but those who do watch more of the player ll tell u, he ll make a good tackle or put in a good cross when hez required to 7/10 times...which isnt too bad.So hez as good as Andres if not better in the above aspects.
As for strength, howz he stronger thn Messi? Iniesta is more lightweight and gets shoved off the ball easily by strong defenders and also goes down too easily for my liking...he shields the ball well and gets past players using more of his intelligence and ball skills thn his physical strength. Leo, in fact, has actually gotten better in this regard. He has worked on his physical side which was obvious to see last season when he held his own agst stronger defenders using his strength more thn in the previous seasons....
(this last bit applies to maz as well)
I wish ppl were less biased & watch more of the players (not sme imp ones) before making comments like its a fact.