Iniesta - Is there another? | Announces retirement

Magic :drool:

Never really have the best stats (which is always something which will count against him) but his importance at opening space and making "key passes" is probably second only to Messi, IMO.

Not sure if that makes sense for instance, he created the first goal - but Cesc will get the assist and Silva the goal.
 
R.Nilsson7 said:
A whooping 0 goals and 1 assist in the whole tournament. Zidane, eat your heart out!
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and thats why stats alone never tell the full story.

His passes into Alba vs France and Fabregas vs Italy were huge in getting the opening goals.

Ofcourse he created the winner for Navas vs Croatia too.
 
The only Barca player I can't seem to dislike. Seems like a top bloke off the pitch unlike many others of his squad...
 
Snow said:
No one mentioned yet that he won the best player?
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A good choice. He hasn't been quite at the level he's at when he's on form for Barcelona, but he's been consistently very good throughout the whole tournament. More consistent than Xavi, who was definitely not at his best this Euros (despite his excellent performance in the final).

Really, I think he's the best midfielder I've seen.
 
I'll put my tin hat on here, as much as I admire Scholes. Ive never seen him put up there with Zidane outside of the Utd fan base.

A top form Zidane is still the best midfielder ive seen, but only just.
 
MrMarcello said:
Better than Scholes and Zidane?
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Yep, although I understand opposing views.

He's been an integral part of perhaps the greatest national side and also club team of all time, his performances have been consistently excellent and he's the midfielder I have seen with the best combination of dribbling, touch, control, passing and movement.

He's just fecking quality. I am so envious of Barcelona for having him. If he scored more goals, there would surely be no debate as to whether or not he was better.
 
Better midfielder than Scholes, for me. Still got plenty of time to take his game up another level too.
 
LTS10 said:
I'll put my tin hat on here, as much as I admire Scholes. Ive never seen him put up there with Zidane outside of the Utd fan base.

A top form Zidane is still the best midfielder ive seen, but only just.
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Probably because he's English and never really had the chance to shine on the international stage like Zidane, Pirlo, Xavi and Iniesta, all four having played for world class national sides. Had England won Euro/WC with Scholes showcasing his talents, he'd been lauded quite highly outside the United circle. No doubt had Scholes moved to Real, Barca, Milan or Juve he would have gained far more universal appeal.
 
MrMarcello said:
Probably because he's English and never really had the chance to shine on the international stage like Zidane, Pirlo, Xavi and Iniesta, all four having played for world class national sides. Had England won Euro/WC with Scholes showcasing his talents, he'd been lauded quite highly outside the United circle. No doubt had Scholes moved to Real, Barca, Milan or Juve he would have gained far more universal appeal.
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You're probably right.

I don't doubt for a second Scholes could mix it with the best of them.
 
MrMarcello said:
Better than Scholes and Zidane?
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Definitely a level above Scholes for me. He's getting there with regards to Zidane. I wouldn't say better than, but by the end of his career he'll be on par at the very least and could arguably end up better than him.
 
kouroux said:
I don't think I've seen a player who can play so well on the biggest occasions.
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True. It probably won't be remembered as much because he didn't score, but for me his performance in the 2009 Champions League final should go down as one of the all-time great ones. He was incredible in that game. He could be crowded by 4 or 5 players and he would still find a way to emerge with the ball at his feet. More people will probably remember his World Cup final performance though because he scored the winner.
 
Please stop getting injured, more genius please...he is a lovely player to watch but ever so imperious when the stakes are raised...I worried that having a child and having won as much as he already has that complacency would creep in...but he aspires to immortality
 
R.Nilsson7 said:
A whooping 0 goals and 1 assist in the whole tournament. Zidane, eat your heart out!
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Silva had 2 goals and 3 assists in the tournament and all, but I thought the Euros only further displayed the gulf in class between the two.
 
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Berbatov should've been a midfielder of some sort. The control, the vision, the strength on the ball, the composure...he could've been fecking quality. We'd have had to have slapped some defensive/positional responsibility into him, but he could've played a sort of Zidane role if he was deeper.

Shame. Berbatov was great for us during that first half of 10/11, but you can't help thinking he had the talent to be absolutely brilliant. I often got the impression he was a bit nervy in the final third for us, and did his best work from deep. Not ideal for a front man really, but could've been a quality midfielder given his skill set.
 
KingEric7 said:
Berbatov should've been a midfielder of some sort. The control, the vision, the strength on the ball, the composure...he could've been fecking quality. We'd have had to have slapped some defensive/positional responsibility into him, but he could've played a sort of Zidane role if he was deeper.

Shame. Berbatov was great for us during that first half of 10/11, but you can't help thinking he had the talent to be absolutely brilliant.
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I agree whole heartedly with this. If Berba had any sort of fire in his belly, he could have been the next Zidane, but the physical side of the game just passes him by at times. It almost looks like he thinks running and tackling are beneath him. :lol:
 
KingEric7 said:
Berbatov should've been a midfielder of some sort. The control, the vision, the strength on the ball, the composure...he could've been fecking quality. We'd have had to have slapped some defensive/positional responsibility into him, but he could've played a sort of Zidane role if he was deeper.

Shame. Berbatov was great for us during that first half of 10/11, but you can't help thinking he had the talent to be absolutely brilliant. I often got the impression he was a bit nervy in the final third for us, and did his best work from deep. Not ideal for a front man really, but could've been a quality midfielder given his skill set.
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He could be fantastic as a "false 9" with the proper midfield support. I think his style of play would do well in Italy.

Back on the original topic, I shudder at the thought of Spain using Iniesta properly in the center of the park. Playing him from the left isn't quite as bad as putting Scholes on the left was for England due to Spain's abundance of riches in midfield.
 
LTS10 said:
You're probably right.

I don't doubt for a second Scholes could mix it with the best of them.
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Hmmm, he did mix it with the best of them!!??

Back on topic with Iniesta

I bought issue 1 of 'The Blizzard' from Waterstones the other day inside Sid Lowe interviews Juanma Lillo, who mentored Pep Guardiola and 'invented' 4-2-3-1. Apart from Lillo coming across as a painfully pretentious wanker and general flange he talks about the virtues of Iniesta and what he brings to a team philosophy. Lillo rates Iniesta as the best in the world because 'he receives, he passes, he interprets, he evaluates the necessities of the team, he is constantly adapting, he could be a goalkeeper because he is so aware'.

I have never really seen Iniesta as being as important as Xavi, mainly because Xavi backs up his performances with hard stats, but with all the plaudits that Iniesta received for his performances in the Euros and how important Lillo thinks he is to team philosophy, I am quite eager to watch a few Barca games to try and appreciate his less obvious contributions to the team ethic that Iniesta brings.
 
He's getting married today - to his daughter's mum, Anna Ortiz, who he's been dating for the last few years.

700 guests including the Barca players, Guardiola, Van Gaal, Casillas etc at the Castillo de Tamarit, which overlooks the Med.

Awwww, bless :)
 
I can see why people think so to be honest. Of course, the likes of Ronaldo and Messi are always going to be preferred because they score more goals and are forwards. I do think they're the best two, but Xavi and Iniesta are both pretty close for me to Ronaldo in 2nd.
 
Tbh i think Iniesta is very close to Ronaldo if not on the same level. I can't say i've ever seen Iniesta have a very poor game, he seems to always be at least consistently good. rising up to excellent. Whereas Ronaldo has his very poor games/his good games/and then his games where he plays like the best in the world.

But the age Iniesta is at now is the time where Xavi excelled, and Iniesta has been for the past few years so he has it in him to step it up a notch and be second best i think.
 
If Ronaldo's productivity drastically decreases then he'll no longer be considered as one of the best.Iniesta doesn't need to be nearly as productive to be considered as one of the best in the world.That's the main difference to me, at some point Ronaldo's goals will decrease for whatever reason (loss of form, serious injury ....), then it'll be interesting to see how he's rated then
 
Don't care about goals. Henry isn't rated higher than Zidane because Henry scored more goals. Neither does anyone rate Mario Gomez (who also scored 48 goals in 55 games for club and country last season, which isn't far off Ronaldo's goalscoring record) ahead of Iniesta. Ronaldo is the better finisher. Iniesta is the better footballer. Ronaldo doesn't create, dictate, pass, control and dribble as majestically as Iniesta. Personally I'll always prefer a midfield maestro over a goal poacher. Because the goal poacher will always look like a dick without the midfield maestro supporting him. The midfield maestros however will win a Eurocup with 0 strikers on the pitch. Because they can.

Paul Scholes or Ruud van Nistelrooy? You chose.
 
I think Iniesta is a better footballer than Ronaldo as well. Them highlights of his world cup above are ridiculously good as well.
 
I thought he had a relatively poor club season by his standards though where Ronaldo easily out performed him.

Needs a bit more end product for me but if he were to perform like he did at the euros through a whole season without injuries destroying it i'd say he could be up there.
 
Homeomorphic said:
Don't care about goals. Henry isn't rated higher than Zidane because Henry scored more goals. Neither does anyone rate Mario Gomez (who also scored 48 goals in 55 games for club and country last season, which isn't far off Ronaldo's goalscoring record) ahead of Iniesta. Ronaldo is the better finisher. Iniesta is the better footballer. Ronaldo doesn't create, dictate, pass, control and dribble as majestically as Iniesta. Personally I'll always prefer a midfield maestro over a goal poacher. Because the goal poacher will always look like a dick without the midfield maestro supporting him. The midfield maestros however will win a Eurocup with 0 strikers on the pitch. Because they can.

Paul Scholes or Ruud van Nistelrooy? You chose.
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Ronaldo is more than a poacher though. His game revolves around getting on the end of chances these days but I think you're being extreme there by comparing him to Gomez. When he isn't on his "shoot on sight" mode he can be a brilliant player to watch.

All things considered I would say Ronaldo is still better, but It's nowhere as clear cut as many would have you believe. Iniesta will be the second name on a team sheet for me though.
 
Every time I see this thread I think "go on, say you think he's the best in the world" then I think "Naaaa, it's biased" but I have to say it. I think he is the best in the world.

I think he is a mix of all of Xavi & Messi's traits, with Xavi having a better eye for a killer pass from deep and Messi being the better finisher of the two. In almost all other areas I think Iniesta is as good as both of them, if not better.

His ball control is like nothing I've ever seen, I don't know how he does it, I take genuine pleasure in watching him on the ball, something I've never really understood when said about other players. I'm thankful that he's still only 28, I can't wait to carry on watching him, especially for Spain.
 
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