Iniesta and the Under Appreciation of Greatness
I believe Andres Iniesta is the second greatest player of the post Zidane-Ronaldo Luis era of football and is unquestionably one of the 12 greatest football players of all time.
This might sound like an utterly modernist opinion of football — in many ways it is — but I can’t stop but feel baffled by how underrated he’s been during his entire career. Understanding why Iniesta is under-appreciated raises some very important questions about football culture: why is the thesis of this essay considered controversial? And perhaps most importantly where exactly does Iniesta rank in the football pantheon?
To the first question, the mediocre state of professional football punditry is to blame. The media wants us to believe in a Manichean football dominated by the constant tension between its proclaimed Messiah and the anti-Christ. I’ve been one of the worst offenders on this, focusing much of my personal work reinforcing this dualism. In the process, they missed so many stories that were worth exploring. They ignored so many players that deserved both attention and admiration. They omitted systems and philosophy that were worth studying.
A good football writer helps the casual fan evolve as a football thinker rather than reemphasize his or her mainstream thinking. In this sense, football punditry needs a renaissance. We need bold, fresh new thinking that goes well beyond the set of ESPN FC and the biased ignorance of the likes of Alejandro Moreno. We need more diverging opinions. We should discuss philosophy and re-contextualize history. Most importantly, we need to stay away from the boring but easy Messi-Cristiano-Neymar narrative.
Football fans are also culprits. As a community, we’ve lost something important: the simple ability to respond positively and proportionally to talent. In that respect, the messification of football has been extremely damaging. We undervalue midfielders, we take great defenders for granted and for the most part we disregard tactical intelligence. Sadly, we’ve come to accept the ludicrous notion that if a player isn’t a finisher, he is not worthy of the Ballon D’or.
Not so long ago, Pavel Nedved won the ballon d’or the year Ronaldo Luiz killed Manchester United, the last year Zidane was truly transcendent, the year Sheva won the champions league (over Nedved it must be noted) and perhaps most importantly the year Henry became a top 3 player in the world. In 2003, giving the award to the most important player on an elite team was not unreasonable. In today’s environment, Nedved would have finished seventh in the voting.
Euro 1996/2004 heroics aside, was Pavel Nedved even a better player than Luka Modric? I would probably lean: “No.” This new football environment has hindered players like Modric, Philip Lahm and… Andres Iniesta.
I started this essay with a controversial statement: Iniesta is the second greatest football player of postmodern football history. I understand fully that for many, I am treading on sacred ground essentially bypassing Xavi, Ronaldinho, Henry and Cristiano Ronaldo.
He never won a Ballon D’Or (though he should’ve won it in 2010). He’s never been a pi-chichi or the best scorer of the champions league, matter fact he’s not much of a scorer. In other words, if your perception of greatness is tied to goals scored or assists distributed, Iniesta is not your man. He’s very much aware of this, Guardiola often spoke in press conferences about how he complained that he did not score enough.
Nonetheless Iniesta’s impact on the pitch is undeniable and in many ways incomparable. Over the course of his career, injuries made him miss many games and Barcelona manages to win without him. However, it is not a coincidence that when he is absent, they are sometime senseless. The recent Classico is a reminder of this: he brings life whenever Barcelona is uninspired. He opens lanes for attackers and makes the game easier for everyone around him. His versatility means that his managers have options on the field: he can play as a holder because of his defensive anticipation and his tactical awareness. If need be, he can be a classic number 10, a role he’s embraced many time with Spain. He’s very comfortable as a left winger — his second most effective position with Barcelona. Finally, he’s exceptional and at his best as a creative central midfielder.
Granted freedom of movement, Iniesta dictates the collective tone of his team’s offense better than anyone we’ve seen. As Iniesta’s goes, Spain and Barcelona goes. The formula has been successful in the champions league, the world cup and the Euro. Needless to say he’s both an excellent passer and intelligent football player tactically.
With the ball, Iniesta is simply virtuoso. His movement with the ball are gracious, simple and beautiful. Rarely have we seen such a capable and creative dribbler. What’s particularly impressive with this aspect of his game is his supreme confidence in his ability. In a world, where most football players play it safe most of the time, Iniesta tries and successfully attempts different things on the pitch. Yet we’ve seen him do it so many times over the year that we take it for granted.
Oddly, the best comparison for Iniesta as a player is Zinedine Zidane. Messi, Ronaldo Luiz, Marco Van Basten and Maradonna, all perfected the science of effectiveness with the ball at their feet. Often, they would outsmart, outpower and outspeed their respective defenders. They made it look easy but however marveling it was to watch, never did you think that experience was not replicable. Indeed football players and their abilities are rarely unique. Ronaldo is a more powerful version of Van Basten. Messi is a fusion: part Ronaldo Luiz, part Maradona, part Cruyff.
As it happens, I can think of just of few unique football players. From 2004 to 2006, Ronaldinho made me believe that footballers could mirror imagination and fantasy in their game. Jay-Jay Okacha’s distinctive talents deserves an honorable mention in the uniqueness category. Football as an art form is embodied by just a few: Romario, Zidane and Iniesta. This is not to say that they are the best at what they do but I sincerely doubt there will be others like them.
Iniesta’s coordination with the ball, his grace and his skills are in fact analogous to Zidane’s. It’s objectively weird, that many fans revere Xavi and Pirlo more than Iniesta. It’s even weirder to hear people contend that peak Xavi was better than Iniesta. This makes me think of the now famous anecdote from Pep Guardiola when Andres was about to make his first team debut with the Blaugranas. The then-Barcelona captain pulled Xavi aside and said “Remember this day — the day you first played with Andrés. You’re going to retire me. This lad is going to retire us all.” He was correct in his prediction, Guardiola and Xavi were essential to their respective team’s balance. They offered creativity, consistence and accuracy in the midfield but none were ever the best offensive weapon on their team’s midfield.
It’s easy to forget that Iniesta was the best player on Spain’s team when they won the Euro and the World Cup. It’s even easier to forget that Iniesta scored two of the most important goals in football history. The first against Chelsea in 2009, essentially inaugurating the era of neo-Cruyffism dominance. To this day, I believe Chelsea should have won this game. They were the much better side and after re-watching this champions league classic recently, I’m baffled by how poor the officiating was. I’m also certain that Barca would’ve found a way to come back stronger to win the Champions at least once had they lost that night, but Iniesta delivered and cemented the first block of this dynasty.
The second was at the 2010 World Cup final of course. A goal that is not dissimilar to the one he scored against Chelsea both in its resemblance and importance.This goal is emblematic of so much in football history. It represented the coronation of a generation. It was demonstrative of the triumph of tiki-taka. It was the culmination of neo-Crufffism ironically topping out a physically pragmatic Netherlands team. It was the day Jogo Bonito beat Antifutbol. Most importantly it was the day Iniesta printed his name in the pantheon as a legend — one of the best 12 football players of all time.
