Andrés Iniesta

[Nrby]

EXPLANATIONS (outdated):

Spoiler: show

Tireless defensive or attacking midfielder, Iniesta has won over 20 caps and scored 4 goals for Spain since making his international debut in 2006. He was part of the Spanish squad at the 2006 FIFA World Cup and made one appearance during the tournament. He played an important role in helping Spain qualify for Euro 2008 after scoring three important goals and providing goal scoring assists for the strikers. He plays club football for Spanish giants Barcelona where he is a first team regular and is popular with the club's supporters. He has produced some impressive form for Barcelona over the last two seasons and has made over 150 appearances for the club since 2002. Iniesta moves the ball around well in the midfield, has a good burst of pace on the ball and provides defence splitting passes for his team mates, he also has a high work rate, good shooting ability and adds a goal scoring threat to the midfield.

CLASSIC SET(S): 2009-2011 & 2004-2006

VIDEOS:

Spoiler: show

[ballmer]

Doesn't the passer card make a player attempt more incisive, attacking passes, the likes of which you were talking about?

[Mr. Evans]

That does help but not much, for me that is.

[jurgens]

One of the reasons he had such a low spa for his ability, was his lack of creation, but that was wrong. We can't make players play like they do in real life in the hands of the AI.. it's not possible for 90% of the players. I don't find a problem with it in game though, iniesta seldom opens the game up with passing, but he dribbles a lot. Agree with higher LPA.. that value was moved from my alt section, but I was wrong. He deserves around 85. Also, his TW hasn't been as impressive as 95. I'd say Thiagos movement in the midfield has been better than Iniestas last year.

[ballmer]

Don't you think Thiago deserves slightly higher than his current 90 though? (Teamwork that is)

EDIT: And about Iniesta's long passing stats, I use something close to Konami's - 85/78 - something like that?

[jurgens]

I do, but I like to stay off his topic due to idiots thinking someone so young doesn't deserve stats so high.

[ballmer]

Yes. I admit, when you posted a set with red DA, orange TW, red TECH... a conservative part of me felt that you must have overrated him somehow, but that's obviously a foolish and ignorant way of thinking.

In terms of a Barca CM TW ladder, I'd like to see something like this:

97: Xavi
93: Iniesta, Busquets, Thiago
84/83: Fabregas

Even being open minded about his youth, I'm still not sure Thiago is higher than Iniesta.

[blaugrana]

In the supercopa game he was at his best. When he is allowed to have a free role in the center of the field he is just the best. Not a fast or strong at all but available all the time moving up and down the field, creating extreme danger with pure attacking intelligence, passing and dribble accuracy.

higher attack to replicate his danger?

[furymaker]

what to say about Iniesta ? Were there players like him , playing so classy , elegant , relaxed , amazing TECH , just amazing , running through defense like they're nothing , capable of giving sliding past players , assisting ? Showed his class last night , far and away the best player on pitch even with Messi , Ronaldo , Xavi playing . ( I know it's still early and players are not fully fit )

[paddypoohead]

Would a 98 DA be so ridiculous? In terms of pure dribbling in tight spaces with the ball close to his feet, I see him very, very close to Messi. He's just so smooth.

[RoMario]

Sorry, but you could have sent a message to the post, for not to do it all again...
no more help in a forum that does not contribute

[Korinov]

I'm ok with the 93 value suggested for Teamwork plus a drastic downgrade of Condition. I see little reason why he should deserve anything over Özil (Cond 5), both of them play a lot of matches each season but are quite irregular players. I mean, Iniesta was great on thursday vs. Madrid but today he's playing pretty poorly against Osasuna. He's always been a bit like this to be honest.

[antihero]

He's clearly DA 98. There shouldn't be a gap in DA between him and Figo.
There's shitloads of videos to support this value.

I don't see why he doesn't have the Passer card and *Passing.
Didn't he use to have it until like 6 months ago?
Since the EURO he's been playing inch-perfect through balls more than he ever did.
Yes, he still plays a lot of cut back passes but he doesn't rely on them.

[furymaker]

I can't agree with you Korinov on his Condition , he is miles ahead of Ozil , who plays more than half of the season average and another half as player everyone knows he can be . While on the other hand , Iniesta had different role today than against Madrid , he played along Cesc who had deeper but kind of free role , Iniesta had to cover for him sometimes and didn't had that freedom he's used to have . Whole Euro , start of the season he's at his best , before that he was injured and recovering from injury , he is no way under 6 , 7 would suit him better as even when he's playing bad ( as today ) his passing was accurate , just not as incisive as usual .

[Alex]

He's DA could be at 98, but if he's raised Zidane should be raised also IMO.

[Los Muchachos]

Disagree with decrease in Condition. His passing against Osasuna was still good. Also his Condition is way better than Ozil.

[vinnie]

I think i agree about condition 5 despite all these contrary opinions, i've thought the same about Iniesta dissapearing for periods at a time with mediocre performances for his standards, and then leading Barca with heroic performances out of the blue.

[Korinov]

Anyone who has followed him closely for years knows well he's always been and still is an irregular player. It's true his constant small injuries are an important factor, but still, even in injury-free periods the level of his performances tends to have many ups and downs. Considering the number of matches he plays every year, a player of his skill should have better statistics specially in terms of assists... I don't get the argument of him being much more constant than Özil, if that's so then why Özil produces way more assists than him?

[Alexalibur]

The argument of Özil having more assists than Iniesta is like saying that Gomez is better than Xavi because he scored more goals. It's really off in my opinion, no disrespect. Iniesta's role with Barca is nothing more than support and flashy dribbling skills. Özil plays in a more direct way and has a bigger role in the Madrid attack. He plays more dangerous passes (replicated by PSD using *Passing card with Özil), attacks the 18-yard box more often and much more aggressive overall than Iniesta. Barca and Madrid play very differently so comparing their players might mislead (In general, statistics tend to mislead a lot).

Anyway, I don't see a problem with his form decreased, but I only agree with 6 as maximum. 5 is a bit too harsh IMO.

[Korinov]

I don't think the *Passing card justifies Özil being more prolific in terms of assists if we take into consideration that Iniesta is way superior to him in terms of ATT, SPA, SPS and TW. About the "more direct way" Özil plays... I don't really see Iniesta as a Xavi-type playmaker who can spend like 20 minutes just passing the ball around in midfield, Iniesta is actually way more incisive than Xavi and actually tends to go for more risky passes often (that's why his passing statistics arent's so "perfect" like Xavi's).

The problem with Iniesta is his inconsistancy. It's always been. If he truly were a Cond 7 like we have him currently he would easily reach about 10-15 goals and 20-25 assists each season, while in truth he's always been far from those numbers (due to injuries yes, but also dips of form and inconsistant displays).

Ah, anyway, to the point: Condition 6 could do, but honestly I'm more inclined to 5. Between IT:C and Condition 5 he should struggle to play more than 25 league matches per ML season at good form, which pretty much is the goal of the update. I know it may sound a bit extreme to go all the way down to 5, but still... my vote goes there. Any more opinions?

[Fantasista]

I am for condition 6.