iSport writer Karan Shah continues his analysis of some of the top players with his piece on Andres Iniesta. The backbone of the Barcelona midfield, the man behind all the sublime moves, the dark horse of the Barcelona team and the quiet superstar.
One of the key players of Barcelona’s recent treble winning triumph, Andres Iniesta also dubbed El Illusionista by the Catalan press has been at the peak of his game since quite some time showing exemplary passing and feinting skills. With all the superstars that they possess including Henry, Messi, Xavi, Alves, Iniesta has by far been the most important player in the squad.
He is the one, who has always done all the dirty work, the one who puts in the killer pass, the one who trackbacks; the one who runs the most on the pitch, his work ethic has been exemplary to say the least. He has shown quite clearly that the one who puts the ball in the back of the net is not the only hero, but also the one who is an integral part of an array of 40 or so passes that lead to the goal.
Iniesta’s tryst with Barcelona began at the early age of 12, when he enrolled at La Masia, FC Barcelona’s youth school. He initially started as a holding midfielder, but he switched positions soon as the coach discovered that his skill, balance and control on the ball was actually suited for an attacking midfielder. He continued to impress in that position and quickly made up the ranks of the youth academy and made his first appearance as a Barca player on 29 October, 2002 in the UEFA Champion’s league group match against Club Brugge. Iniesta has never been known for his goal scoring prowess. In eleven appearances in the 2003-04 season, he scored just once as Barcelona sealed second place behind Valencia CF. But scoring has never been a part of his objectives in the game.
He was more of a second choice player that time because a certain Ronaldinho was the most fearsome players on the pitch that time. The next few seasons saw the downfall of Ronnie and Iniesta was more than happy to replace him as a starter. He had the quality, the vision, to be an excellent playmaker and then Coach Frank Rijkaard’s decision to play him in the first eleven instead of Ronnie paid dividends as Barca won the Champions League and the La Liga double in the 2005-06 season.
One of the most consistent performers of the game, Iniesta is known more for his humility than superstardom, something which is rare nowadays. Iniesta got noticed quite late in the International scene when he appeared for Spain as a substitute in a friendly against Russia in 2006.Thereafter however he has been a regular starter and he played an important role in the EURO 2008 triumph. His performances in the 2008-09 season have been highly lauded, receiving standing ovations both in Barcelona at the Camp Nou, as well as from rival supporters in away matches. One of his most wonderful goals came when playing a friendly against England in 2007.His long range effort; hit the underside of the crossbar on the way in.
After the Champions League final, which Barcelona won, Rooney rightly remarked that Iniesta was easily the best player in the world. Such is his importance that Barcelona recently improvised his contract making him one of the highest paid footballers for Barcelona to keep him away from any transfer speculation.
Andres, no doubt one of the finest footballers on this planet, is also one of the most disciplined. It’s highly unlikely that he will play anywhere else in his footballing career, since he has always reiterated his love for Barcelona.
Always being the dark horse for the team, he has let his football do the talking. This gem of a footballer is one of the reasons why Barca’s football is a spectacle to watch, and it will be interesting to see how he will pair up with Barca’s latest addition Ibrahimovic. One thing is sure; it’s going to be one hell of a season with amazing reinforcements and Cantenaros playing together for both Madrid and Barcelona.
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