Andres Iniesta

I think the real question is: what should our line-up be when facing teams like Real Madrid or in CL knockout stages. And although Cesc-Iniesta sounds like a more conservative and safe approach, it really isn't. Because Cesc loses easily the ball when pressured, thr result (Barcelona is a team that players play with great fluidity) is that Iniesta plays very deep to help the team retain possession and both he and Cesc are lost in no man's land..
I love Cesc and I agree that he should start the most games, but not against top opponents..

Mr Hulot said:

I think the real question is: what should our line-up be when facing teams like Real Madrid or in CL knockout stages. And although Cesc-Iniesta sounds like a more conservative and safe approach, it really isn't. Because Cesc loses easily the ball when pressured, thr result (Barcelona is a team that players play with great fluidity) is that Iniesta plays very deep to help the team retain possession and both he and Cesc are lost in no man's land..
I love Cesc and I agree that he should start the most games, but not against top opponents..

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You see you're dismissing Cesc too easily against "big" opponents. I think there is no clear answer (yet) about who should play where (Iniesta+Cesc or Iniesta or Cesc + Villa). It'll become clear IMO as the really important matches get under way. Anyway David Villa may not return for another 2 weeks. So possibly you'd prefer Iniesta in mid + Alexis on LW rather than Iniesta + Cesc?

Youngie said:

You see you're dismissing Cesc too easily against "big" opponents. I think there is no clear answer (yet) about who should play where (Iniesta+Cesc or Iniesta or Cesc + Villa). It'll become clear IMO as the really important matches get under way. Anyway David Villa may not return for another 2 weeks. So possibly you'd prefer Iniesta in mid + Alexis on LW rather than Iniesta + Cesc?

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I'd like to try Iniesta in midfield with cesc on the left again if villa is not back soon, or else giving tello a chance from the start.

Kerrybai said:

I'd like to try Iniesta in midfield with cesc on the left again if villa is not back soon, or else giving tello a chance from the start.

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Or Cesc in the middle, Messi on the right and Pedro on the left.

KhaledBarca said:

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Iniesta is better, in my opinion.. not just because of the stats. I really don't get people who say Zidane is up there with Messi, Maradona or Pele; he never quite impressed me.

Trickykid said:

You mean those useless dribbles that leave hapless defenders in their wake, and result in assists for Messi and the others? Yeah, they really make me a sad panda too. Sniff...

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i wonder how many of his dribbles resulted in goals like messi's.
we are definitely not utilizing it at max.iniesta for me on the wing is always no go for me.

barca7788 said:

i wonder how many of his dribbles resulted in goals like messi's.
we are definitely not utilizing it at max.iniesta for me on the wing is always no go for me.

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Comparing Iniesta to Messi? Iniesta's dribbling skills are almost never meant to directly contribute to a goal. What he does is beat/draw in defenders to make space for his teammates to run into and set up an attack. He never tries to run directly at goal and score. He isn't Messi and you shouldn't think they dribble under the same conditions or with the same intentions.

KhaledBarca said:

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I'm shocked that Zidane has so few goals.

It's difficult to say if Iniesta's better than Zidane right now but if he keeps winning with Spain and Barca then he will surely be remembered as the greater of the two.

Isaac_Cuenca23 said:

I'm shocked that Zidane has so few goals.

It's difficult to say if Iniesta's better than Zidane right now but if he keeps winning with Spain and Barca then he will surely be remembered as the greater of the two.

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His lack off assists is more surprising, Özil had more in 2 years than he had in 5.

Maybe it's because they're not the same type of player nor do they play in the same role?!.... Iniesta is not there for assists or direct playmaking, he's there to link the midfield with the offense and also create space for the front three.

PearLBLacK said:

Maybe it's because they're not the same type of player nor do they play in the same role?!.... Iniesta is not there for assists or direct playmaking, he's there to link the midfield with the offense and also create space for the front three.

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Yeah stats can be very misleading, especially assist stats. For example dani alves has assisted more messi goals than Iniesta and Xavi but it would be foolish to think he contributes more to Messi. Here's an interesting stat though, one that puts Xavi and Iniesta up there above and beyond the likes of zidane. Every year for the past 5 years Iniesta and Xavi have won the biggest trophy in football.

As much as Iniesta and Xavi are brilliant, this is also more down to this Barca being the best club side ever and the Spanish NT as a whole being arguably the best national side ever, as well as rival NTs not being up to their historical standard. I mean, Zidane was brilliant, but the France team of '98 and 2000 as a whole weren't as good as this Spain. Individual players, yes they may have been on a similar level but in terms of system and gamestyle, not a chance. Look at Spain, they won the Euros without a striker! What other national team ever did that or would be able to pull that off?!

So I don't think you can use that as a criteria to see who's better between Iniesta and Zidane. IMO, individually there's not much difference between them. Zidane obviously benefited from being the main man in most of his club teams as well as the national side. Can't say that about Iniesta with Messi in Barca, and the likes of Xavi and Villa in the NT. That's why out of all the Spanish players in South Africa, Iniesta was the one deserving the most to score that historic goal.

In the end it all comes down to personal preference, because once you lead your NT to more than one major title, I don't think numbers count as much at that point.

Kerrybai said:

Every year for the past 5 years Iniesta and Xavi have won the biggest trophy in football.

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Mother of god.

this is also more down to this Barca being the best club side ever and the Spanish NT as a whole being arguably the best national side ever

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They are those because of Xavi and Iniesta.