The you haven't seen much of iniesta clearly.
Best Dribbler In The World
- Thread starter mancan92
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Surely, the second post is "Messi" and then the rest of the posts are just people agreeing with it?
Messi is the only one who I'd argue is a better dribbler than Robben, the likes of a Bale and Hazard are nowhere near. Robben's all round game might not be perfect but dribbling alone he's up there with the best.
Just like the difference between bartra and bale isn't that big? You're just so clearly wrong here
That example just supports my view. Bale isn't as fast as Bolt yet still left Bartra for dead. Bolt could only have done the same, just slightly more convincingly. As I have said, the difference over 10-20m of the fastest footballs like Ronaldo and Bale with Bolt is that minimal that it will have very little effect.
I posted this observation before, but maybe you have missed it. Silva has uber-amazing control with his left foot. Iniesta has uber-amazing control with both of his feet, plus has much more speed than Silva. Just have a look at the anthology of highlights of Iniesta dribbling all over youtube. Can anything remotely similar about Silva be produced?
Don't get me wrong, Silva is a world-class player without a shadow of a doubt, and in some areas of the game he is superior to Iniesta. But in terms of close-control dribbling it is blasphemous to compare the two.
Iniesta
Messi
Ronaldo / Bale
Overall - Bale.
Messi
Ronaldo / Bale
Overall - Bale.
Please just make a clarification here. Why is Bolt relevant in this discussion?
I agree with you. While Ronaldo may not compare with say Messi's and Iniesta's technique, his ability to run fast with the ball is sublime. Not many (if any) can do that.
Exactly, Iniesta has that explosive pace which Silva lacks and it is only that which separates them in my view. Silva's control with the ball at his feet is just as good as Iniesta's whenever I have seen them, Iniesta just combines his with explosive pace which makes him stand out more.
What? The point is bolt would leave thiago Silva or Ramos for dead instead of bartra
I'm not too sold on Iniesta's ability, I don't think he is significantly better than the likes of Silva. A case can be made for him being a tad bit better, but anything more is just hyperbole.
Lucas Moura for me. Has the right balance of pace and shimmying. Would love to see him at a 'proper' club, the greedy git.
For one, the Bale v Bartra run was almost entirely off the ball and involved a distance where Bolt's pace would have a noticeable difference. You said over any distance Bolt would "rinse" any footballer. While he would be quicker, obviously, in football most of the time the dribbling of Ronaldo and Bale involves bursts over 10-20m. It as that distance that I disagree with you because the difference in the time between Bale/Ronaldo and Bolt would be minimal and so minimal that it would bear little relevance in the outcome of the dribble attempt.
he's sensational, but I think a lot of it is because his style is so pleasing aesthetically and it all looks very fluent and natural.
I agree though, on form in recent times I don't really think he's much ahead of Silva at all. Iniesta has an awful habit of wasting a lot of chances by overplaying. All too often he looks for the extra dribble and it doesn't come off.
So you genuinely think that Silva's dribbling is comparable to Iniesta's?
I don't think it's close between messi and robben. Robben is one of the most devastating footballers when running at defenders. But messi has a more to him than that.
He firstly seems to have the ball glued to his feet like I've never seen anyone do. He barely kicks and runs, it's as though he's always taking little touches of the ball and hence can change direction so comfortably. It's a crazy gift. It's hard to find space between him and ball because it barely exists. And then, messi, unlike robben, also has far better speed of thought and football intelligence. Robben can't do what messi can in a split second. Also, technically messi is superior anyway.
Ah, fair enough. I'd say Messi and Iniesta in an au naturel debate.
Eventhough both silva and Iniesta are brilliant players, have rarely seen Iniesta loose his balls compared to Silva.
Never to forget both play in different league and the amount of support Iniesta gets from Xavi but the same thing can't be said with silva's team mates.Success Iniesta had seen also over the years aganist those major teams also put him one place above the silva.
Never to forget both play in different league and the amount of support Iniesta gets from Xavi but the same thing can't be said with silva's team mates.Success Iniesta had seen also over the years aganist those major teams also put him one place above the silva.
Yes, against the likes of Bucharest, Basel, Schalke and Gala. To place Hazard's name next to Messi's on the back of a few GS CL games of this season in terms of dribbling is not a sound analysis of the game of football to say the very least.
Silva is undeniably amazing at dribbling, and is obviously very graceful himself.
I'd say the main difference is Iniesta's athleticism. He has that spring to his step that Silva doesn't have. Silva is more flat-footed when he runs.
Silva glides past players with the ball, while Iniesta glides and skips. Iniesta just seems more balanced and at ease when he runs with the ball somehow (which is saying something, because Silva has great balance himself)
I'd say the main difference is Iniesta's athleticism. He has that spring to his step that Silva doesn't have. Silva is more flat-footed when he runs.
Silva glides past players with the ball, while Iniesta glides and skips. Iniesta just seems more balanced and at ease when he runs with the ball somehow (which is saying something, because Silva has great balance himself)
Fellaini? No? The way he took on those Bayern players and run across the pitch was mesmerizing.
this is well pointed out.
Another thing is that Messi's style of play doesn't require him to keep possession with dribbling like Iniesta's does, at times. If it did, we would see Messi do that better as well.
Messi's dribbling is by far the best in the game.
Bizarre some of the replies here.
Another aspect no one seems to have picked up, is that Iniesta can use both feet equally well when dribbling/controlling. Silva only has his left.
I completely disagree with that. To be one of the best dribblers in the world you simply have to be able to use both feet effectively. Iniesta may be better with his right foot than Silva is but to say Silva can only use his left is nonsense to be honest.
How often do you see Silva using his right foot for dribbling and controlling? Iniesta uses both feet in most of his moves, it makes no difference to him which foot he is going to utilize first or second. Iniesta can use his left foot, his right foot, or both in his moves (mostly both) That is the main reason why he is the world's best in tight spaces.
Sorry, I know you're a Barca fan, but that's just not true. He may not be like Robben or Messi, but he's also not as good at dribbling with his left.
Any dribbling sequence will pretty much use his right foot to dribble, and his left to slide the ball back to his right.
He's better with both feet than most, but you're overplaying his ability to dribble with both feet.
Most of his work is right foot.
Significantly easier to knock it past an opponent and sprint than it is to have the ball glued to your feet with 3 or 4 defenders around you... don't need to have played football to know that. Yes, is the answer to your question, though.
I don't think Ronaldo's a glorified poacher. I just think if you deny him open space to gallop into you stand a greater chance of nullifying him.
The sequence of his moves mostly involves the use of both feet. Who else can do this?
bale?
What is wrong with this thread?
What? Running fast isn't the same as being a good dribbler? No way you made that up.
I more or less agree with you here. Just wanted to say that if you actually watch Bolt winning his last two Olympic golds, you'll see that over 10-20m he's nothing special compared to the rest of the sprinters. Bolt's strength is his ability to continue accelerating and eventually break away from the pack in the second half of the race. So we're talking around 50m before he actually really distinguishes himself from the other best sprinters. Obviously Bale and Ronaldo aren't at the standard of those other sprinters, but over an initial 10-20m, like you've said I don't think the difference in speed would really be significant. They're fast enough to skin virtually any defender when the space is there. For what it's worth, I just had a little google and apparently Bale ran 100m in 11.6 seconds when he was just 14 years old, presumably he has only become faster. That kind of speed is more than enough, having even faster speed would of course be nice, but as far as I can see it's entirely unnecessary
Close control dribbling by its very definition pretty much dictates that the play uses both feet most of the time, how can a player dribble using only one foot? Most of the time you have to use both at some point. Silva will use both of his feet in most of his moves as any other competent dribbler will. It is a moot point that Iniesta can use both feet when dribbling and controlling.
Exactly, precisely the point I was making. Even over 100m the difference between Bolt and Ronaldo would be huge in an Olympic scale but in general terms it is not a massive difference. People seem to think if Bolt became a footballer he would just skin any defender but it doesn't work like that and as I said, how often in football when a player is dribbling does their pace over 50m or so come into play? Very rarely, all that matters is that they are faster than their opponent over a short burst and in the case of Bale, Robben and Ronaldo then the majority of the times that is the case.
Someone earlier posted a Gif of Messi shifting the ball from his left to right and moving off from his right.
Which is often what Iniesta does. Shifts it to the left before quickly moving it back to his right to carry on.
2:55 - where's his left foot there? And he loses the ball as a result. The rest of the video, it's minimal left foot (sometimes to his detriment)
I know it's just one video (the first I found), but the way you're hyping his left foot, you'd expect to see more of it.
I've never seen Iniesta dribble at speed from the halfway line to the 18 yard line with equal left foot (or even more than one or two touches with his left)
I've seen him do plenty with just his right though.
He's less reliant than Robben, Messi and Silva - but he's very much right foot.
To say he's equally as good with both feet just isn't true.
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It's not unnecessary because while Bale can rinse someone like Bartra or Vidic or Terry he can't do the same to Ramos, Varane or Thiago Silva. Where as Bolt could.
Man this video always make me break down laughing. What was he even thinking?
Also some real touchy people in here I'm talking about just this one season.
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Absolutely all the time in a counter attack.
Imagine Bolt in that scenario. It would be unreal. Especially if he was Hargreaves, he's going to leave everyone in the dust.
It's just entirely hypothetical, but I think he could do the same to those players in the kind of situation he scored in against Barca. If he couldn't, I don't know that Bolt could either.
Iniesta
Messi
Messi
If I can't put the same player twice, i'd put Ronaldo over Messi for the final category.
Edit: A lot of people mentioning Robben. I'd say he's definitely up there, but he'd be 2nd/3rd/4th best in any of the categories, not first. Great dribbler in any situation overall, though. Ball is always glued to his feet. Arda Turan also gets an honourable mention, as does Silva, Isco, Hazard & Neymar. I'm sure i'm missing a few others, too. Giggsy isn't bad
Messi
Messi
If I can't put the same player twice, i'd put Ronaldo over Messi for the final category.
Edit: A lot of people mentioning Robben. I'd say he's definitely up there, but he'd be 2nd/3rd/4th best in any of the categories, not first. Great dribbler in any situation overall, though. Ball is always glued to his feet. Arda Turan also gets an honourable mention, as does Silva, Isco, Hazard & Neymar. I'm sure i'm missing a few others, too. Giggsy isn't bad