Andries Iniesta Football's Best Midfielder
Barcelona Star is now the the Premier Midfielder Player in the World
Oct 21, 2009
It seems that every November when the annual World Player of the Year jamboree takes place the same hallowed names emerge to take their seemingly pre-ordained place at soccer’s highest table. However, what the ceremony rarely, if ever, seems to do is reward season long brilliance that does not encompass the scorers art. So spare a thought for the most under appreciated genius of the modern game and arguably the best midfielder in the world: Andres Lujan Iniesta
The Complete Modern Footballer
At 1.69 metres the diminutive Spaniard looks more like a bookish undergraduate than an international regular. His pale features and slight frame accentuating his status a Lilliputian among the muscled bruisers of the modern European game. Certainly he is no frenzied bulldozer in the mode of a Michael Essien. Nor does he possess the obvious grace and poise of a Michael Ballack or even the passing range of a Michael Carrick. He has averaged only four or five league goals a year in his seven seasons as a professional and yet, despite these seeming shortcomings, he is rated by many, as the best midfielder in the world.
He can operate deftly anywhere outside of defence, being equally adept in central midfield or on either flank. His natural ability to beat his marker coupled with the visionary and penetrative nature of his final ball all helped him gain a place in FIFA’s 2008 European Championship All-Star line up. Ally these qualities to a tireless work ethic and a playing style built around purposeful movement and ball retention and you have an all-round midfielder coveted by every major club side on the continent. Not that any of them have much hope of prising the player away.
A Barcelona Midfield Icon
His present contract with Los Cules ends in June of 2014 and if that seems like sensible forward planning by the Catalan giants then there is method in their foresight. At 25 Iniesta undoubtably has his best playing years ahead of him. On July 19th last year he was allegedly linked with a move to rivals Real Madrid. Reports in Spain hinted Real was prepared to pay the 60 million euros that would activate his release clause. However, the Barca faithful need not have feared. Their man remains deeply attached to the club he joined as a 12 year old in 1996.
Strangely Iniesta almost joined Los Meringues as a youngster. Young Andres and his family visited Madrid to run the rule over their youth set up. Instead of leaving dazzled by the bright lights of the capital they returned to their hometown of Albacete perturbed by the level of crime around the apartment block where the club’s youngsters would be stationed. Madrid’s loss proved Barcelona’s gain as Andres was swiftly ensconced within their La Masia training camp.
Versatility is the Key
Some have suggested that Iniesta’s very versatility may prove harmful to his progress as a player. Like many talented players who excel in multiple positions he risks being shunted around the side, filling in where gaps arise. However, unlike many utility makeweights, Iniesta seems comfortable wherever he lines up. The Barcelona player's dribbling is reminiscent of Dejan Savicevic in his Milan pomp, while his incisive passing bears many of the hallmarks of a peak Paul Scholes. He has even added vital goals to his repertoire, as Chelsea will no doubt attest following his stunning strike in last season’s Champions League semi-final.
There is something of the school team innocent about the diminutive playmaker. His willingness to apply himself unstintingly to the cause, to turn his hand to any position or adapt to the myriad tactical variations of the modern game highlight him as a throw back to a more Corinthian era. It is tempting to think he must have looked on in bewildered confusion at the antics of Barcelona’s more pampered and egocentric stars over the last few seasons.
The World's Best Midfield Player
Whether he is dropping deep to instigate attacks and win back the ball, linking the play as a central midfielder or cutting in from either flank he is rarely less than excellent. Even Lionel Messi was moved to refer to his teammate as “an animal,” while expressing bewilderment at his eventual absence from the World Player of the Year reckoning. Former manager Frank Rijkaard compared Iniesta’s passing ability to a “child handing out sweets” and the analogy is an apt one.
Yet ultimately Iniesta is his own man. Indeed the enduringly reticent iconoclast offers the viewer an intoxicating paradox: boundless creativity sublimated to the needs of the team dynamic. When plodding domestiques are regularly paid small fortunes to bog down games in defensive treacle it takes a player like Iniesta to remind fans that football really is the beautiful game. At present Andres Iniesta is the best midfield player in the world.
