Did Iniesta ever attempt a freekick in his life?
He's not up there with Xavi either and it's not even close IMO although he might very well go down like that because he's more silky on the ball and people mention them in the same sentence anyway all the time. But Xavi's dominance was different class from 08-12. I don't usually like to make an argument based on stats alone but you'll get the drift. If you look at Xavi's stats in 09/10 he was averaging 1.8 accurate throughballs per game in the Champions League. No one last season or this season comes even close (the highest number is 1 by Messi). Point is: He was incredibly penetrative for a central midfielder. He holds the record in La Liga assists in a single season if I'm not mistaken. I'm sure at one point he had 30+ assists in a season (he has registered assists in 4 European Cup finals and 4 assists in a single game in the Bernabeu, which is incredible if you think about it). He controlled games like an all time great regista but also created like an all time great trequartista. Main reason why Barca is not the untouchable machine from a few years ago anymore is because Xavi has declined. Valdes, Pique, Busquets, Iniesta, Pedro, Messi etc. are still all the same if not better, more experienced, most in their primes. But Xavi isn't. He still plays well enough but the penetration, throughballs and assists are gone.
On the other hand Iniesta has time on his side to change that. He's only 29. But so far he isn't up there with Xavi. Doesn't have prime Xavi's game control nor his productivity nor his consistency. I think Iniesta could have become much more but his genuine intimidated character prevented him from starving for any individual glory. Xavi is different. Even at 34 he takes freekicks away from Messi like a boss.
He's not up there with Xavi either and it's not even close IMO although he might very well go down like that because he's more silky on the ball and people mention them in the same sentence anyway all the time. But Xavi's dominance was different class from 08-12. I don't usually like to make an argument based on stats alone but you'll get the drift. If you look at Xavi's stats in 09/10 he was averaging 1.8 accurate throughballs per game in the Champions League. No one last season or this season comes even close (the highest number is 1 by Messi). Point is: He was incredibly penetrative for a central midfielder. He holds the record in La Liga assists in a single season if I'm not mistaken. I'm sure at one point he had 30+ assists in a season (he has registered assists in 4 European Cup finals and 4 assists in a single game in the Bernabeu, which is incredible if you think about it). He controlled games like an all time great regista but also created like an all time great trequartista. Main reason why Barca is not the untouchable machine from a few years ago anymore is because Xavi has declined. Valdes, Pique, Busquets, Iniesta, Pedro, Messi etc. are still all the same if not better, more experienced, most in their primes. But Xavi isn't. He still plays well enough but the penetration, throughballs and assists are gone.
On the other hand Iniesta has time on his side to change that. He's only 29. But so far he isn't up there with Xavi. Doesn't have prime Xavi's game control nor his productivity nor his consistency. I think Iniesta could have become much more but his genuine intimidated character prevented him from starving for any individual glory. Xavi is different. Even at 34 he takes freekicks away from Messi like a boss.
