The Illusionist : Don Andrés Iniesta

When Iniesta is in the mood, he is just as good as Messi imo

Iniesta 2nd best player in the world

a madrid fan says this? so who else can doubt?

billionmillion wrote:a Spain fan says this? so who else can doubt?

There will undoubtedly people to pour some haterade.

No african heritage though....so sadly he nor Messi can Be Igwe (Benzema )

Iniesta is tied with ronaldo for me

If he had better hair though it would be more of a debate

Neither are as good as Xavi, so stop that talk right now.

Iniesta is a magician, 3rd best in the world, but a string of 3 games will not topple what Xavi brings to the table.

The Franchise wrote:Neither are as good as Xavi, so stop that talk right now.

Iniesta is a magician, 3rd best in the world, but a string of 3 games will not topple what Xavi brings to the table.

Agreed.

Xavi's awesomeness was exemplified by this deft little turn and fake to control the ball just a little away from the Gijon area. I doubt anyone but he or Busquets would even have seen it.

Well then we'll have to agree to disagree.
Iniesta for me is a better dribbler and has way more tricks in his bag then xavi does

Robinho has more tricks in his bag than Xavi does, dont mean much.

I remember saying a couple of years back, Iniesta will become the best player eventually Well not quit there yet, and as long as MEssi is around, maybe not But hes close. Hes not as good as Xavi or MEssi are what they do, but I always feel he has both of their abilities combined

Magician!

Giggity5313 wrote:Well then we'll have to agree to disagree.
Iniesta for me is a better dribbler and has way more tricks in his bag then xavi does

Thing is Xavi doesnt need tricks.For him its all about space.I have seen a player like him in his ability to understand and interpret space.He doesnt need tricks to get out of tight situations.He just spins into space.Yesterdayas bazinga mentioned there were a few occasions where he showed it,where even under immense pressure he turned into space.
Iniesta is a terrific midfielder,the second best in the world but he is not as good as Xavi.

Visiting the forum after many days I couldn't have asked for a better thread to read. I didn't have a good day in office today but this more than makes up for it. Thanks to all who posted their thoughts in this thread.

About Iniesta what can I say but that he is my alter ego on the football pitch and when nothing else makes me feel like watching football, he still does.

Let me end by asking a question that is often discussed on 'Countdown to Kickoff' at 'Ten Action'. Which teams have you all seen playing or know of from football history that had three players as good as Messi, Xavi and Iniesta?

messixaviesta wrote:Visiting the forum after many days I couldn't have asked for a better thread to read. I didn't have a good day in office today but this more than makes up for it. Thanks to all who posted their thoughts in this thread.

About Iniesta what can I say but that he is my alter ego on the football pitch and when nothing else makes me feel like watching football, he still does.

Let me end by asking a question that is often discussed on 'Countdown to Kickoff' at 'Ten Action'. Which teams have you all seen playing or know of from football history that had three players as good as Messi, Xavi and Iniesta?

3 players as good and all playing at such a supreme level.
There are a few I can think of although I dont think any have reached this level.
Rivaldo-Ronnie-Ronaldo for Brazil spring to mind.But Ronnie was just starting out and not quite at his awesome level.Ronaldo was a shadow of his former self.Rivaldo too was starting to fade.So that eliminates the 3 R's.

Going back Van Basten,Gullit and Rijkaard spring to mind but imo neither of the 3 were at the level of our 3 players.

Zico,Socrates and Falcao spring to mind from Brazil 82.Zico is comparable to Messi but Falcao and Socrates were never at the level of Xavi and Iniesta.
So that rules Brazil's 3 out.

Even further back theres Di Stefano,Puskas and Kopa for the legendary Madrid sides.They can easily compare to our 3.But one problem is that they cant be said to have played the same position.So it makes the comparison a bit difficult.But level wise they can easily compare.

There are many others I have missed,like Best-Charlton-Law from United.
Then theres Pele-Garrincha-Didi from Brazil.
The magic quartet from France.And others.Perhaps others can comment.

But imo only Di Stefano,Puskas and Kopa can compare to our 3 musketeers.

Excellent examples alex and wonderful comments to elaborate them. By and large I agree with you but I do think Pele, Didi and Garrincha were really special.

Nope, for me none as good.

However, I think 58 Brazil were next closest.

Pele for me, was the 3rd best after Garrincha and Didi..which tells you something.

The Franchise wrote:Nope, for me none as good.

However, I think 58 Brazil were next closest.

Pele for me, was the 3rd best after Garrincha and Didi..which tells you something.

Style wise and position wise,the most apt comparison would be Zico,Socrates and Falcao.
Zico was a 10 like Messi.Socrates the midfield general like Xavi and Falcao like Iniesta.
Zico can compare to Messi but the other 2 are not remotely as good.
So as a trio they were nowhere close to our trio.

In terms of influence and trophies the Madrid trio compare but they dont compare position wise or style wise.

The Franchise wrote:
Pele for me, was the 3rd best after Garrincha and Didi..which tells you something.

I am glad you said that dani. Unfortunately people forget Garrincha quite often. I don't think a list of the all time top ten players can be made without him. Let me remind once again in case some have forgotten that Garrincha at WC 1962 was the second best individual performance in a single world cup after Maradona at WC 1986.

Garrincha is indeed pretty underrated, Pele is being hailed as the player who got Brazil three world cups by so many uninformed Football fans, yes O'rey was impeccable yet he was not as prolific as Muller or Viscous as Maradona, I mean.. Pele was never the top scorer of any of those world cups.

in 58 he scored a 7 goal when you have Just Fontaine scoring 15, in 62 he barely played, 70 was wonderful but still not the most to score out of the Brazil selection, Obviously still one of the greatest to touch a Football no doubt but it is truly sad how people tend to point all fingers at him and leave out all the other wonders of those squads.

Pele Santos on the other hand, was as brutal as it gets!

Since this thread is about Andres Iniesta this link just has to be there. Of all the football matches that I have seen to date this is one of those that remains among my most cherished memories.

http://www.goal.com/en/news/3846/barcelona-making-of-the-greatest/2012/02/17/2811465/how-manchester-united-wayne-rooney-bowed-to-the-best-in-the

Interesting, though from memory Xavi was the star of that game... Iniesta was the success story of the campaign though. A goal against Chelsea, then a courageous comeback.

Strange to hear him say the night in Paris was the worst of his life... I think words must be taken a bit out of context there. Dropped, but then he was vital in us winning the game... First UCL final... I think I would have forgotten about being dropped. Clearly he has a competitive hunger that is often overlooked due to his grace both on and off the pitch.

Iniesta has equalled RealMadrid's Butragueno as player with most consecutive Liga games without a defeat (50) #fcblive [via @2010misterchip]

Most consecutive Liga games without a loss: Butragueno Iniesta 50 - Chendo 47 - Villa 44 - Amancio 43 #fcblive [via @2010isterchip]

Iniesta lost his last Liga game 553 days ago #fcblive 0-2 vs Hercules on 11 Sep 2010, Since then: 42W - 8D - 0L [via el mundo deportivo]

Don We are unbeaten with him in this season, our 2 losses came when he wasn't available. Iniesta

BarcaKizz wrote:Interesting, though from memory Xavi was the star of that game... Iniesta was the success story of the campaign though. A goal against Chelsea, then a courageous comeback.

Strange to hear him say the night in Paris was the worst of his life... I think words must be taken a bit out of context there. Dropped, but then he was vital in us winning the game... First UCL final... I think I would have forgotten about being dropped. Clearly he has a competitive hunger that is often overlooked due to his grace both on and off the pitch.

kizz, interesting comments.

1. I would say it is still debatable who was the man of the match in that final. The Uefa man of the match was Xavi and the fans man of the match was Iniesta. In my eyes it was Iniesta though I could be a little biased. That is because while Xavi was probably more productive overall in terms of chances created though both ended with an assist each, a piece of Iniesta magic turned that game on it's head and after that he made ManUtd dance for the remaining minutes. Xavi controlled the game but it's Iniesta who had turned it around and then made life extremely difficult for their midfielders. That one day he got the wow factor that is usually reserved for Messi from both team mates and opponents. At times I think it is his career best performance to date.

2. I am glad you remember that he was vital in the UCL 2006 final because most people forget that. His introduction at half time made us start to play with more fluency and verve and from there on things developed. Players like Larsson and Eto'o were more decisive and candidates for man of the match but Iniesta's role was also significant. The truth is that a top class professional footballer will definitely have that competitive hunger no matter how gracefully he conducts himself. Overall I would say there is nothing wrong with it as long as you know how to behave yourself and don't affect the team adversely. Had he said what he later said at the time of the victory it may have been distasteful because the team comes first but it's acceptable if one decides to share his real feelings later. As a parallel think how David Silva would talk about the world cup victory with you if you were a close friend of his.

Its nothing distasteful.
Messi too was devastated that he didnt even make the squad for the final.
He was so sad that he didnt even participate in the celebrations.
They are both terrific competitors so its only natural that they take it personally when not selected.

alexjanosik wrote:Its nothing distasteful.
Messi too was devastated that he didnt even make the squad for the final.
He was so sad that he didnt even participate in the celebrations.
They are both terrific competitors so its only natural that they take it personally when not selected.

I said something pretty similar. At the same time I don't think it's a good idea to say or do anything that spoils the celebrations of a great victory because the team comes first but it's quite understandable if you decide to share your real feelings later. In this case too I am quite sure Iniesta would have made these comments only much later and not at the time of the celebration.

matpol wrote:Iniesta has equalled RealMadrid's Butragueno as player with most consecutive Liga games without a defeat (50) #fcblive [via @2010misterchip]

Most consecutive Liga games without a loss: Butragueno Iniesta 50 - Chendo 47 - Villa 44 - Amancio 43 #fcblive [via @2010isterchip]

Iniesta lost his last Liga game 553 days ago #fcblive 0-2 vs Hercules on 11 Sep 2010, Since then: 42W - 8D - 0L [via el mundo deportivo]

Don We are unbeaten with him in this season, our 2 losses came when he wasn't available. Iniesta

Yes I read that. Great that you have posted it. It's a wonderful achievement. Also I must mention that his win draw ratio during those unbeaten 50 matches is better than Butragueno's.

Iniesta has now an unbeaten streak of 38 games in all competitions (30W - 8D - 0L) #fcblive Club record: Puyol 57 [via @barcastatistics]

He also has 52 games unbeaten streak in La Liga.

He shouldn't play at winger to accomodate Cesc in MF. Pep is using him far too much as a winger lately.