It really is. In my opinion he was almost as good as Xavi (both better than Iniesta and Scholes) with Zidane being the best midfielder I have ever seen.
Iniesta vs Zidane
- Thread starter TheNewEra
- Start date
Hm. Can't agree with that, actually. What I do agree with is the “great player” label. They both have that – and most players don't. But I'd have them both down as – truly – great players. And both below that truly exceptional echelon of players that go beyond simply being “great” for one reason or another. Zidane is arguably in that “beyond” category – Pirlo and Iniesta are not. For me, that is.
Zidane: One of the greatest of all time
Ienesta: One of the greatest of his time
Ienesta: One of the greatest of his time
Iniesta
Iniesta, and a poll wouldnt be too bad I suppose?
How about Xavi though? I rate him slightly more than Iniesta.
Zidane could step it up to a level where he was just playing beyond anyone around him. He might not have done it in every game but despite Iniesta being a brilliant player he could never do that.
Iniesta for me.
Zidane was average in too many games.
Zidane was average in too many games.
Iniesta usually has Messi around him, probably the best human to have ever kicked a ball. Its hard to be the best when thats around you.
Xavi is comfortably the best of the three. Best midfielder of his generation by a distance.
Zidane. He was the best player of his day and Iniesta has never even been mentioned as being that good. Iniesta was just below that "best ever" level.
For those saying he never competed against other top players, he played at the same time as Figo and Ronaldo. I mean the game was hardly amateur back then and Iniesta was mentioned as being third best behind Messi and Ronaldo about as much as Xavi was. If Zidane wasn't better than Iniesta, Messi and Ronaldo must be the best 2 players of all time by a good distance.
For those saying he never competed against other top players, he played at the same time as Figo and Ronaldo. I mean the game was hardly amateur back then and Iniesta was mentioned as being third best behind Messi and Ronaldo about as much as Xavi was. If Zidane wasn't better than Iniesta, Messi and Ronaldo must be the best 2 players of all time by a good distance.
Apart from C.Ronaldo's stats, why do people seemingly automatically bring him up as an all time great, like he's the absolute best player on the pitch and has produced and won things for his club/country/dragged them through things?
For me Zidane had that ability and so does Messi and Ronaldinho.
Iniesta does not.
For me Zidane had that ability and so does Messi and Ronaldinho.
Iniesta does not.
No offense, but no way was Zidane a better player than Brazilian Ronaldo in his good years. That guy was miles better than Zidane, a freak of nature, extremely diverse with a broad skillset that ranged from silky smooth to absolutely brutal. Watching him play sometimes felt like a grown up toying with a bunch of 8 year olds. A little reminder:
Usually when you see 20 year old footage, everything seems slow by today's standards. This still looks totally off the charts.
Have you seen Manchester United play, in what world has football become faster and more intense?
Not sure if "faster" is the right term but Overall Teams are more pressing and Players have less time to make up their mind before playing a pass.
Iniesta can be so fast in his decision making and Play defense Splitting passes in the blink of an eye.
Football seems to have become much more athletic over years and it also seems like organization and pressing as well as defensive commitment across the field have constantly been evolving/increasing over the years - at least on the continent. Thus I find it hard to compare former players with current ones.
Why does nr8 think he's a plane?
I thought it looked more like some cheesy (pseudo) martial arts pose.
Uncanny.
There's one big difference... Maradona has the ball in his picture while Iniesta does not. The Italians are gravitating towards the ball as they press in numbers rather than the player.
Yes, I'm aware, I posted the picture.
Anyone who watched the European Championships that year would get the point I was making there.
Tongue firmly in cheek, anywho.
Zidane was better than Iniesta. Ronaldo was far better than both of them.
Fenomeno, innit? People come to me asking how can you rate someone who never won a CL, had a career marred by injuries and what not so highly, all I can say is the excitement of watching him play, that experience can never be replicated. If I'm given a choice to go into an infinite loop of watching just one player for the rest of my life from the ones I've watched in my time of watching football, it would be O Fenomeno, without a shadow of a doubt.
El fenomeno… Yeah.. I guess the people who came to you and asked you that question must be the people that weren't privileged to see him play. Otherwise I can't believe they'd ask. A true magician.
I think the only major difference between El fenomeno and Messi is consistency. On raw talent I would even wager that Ronaldo has a slight edge over Messi. They are both world class in every category relevant to an attacking player. Dribbling, passing, finishing. Ronaldo was perfect with both feet, being able to fire long range missiles with precision and force. And he's more athletic than Messi, his speed was unmatched and that combination of heft and agility was unique. Messi on the other hand is probably the best dribbler to ever play the game, maybe Maradona is up there.
Some posters are showing how young they are here. It's not even a debate, Zidane every day of the week. The guy was absolutely fecking brilliant.
You haven't watched many Madrid-Barcelona games in the past decade, right? Otherwise I don't know how you could miss Iniesta taking the piss over and over again. Iniesta doesn't have that kind of mythology surrounding him yet that Zidane does, but he will do. He's put in starring performances in the biggest games of every competition he's played in.
Or other posters are showing their age by bigging up their childhood hero? No doubt music, life and love were better in the 90's too...
This. In terms of big game performances Iniesta *at least* matches Zidane.
If Zidane is one of the greatest of all time he is easily the least of the players in that Echelon.
Not in the same league as Messi, Maradona, Cruyff, Best, Pele or even Ronaldo.
Zidane is still the best midfielder Ive ever seen. Iniesta is also one of the best but if I had to choose one to build my team around it'd definitely be Zidane.
There certainly is some of that.
There was someone in here calling Zidane overrated... He was in his early 20's
It does seem like the guys 30 ish and older are mostly saying Zidane.
Thats not what i mean. Zidane was near to Ronaldinho levels in his ability to do things that would make your jaw drop. Iniesta is not.
Iniesta, but Zidane was more entertaining and will probably be better remembered imo
No he wasn't, Xavi was a level above him and Iniesta too. Xavi dominated every midfield on every level, that guy was one of a kind. Pirlo was a fantastic player but can't be compared to Xavi or Zidane.
Agreed.
I put it as more of Barca dominated. Xavi, Iniesta and Messi put together a total better than the sum of it's parts. Iniesta and Xavi had an uncanny mental understanding.
Does anyone have any stats on matches where Iniesta played without Xavi or vice versa?
As to OP, I'd say Zidane. His peak was shorter but higher. And at his peak his individual performances were sublime.
I'm not. Zidane was overrated then and even more overrated now.There certainly is some of that.
There was someone in here calling Zidane overrated... He was in his early 20's
It does seem like the guys 30 ish and older are mostly saying Zidane.
The truth is he wasn't streets ahead of Rivaldo or Figo at the time. Zidane did not win you league titles, he showed up for the cameras.
What's annoying is, he is not even rated for the right reasons. His peak was easily his first seasons at juve and euro2000, yet the world cups and real Madrid is what people remember.
People remember the myth of Zidane. Not the actual player.
Zidane's style was a bit easier on the eye, but there's no doubt in my mind that Iniesta is/was the better player.