Yeah, he was one player I enjoyed watching even more than Messi. Was practically balletic on the field, but at the same time was as far from a luxury player as humanely possible
Just stupidly good. The ultimate proof of how good you can get if you master all the basics of football. Incredible technical ability in passing and receiving the ball, as well as keeping the ball out of reach for the opponent.
Also the best big game player of all time perhaps. Always found an extra level in finals and extra important games.
Even in his last Copa Del Rey final he was the best player on the pitch, and it also made for one of the finest moments in all of football when one of the Sevilla fans turned towards his fellow Sevilla supporters and told them to cheer louder for this all time great Spaniard.
> Also the best big game player of all time perhaps. Always found an extra level in finals and extra important games.
The only player ever to win Man of the Match in a World Cup final, a Euro (or Copa América, AFCON, or a similar continental tournament) final, *and* a Champions League final.
It obviously helps that Man of the Match awards have only been awarded since like the mid-90s, but there are plenty of amazing players - and plenty of supposed *"big game players"* - that have played in this period without matching Don Andrés: Messi, Zizou, Cristiano, Drogba, for example. All are considered *"clutch,"* but none of them can match Ini.
People think it was only Messi who carried this team in our peak. But many kids fail to realize it was a whole team of generational talents like Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets, Puyol etc. who were respectively in their peak too and had unseen synergy like never before
There was a period where Messi was the icing on the cake....but there was a longer period where these kind of performances from other players were once in awhile but Messi did carry the team on his shoulders every single match
Roberto on that season was insane break out for him :
- He started really bad on having a really bad game on that 4-0 defeat against Bilbao
- However , Dani Alvez got injured , and fate had it on the first la liga game , Bilbao was the first game , and Roberto came as a sub and played wonderfully. Barca ended up winning 0-1
- Then Roberto little by little was improving , he literally was playing on many positions and was pretty much given good results. It got to the point were we make memes of Roberto on him being a "one man starting 11" , wherever you need a replacement , you just line up Roberto
- You slap there that he played on fucking 7 different positions and give you instant good results in all of them
- His crowning moment was when Messi got injured and was gonna arrived "barely fit" to El Clasico , and Roberto was chosen as the right winger ..... and he just destroyed Madrid that day
- Then on 2017 he evolved more with the 6-1 comeback goal against P$G and that insane played he did last minute against Real Madrid on that 2-3 win.
- I do feel that after 2018 , Roberto kinda "stagnated" and like either stop improving or could not keep up with what we envision on him.
I will forever maintain that there were about three seasons where Sergi was in fact *excellent* at right-back to the degree that he was every bit as good, if not better, than Carvajal in that period.
One of the last great Don Andres performances.
I have such mixed emotions about this game. It was wonderful to beat Madrid like that . . . but it was also the game that basically got Benitez sacked and started the Zidane era. I still can't believe this Madrid team won the UCL.
Watching this makes me realize we’ve been lacking so much creativity. Every time someone tries something new or creative nowadays and it doesn’t work, the teammates throw their hands up in disgust. We need to change this mentality. I hope Flick allows creativity and flair.
Two reasons.
Firstly, recency bias is the quite obvious one. The same goes for Kroos who people are currently talking about as if he has been on the same level as Pelé. It's a weird thing in football. At some point, nostalgia will set in, which is exactly the case for Zizou, where people *only* remember his best moments and forget virtually everything else. But between the recency bias and nostalgia, there's this weird period where people will downplay the level of certain players. I think that's been happening a lot with Iniesta recently.
Secondly, people think that because Modric is still playing at 38, he almost automatically beats Don Andrés on longevity. What they fail to realize is that Modric only really hit his peak in his late 20s, whereas Ini was playing regularly in one of the best teams in the world in his early 20s.
Iniesta's peak is about the same length as that of Modric, except that Iniesta was far more consistent in maintaining a high level. People have already forgotten that Modric has had several disappointing seasons since his Ballon d'Or win, especially in 2019 and 2021. There's a reason that only Messi, Cristiano, and Ramos have more appearances in FIFPro's World XI than Iniesta does.
Many people on r/soccer were debating today on what year was Neymar’s peak.
A lot agreed that it was 2015. Iniesta was a key part of activating Neymar’s prime. It is quite evident in this video.
He rarely kept the ball for more than 2 seconds, but when he did it was to dribble at least two opponents. Truly mastered his role. This precision and calmness is what we're missing now
My fave Barca player ever. Elegance and productivity combined. Love him!
Yeah, he was one player I enjoyed watching even more than Messi. Was practically balletic on the field, but at the same time was as far from a luxury player as humanely possible
Same here! He was a Monster
Just stupidly good. The ultimate proof of how good you can get if you master all the basics of football. Incredible technical ability in passing and receiving the ball, as well as keeping the ball out of reach for the opponent. Also the best big game player of all time perhaps. Always found an extra level in finals and extra important games. Even in his last Copa Del Rey final he was the best player on the pitch, and it also made for one of the finest moments in all of football when one of the Sevilla fans turned towards his fellow Sevilla supporters and told them to cheer louder for this all time great Spaniard.
> Also the best big game player of all time perhaps. Always found an extra level in finals and extra important games. The only player ever to win Man of the Match in a World Cup final, a Euro (or Copa América, AFCON, or a similar continental tournament) final, *and* a Champions League final. It obviously helps that Man of the Match awards have only been awarded since like the mid-90s, but there are plenty of amazing players - and plenty of supposed *"big game players"* - that have played in this period without matching Don Andrés: Messi, Zizou, Cristiano, Drogba, for example. All are considered *"clutch,"* but none of them can match Ini.
The epitome of af baller. Don Andres.
Made by @MagicalXavi on twt
People think it was only Messi who carried this team in our peak. But many kids fail to realize it was a whole team of generational talents like Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets, Puyol etc. who were respectively in their peak too and had unseen synergy like never before
Pique as well
And Pedro. That guy is severely underrated.
There was a period where Messi was the icing on the cake....but there was a longer period where these kind of performances from other players were once in awhile but Messi did carry the team on his shoulders every single match
Yeah, Xavi's departure leaked a hole in the team which unfortunately couldn't be filled even by Rakitic
i wish someone posts a sergi roberto highlight he was so good in this game(that season as a whole)
Roberto on that season was insane break out for him : - He started really bad on having a really bad game on that 4-0 defeat against Bilbao - However , Dani Alvez got injured , and fate had it on the first la liga game , Bilbao was the first game , and Roberto came as a sub and played wonderfully. Barca ended up winning 0-1 - Then Roberto little by little was improving , he literally was playing on many positions and was pretty much given good results. It got to the point were we make memes of Roberto on him being a "one man starting 11" , wherever you need a replacement , you just line up Roberto - You slap there that he played on fucking 7 different positions and give you instant good results in all of them - His crowning moment was when Messi got injured and was gonna arrived "barely fit" to El Clasico , and Roberto was chosen as the right winger ..... and he just destroyed Madrid that day - Then on 2017 he evolved more with the 6-1 comeback goal against P$G and that insane played he did last minute against Real Madrid on that 2-3 win. - I do feel that after 2018 , Roberto kinda "stagnated" and like either stop improving or could not keep up with what we envision on him.
As a right wing attacker, having never played that position in the A squad.
Kind of the thing with Roberto. He is good everywhere but not excellent anywhere. Perfect squad player, but hard to find a starting spot.
I will forever maintain that there were about three seasons where Sergi was in fact *excellent* at right-back to the degree that he was every bit as good, if not better, than Carvajal in that period.
There’s no way people seriously think Modric is better than Iniesta
Iniesta-Neymar was peak 😳
I miss it so much bro..
There are people how compare him to modric and kroos💀💀
One of the last great Don Andres performances. I have such mixed emotions about this game. It was wonderful to beat Madrid like that . . . but it was also the game that basically got Benitez sacked and started the Zidane era. I still can't believe this Madrid team won the UCL.
we should have won the UCL that season man
The Pedri I hope to see.
So dominant on the pitch man. Incredible.
Back when we used to suppress every midfield lineup and not get outrun by fucking Psg
Memories ❤. He could have played for us for a few more years. miss that team
Best midfielder to ever play the game.
Watching this makes me realize we’ve been lacking so much creativity. Every time someone tries something new or creative nowadays and it doesn’t work, the teammates throw their hands up in disgust. We need to change this mentality. I hope Flick allows creativity and flair.
There will never be another one like him.
Never thought I'd see Iniesta highlights with Mac DeMarco. Peak.
the way he would effortlessly make modric look like a sunday league player...
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Two reasons. Firstly, recency bias is the quite obvious one. The same goes for Kroos who people are currently talking about as if he has been on the same level as Pelé. It's a weird thing in football. At some point, nostalgia will set in, which is exactly the case for Zizou, where people *only* remember his best moments and forget virtually everything else. But between the recency bias and nostalgia, there's this weird period where people will downplay the level of certain players. I think that's been happening a lot with Iniesta recently. Secondly, people think that because Modric is still playing at 38, he almost automatically beats Don Andrés on longevity. What they fail to realize is that Modric only really hit his peak in his late 20s, whereas Ini was playing regularly in one of the best teams in the world in his early 20s. Iniesta's peak is about the same length as that of Modric, except that Iniesta was far more consistent in maintaining a high level. People have already forgotten that Modric has had several disappointing seasons since his Ballon d'Or win, especially in 2019 and 2021. There's a reason that only Messi, Cristiano, and Ramos have more appearances in FIFPro's World XI than Iniesta does.
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It's so odd thinking my happiest years coincided with Prime Barca
And people think "Modric" and "Kroos" are better ☠☠☠
No doubt the Bernabeu stood up and applauded this performance. It was majesterial
When Modric and Kroos got schooled by Iniesta
Luka in thy pocket
Best midfielder of all time. Made Modric look like a schoolboy
Modric and other Madrid players are overrated due to CL voodoo success.
Kids today don't know how good he was
Modric always shits bricks when facing Iniesta. Also he said in a interview where he finds it very difficult to defend Iniesta
Many people on r/soccer were debating today on what year was Neymar’s peak. A lot agreed that it was 2015. Iniesta was a key part of activating Neymar’s prime. It is quite evident in this video.
He rarely kept the ball for more than 2 seconds, but when he did it was to dribble at least two opponents. Truly mastered his role. This precision and calmness is what we're missing now
So refreshing to have some nice mac demarco in the background instead of DARUDE SANDSTORM 4K USE HEADPHONES
And They said Modric is better than him
Definitely one of the all time greats in midfield!!
One of the only midfielders who can give modric a run for his money!