Was surprised to see him get so much praise for last night's game reading through this thread - I only watched the 1st half and thought he was pretty quiet. Guessed he must have stepped it up in the 2nd half so have been waiting for the video of his performance, safe to say he did! Amazing player
Iniesta - Is there another? | Announces retirement
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Only been in the Top 3 for WPOTY once in his entire career (2nd in 2010), a bit of joke if you ask me. More important to Barca for me than Xavi and has always shown a pedigree for the big occasion.
Nah Xavi's more important to Barcelona than Iniesta, Barcelona's whole play is conducted from Xavi. FWIW I think he's the fourth best footballer in the world.
In relation to the opening posts question - Is there another like Iniesta?
I know most on here wont agree even tho he is our player, but i honestly think our Tom Cleverley has a very similar game to Iniesta, certainly passing and movement wise. With a bit of luck on his injuries, by the time he gets to 27 like the current Iniesta, who knows
I know most on here wont agree even tho he is our player, but i honestly think our Tom Cleverley has a very similar game to Iniesta, certainly passing and movement wise. With a bit of luck on his injuries, by the time he gets to 27 like the current Iniesta, who knows
In relation to the opening posts question - Is there another like Iniesta?
I know most on here wont agree even tho he is our player, but i honestly think our Tom Cleverley has a very similar game to Iniesta, certainly passing and movement wise. With a bit of luck on his injuries, by the time he gets to 27 like the current Iniesta, who knows
Incredible!
Incredible!
it does sound fairly incredible granted and im not even saying cleverly will ever surpass or equals Inesta's ability. All im saying i see them playing a very similar game to each other, and that there is a chance he could reach those lofty heights. Cleverley is a marvelous player, and in 3 or 4 years time you will see that too. Like Scholes at the beginning of his illustrious career, united fans just didn't quite 'get it' when Fergie put so much trust in his promise, and there are certainly parallels with our Cleverley.If you're going to compare an English midfielder then it should be Wilshere.
If Cleverley even has 50% of Iniesta's dribbling and space-making skills when he's 27 it'll be a miracle, a genuine miracle.
I agree Wilshere is a better comparison, or even Adam Johnson, but only because they have great ball control, miles behind Iniesta in other areas though.
I agree Wilshere is a better comparison, or even Adam Johnson, but only because they have great ball control, miles behind Iniesta in other areas though.
Incredible!
I love Iniesta. I knew he was going to be a star the first time I saw him in 2004.
Thing is, he was not the player you see now. He was inconsistent, and could disappear, which is maybe why they used to shunt him off to the wing. He was also used as an impact sub at times.
As far as scottish_red's comments are concerned, I can see where he's coming from. They are very similar players, in that they like to run with the ball in central areas and create space that way. There was also this one move Clevereley pulled against WBA early in the season, when, surrounded by two or three players, he managed to wriggle free by chipping the ball into space. The first thing I thought about when I saw that was Iniesta.
He may never be as good as the Spaniard, but he has a very similar game imo.
It doesn't surprise me. I've said this numerous times but Tom has gone on record saying he studies Xavi and Iniesta and tries to model his game like theirs. Makes sense why we liken him to Iniesta. Whether he reaches that level is another question.
Maybe it's just me, but I feel like he hasn't had enough time on the pitch to even judge what kind of midfielder he is, let alone to say he has a similar style to Iniesta.
That's fair VIM. We'll see in due time.
Wonder if Barca would have been where they are today if it weren't for his last minute goal against Chelsea. You could argue that goal is the most important goal of pep's era. It gave them belief and they haven't looked back since.
They're where they are because of their overwhelming level of talent, not because they have 'belief' based on a goal nearly 3 years ago.
Fernando Torres has an overwhelming amount of talent too. How's he doing?
You need both.
How do you know that's down to belief? I'd say it's down to age, being quite overrated in the first place, a series of injuries and struggling to adapt to a new system. Shouldn't forget that before he signed for Liverpool he wasn't considered to be very prolific at all, thought of as a guy who need several chances to score, perhaps he just had more luck than usual in his first few seasons.
In any case, wouldn't winning the League or destroying Real Madrid 2-6 at the Bernabeu be more likely to give them belief than winning a game that they were only still even involved in because of incompetent refereeing.
How many players play similar to Iniesta ( Of course inferior to him )... I'd say Silva as both have super control on the ball and will barely lose the ball.
Mata is a bit behind...
Would people dare compare Zidane with Iniesta ?
Mata is a bit behind...
Would people dare compare Zidane with Iniesta ?
No, Zidane was different class. But iniesta is better than the rest (silva, Mata etc).
For the record, I've always been a fan of his talents. Only he could have tore us apart the way he did in the 09 final, out of this generation's players.
For the record, I've always been a fan of his talents. Only he could have tore us apart the way he did in the 09 final, out of this generation's players.
I'd compare him in the sense that he could be as good.
Needs to improve further though.
I agree 100%.Iniesta at his best is just unstoppable but Zidane was something else.It was not football, it was art
No. Zidane is a totally different animal to Iniesta.
Just found this on twitter. Kinell.
7 loses is huge IMO.He's a special player
Spain over the past 5 years or so must have a comparable record.
Iniesta should always, always, always play in the centre. Unless an angel from heaven with a flaming sword tells you otherwise Iniesta should play in the centre. The guy is unreal. Whenever he was pushed slightly wider I felt (I say feel cos I got no stats to back this up) that they lost something in their attack. When he can pop up between the lines and have options aside, ahead and around him he's so frightening cos he can literally pull off any kind of pass.
It's a common point of contention among fellow culés, where is he best played and how much we all hate it when he's played as a left winger...In Xavi's prime, that trident of Silva, Andres & him were sublime...It was so fast, as well
Graceful as all hell, strange how gifted he is...Does remind me of Laudrup
Graceful as all hell, strange how gifted he is...Does remind me of Laudrup
The funny bit is that the huge difference of Iniesta playing on the LW and in CAM could be observed in a single match this season. It was against Sporting Gijon in Camp Nou. Messi was suspended, Iniesta was playing on the wing (relatively quiet), Sporting parked the bus and Pique received a red card in the 47th minute. Only 3 minutes after Pique's sending off Sporting equalised (1-1). Guardiola took Fabregas out and put Iniesta back into central midfield. The rest was history. Probably one of the best individual performance of the season in any European top league.
Spain's problem is similar to England's with Gerrard and Lampard. Too many big names who "must play". If you want to play Iniesta in central midfield, del Bosque would have to get rid of Xabi Alonso and the double pivot (which wouldn't be the worst thing he could do tbh because Alonso plays a completely different sport compared to Xavi, Iniesta, Fabregas, Silva, Cazorla and Busquets) and there start the problems.
Iniesta and Silva overloading the left flank was absolutely orgasmic to watch yesterday. 2 MOTM performances by Iniesta in his last 2 games. Getting in form at the right time. My money wasn't on La Roja this time but seeing Iniesta gliding on the pitch yesterday made me rethink it. In that kind of form he's the best player in the Euros bar none.
If theres one big criticism you could level at Guardiola this season it would be his use of Iniesta.
He was on the wing on countless occassions as he tried to shoe horn guys like Fabregas in.
Had he stayed in the centre I'm betting they could have converted more of those draws into wins.
He was on the wing on countless occassions as he tried to shoe horn guys like Fabregas in.
Had he stayed in the centre I'm betting they could have converted more of those draws into wins.
Is there a video of that?
I hate to keep beating this drum at the risk of hyping him up, but I get a distinctly Iniesta/David Silva vibe when I watch Kagawa. His vision, shiftiness, passing, and eye for goal, all remind me of primarily Iniesta.
Brilliant player. He belongs in the central midfield though, and even with a vast array of options there it's where he should be playing for Barcelona next season.
I still think that as he gets older and perhaps starts to lose his pace and energy that he has, he may develop into a ready made replacement for Xavi as their deep lying playmaker of sorts.
I still think that as he gets older and perhaps starts to lose his pace and energy that he has, he may develop into a ready made replacement for Xavi as their deep lying playmaker of sorts.
Best midfielder in world football.
He's no iniesta, though his YouTube videos do paint him that way. Iniesta barely loses the ball, Kagawa can be sloppy at times like any other player.
Iniesta is just on another level to most other players really.
Searched and found this:
I think it's around the 4 minute mark when he gets back into his CM position. Don't know if that clip does his performance any justice though. You have to watch the complete game to see the drastic change and how he takes the whole game under control once he's back in central midfield, even down to 10 men and without Messi around, so getting even more heavily marked than usual.
From the La Liga thread back then:
That's a long debate about the things Pep could've/should've done along with all the injuries but I still think Pep made a mistake insisting on Cesc over someone like Silva...They have a real understanding with one another and compliment almost perfectly...Not sure I can think of a more deadly 1-2 combo currently
The only midfielder of his kind in world football, at the highest level at least. I see the similarities with silva to a certain extent, but he's actually a proper central midfielder and even very competent as a defensive midfielder. He is perhaps the only player in world football that can be world class(or close to it) in any of the front 6 positions on the pitch.
You get the feeling he can be too passive at times though, as in being content with xavi and messi running the show. In the very rare occasions where messi is subdued he is usually the go to guy and more often than not he delivers. You see this more with spain where they don't have a messi.
You get the feeling he can be too passive at times though, as in being content with xavi and messi running the show. In the very rare occasions where messi is subdued he is usually the go to guy and more often than not he delivers. You see this more with spain where they don't have a messi.
Aye, when I saw Kagawa play against Le Arse he was sublime on minute and awful the next.