Why Gerrard and Iniesta are better than Messi and Ronaldo
Is Iniesta better than Messi?
All we’ve been reading about these past few weeks is Messi this, Ronaldo that. The seemingly never ending debate on which player is the best has granted, been a whole load of fun, yet for me it’s also been tiresome in equal measure.
There can be no doubt that Lionel Messi won his individual battle with Cristiano Ronaldo in Rome but does that really make him the world’s greatest footballer?
My inclination is that Ronaldo and Messi are the two most ‘dangerous’ players on the planet. One with his power and technique is the perfect Premier League specimen, the other with his craft and skill, the epitome of Spanish football at its best. They are the ultimate match winners. But are they the best?
Personally, I think not.
For all their skill, speed and trickery both superstars have areas of their game that remain distinctly average. All-round footballers they are not.
I’d like to think that the world’s best player should excel in almost every way. They should be complete. They should be the most influential player on the pitch, almost every time they step onto the grass.
With that in mind, can you think of two players who can top Steven Gerrard and Andres Iniesta? They have power, pace, skill, vision, endeavour, defensive nous, leadership, craft, goals, creativity, temperament….they have the lot.
I nominate Iniesta as the best player in the world as of today. Who gets your vote?
This article was previously published on 4sportsake.com.
steven gerrard for me, he does everything iniesta does, just better.
“With that in mind, can you think of two players who can top Steven Gerrard and Andres Iniesta?”
Well yes!……Messi and Ronaldo actually.
You list off the supposed strenghts of Gerrard and Iniesta without any analysis. Defensive strength, maybe better than Ron/Mes but then they are midfield players not forwards.
Leadership? Gerrard yes, Iniesta…not sure.
Goals? Not nearly as many as Ron/Mes.
All of the other qualities apply to Ron/Mes in spades.
It’s all relative, all 4 are great players but I’m afraid that your thesis (brief as it is and lacking in decent argument to substantiate the point) does not hold water.
I agree that Gerrard is the best all round footballer in the world, one area of Gerrards game that people often overlook are his defensive capabilities, he broke into the Liverpool team as a defensive midfielder whilst Hamann was injured and lets not forget that he finished off the 2005 Champ final at RB, so if that’s the weakest part of his game and he still does it better than most, surely he is the best player in the world at the moment. In years to come Iniesta will only get better but at the moment Gerrard is better. As for Ronaldo Vs. Messi, Messi wins in my opinion, they are both skilful players but there is more purpose to Messi’s skill, Ronaldo is too much of a showboater.
Xavi is no doubt the 2nd best (after Messi, of course)
strange.. there seems to be something missing from this article.. maybe a little more facts would do..
come on guys… you cant compare any player with other.They are the best in their own categories.This “BEST PLAYER OF THE YEAR” is only based on the peformance that year. everyone knows that
Steven Gerrard has been the most influential player for liverpool.If he had better players around him then he too would have played freely. his influence is more since torres has arrived.
Iniesta is really good player as an attacker and free short passes.
ronaldo and messi can be compared coz both play almost a similar role.Ronnie scores most of his goals in set-pieces, pen and freekicks wheras messi scores more field goals
MESSI IS THE BEST…..
i agree with bdcondell, gerrard and iniesta play midfield hence their expected roles would be more than messi/ronaldo. Gerrard and iniesta’s influence diminishes when they are put on the flanks. And to be much effetive they need forwards of great quality to link up to. Gerrard and liverpool is much better with torres at the front. Iniesta was much more influential when henry and e’to regained their form this season together with an injury free messi. Ron/messi can change the game anywhere in the second half of the pitch. They attract/require more defenders to play against and open spaces for other players to exploit. Their absence when they are not on the pitch like gerrard and iniesta are noticeable on their respective team’s performance. All four had a great season but for me, messi i think should win the FoY award and he will.
On the other side,if forwards like ron/messi are given/required to be more defensibly, then it won’t be much better for the team. Like the way rooney was used against barcelona. Personally, i think rooney is much more complete than messi and ronaldo. He didn’t get a lot of goals coz his roles were dependent on the opponent team. His play is not about individual stats but the performance of the team. When rooney goes well so does united. I hope rooney gets a breakout season and overshadow both messi and ronaldo coz i think he can.
Go united.
Ronaldo shouldn’t even be mentioned in the same class with these other players. Iniesta, Gerrard, MEssi and FRANK LAMPARD are all a class above Ronaldo. So is Wayne Rooney and Ryan Giggs for United.
Ronaldo’s success has entirely been against English teams. English clubs, and English national team. His profile has been elevated by an English media anxious to anoint someone at an English club who had defeated England at the national team level as some sort of conqueror, some sort of new Cryuff, Pele or Eusiebo. Here are the facts on Ronaldo- his greatest success has been due to other players- Figo, Rui Costa, Giggs, Rooney etc. It is a myth that he is somehow on the level of Xavi, Inesita, Messi, Riberry, Gerrard, or even Rooney himself.
His performance for Portugal in key games most recently the Euros against Germany show he is not a truly world class player- a good one yes. Someone who can excel with a lot of talent around hime playing well, yes.
His list of real bad performances include Portugal’s last few qualifiers under Carlos Quieroz who he has a strong bond with, the 2008 Euros vs Germany, the 2006 World Cup vs France and the Euro 2004 final vs Greece.
His success has been entirely confined to matches against England, English clubs or lesser European nations and clubs. Gerrard on the other hand and Lampard also have raised their game when they need to. Rooney is the one truly world class English player who could fit in seamlessly in Serie A or La Liga without the usual acclimation process it takes for an English player in a league with different tactics and wider pitches.
Man U fans should embrace Rooney, who after all is English before Ronaldo. So should the British media.
And one more thought, i think for iniesta and gerrard to be world best player they have to reach the status of Zidane because there are a lot excellent forwards out there. Zidane was the complete midfield maestro. Gerrard and iniesta are very close but they’re not there yet.
messi was out for a few games and so bad barcelona’s position that they started calling it messilona.
there is no one more influential than messi in world football.just his mere presence made a difference in the field because it drew so many players towards him.
iniesta and xavi maybe. gerrard? he isn’t in the same league as messi, ronaldo, xavi, iniesta talent wise.
BD Condell, you say that Gerrard and Iniesta aren’t as dangerous in attack as Messi and Ronaldo, and that they don’t score nearly as many goals. In 3 of the last 4 years, Gerrard has scored over 20 goals across all competitions. This season he scored 24 goals in 41 appearances. How is someone who scores a goal every 2nd game not an attacking threat? This season Messi did score a lot more, 38 in 51, but he only scored 16 last season, and Ronaldo only scored 26 goals this year, in 53 games. So 11 more matches, for only 2 more goals. So Gerrard scores more often than Ronaldo, yes?
I do tend to agree with this article. Gerrard and Iniesta are both very complete players. Xavi is good, but maybe not as much of an attacking force as Gerrard and Iniesta. Xabi Alonso scored a bit this year and became a stronger all round player. As for Rooney, in my opinion he doesn’t score nearly enough goals. He shouldn’t be considered a striker, more a center forward, a target man.
Lol@Kartik
How do you explain his 42 goals and his winning of the Ballon D’Or award? 42 goals can’t be all hype can it?
:rolls eyes:
What a load of bullshit! Gerrard is nowhere close to the best player… If you want the most complete player, you’d have to go for Patrick Kluivert or Zlatan Ibrahimovic; they are the most complete players the world has seen (physique, fast, double foot, topscorers, assist-makers, very good headers etc.) but they aren’t the best.
Messi is soo much better because he can make the difference. Iniesta is among the best players of the world certainly, but Gerrard…… lol! I bet you are a Liverpool fan or a blind Premiership-follower else you would never say such a thing. There are already three players at the Chelski-midfield who are better than Gerrard.
Gerrard played as a striker this season and still scored less than Ronaldo…Gerrard can’t pass without trying to make it Hollywood and a lot of time loses it. It seems the Liverpool fans have forgiven him for his transfer requests
Gerrard is given a free role with Liverpool whereas a lot of the time Iniesta and Xavi are stuck to the CM position and only rarely in United’s new formation is Ronaldo given freedom to roam from the right wing. Gerrard, while being a good player, is vastly overrated
LOL Messi is one of the best passers in the game, also has an eye to create and he tracks back and is an incredible ball winner(see him in the copa america vids or in ‘the legend of lionel messi’ on youtube, insane ball winner). Messi is the most complete footballer since Zidane and Ronaldo(the real Ronaldo).
Gerrard epitomises everything which is wrong with the english game – he is just a 100% mile an hour, up and down meathead, who tries forcing the play at every opportunity. yes, he may win you a game with a screamer from 40 yards but he never has or never will dictate a game like xavi because he doesnt have the intelligence to do so, neither does he have the technique. benitez disliked playing him in the middle of midfield exactly for those reasons – he cant control a game.
Xavi has been far and away the best midfielder in the game for 5 seasons now. He is on a different planet to any player out there at the moment, Iniesta is probably a season behind Xavi in terms of influence on the field, but there is no doubt he has the ability to equal or maybe even surpass xavi one day.
Gerrard this, Gerrard that…I’m sure Gerrard will find the cure for cancer, he’s so amazing!
I don’t know what Frank Lamaprd has to do to earn more respect, because he’s actually better today than he was four years ago as World Player of the year runner up.
Gerrard should not even be in this conversation. Xavi is twenty times better than him. If you want to add another one to the mix it would be Marcos Senna. Gerrard just has the hype of the English media backing him up.
Seeing as Gerrard gets played up front behind Torres, him and Inieasta would combine amazingly.
Imagine xabi Alonso and iniesta as hold midfielders, feeding through Gerrard and Torres.
actually iniesta is also the good player of the world…i agree with you..but i want to say that messi is the best player amongst all…because he not only dribbles he ball…he not only beats past 5-6 defenders..but he scores amazingly also…and he creates chances also…it is almost impossible for a single player to possess this whole capacity…..and this is the only reason why lionel messi is the best amongst all…you have crazy..and i think you don’i like messi as a real madrid fan..so you are saying these things …..so at first you must have to believe that you ain’t on any of the side then only comment…….
so better hav a look at your surrounding and then only post your article…..you need to watch each and every things of a player…not with a single mistake you will declare him the worst……so think a lot about it…better luck next time………
LIONEL MESSI ROCKS………..
viva MESSI
@Kylej: “BD Condell, you say that Gerrard and Iniesta aren’t as dangerous in attack as Messi and Ronaldo, and that they don’t score nearly as many goals. In 3 of the last 4 years, Gerrard has scored over 20 goals across all competitions. This season he scored 24 goals in 41 appearances. How is someone who scores a goal every 2nd game not an attacking threat? This season Messi did score a lot more, 38 in 51, but he only scored 16 last season, and Ronaldo only scored 26 goals this year, in 53 games. So 11 more matches, for only 2 more goals. So Gerrard scores more often than Ronaldo, yes?”
No!!!!
What I say is that Ronaldo and Messi socre more goals!
Ronaldo has scored 91 goals in 155 games (1 every 1.7 games) for Utd in the past 3 seasons and 22 in 64 internationals (1 every 2.9 games).
Messi has scored 71 goals in 127 games for Barca in 3 seasons (1 every 1.8 games) and 12 in 36 internatinals (1 every 3 games).
Gerrard: 56 goals in 144 games over 3 seasons (1 every 2.6 games) and 14 in 72 internationals (1 every 5.1 games).
Iniesta: 18 goals in 148 games in 3 seasons (1 every 8.1 games) and 6 in 35 internatinals (1 every 5.8 games).
So I think we can conclude that Iniesta isn’t much of a goalscorer and that Gerrard is comfortably behind Ronaldo and Messi.
If you want to use stats to support your argument I suggest you learn how to use them properly!
@Kartik: “Ronaldo’s success has entirely been against English teams”
Rubbish! You obviously missed his performances in the CL in the past 2 seasons and 22 goals in 64 internationals…or were they all games against England??
This debate has nothing to do with nationality so keep your xenophobic little mits off it!
Ronaldo has great skills and produce unbelievable moments but he is not good in motivating his teammates and definitely not good at defending. Gerrard is the best for me. He singlehandedly won Champs Leangue and also FA cup. Even ROnaldo or Messi cant do that.
STEVEN GERRARD is the best player in the world at the moment.
Why i say this ?
This is because his leadership in Liverpool and he have the avaiblity to score goals.As a midfielder can score goals like a striker is not easy.
So , i vote Gerrard as the best player of the world.
i will go for the best player of the year..
1.messi
2.xavi
3.iniesta/gerrard
4.iniesta/gerrard/ronaldo/torres
5.iniesta/gerrard/ronaldo/torres/kaka/zlatan/lampard
base on 08/09 season.. ronaldo is not great as b4
if you look at the shear amount of goals scored by ronaldo and those scored and assisted by messi, then they are both extremely influential when it comes to the onfield success of their team. All the qualities that have stevie g and iniesta have – messi and ronny have them too (save defensive nous – ronny does kick like a mule). They’re all pretty dynamic. As are dudes like Kaka, Xavi and Rooney.
this article seems to have been done in 5 minutes – at halftime in the UCL final or between the match finishing and the trophy presentation. Not a whole heap of care or deep analysis, in my mind.
this piece would be more at home in the forum than on the front page of the website, surely…
Lampard among the top? get outa here…
messi and iniesta the best players on the planet look at iniesta and u see he is messi on the midfield
for me,ronaldo and messi are better player with a high-skill quality..but Gerrard and Iniesta is the best player in the world today.
Gerrard scored a lot of goal this season with a great leader and i dont think many club has a real captain like Liverpool have.He also have a great partnership with Torres and if Liverpool can buy Barry or Silva,it’ll be batter.
Iniesta can created a creative chance and that’s why They won in the final UCL.u can see Messi,Eto’o,and Henry scored a lot of goal and iniesta created for them.
Gerrard and Iniesta are both in the top five of our poll at bestplayerintheworld.com. In fact, Iniesta has been surging up the poll. And we shouldn’t forget the tangibles (Champions League Winner) and intangibles with Gerrard (finds ways to win). There is a reason that Zidane called Gerrard the best player in the world. That said, the best player this year is clearly Messi – both in the polls and on the pitch.
litto : replace lampard with arshavin ?
messi and ronaldo my ass, they are good and talented but not best, this article is good, ineista dn gerrard are doubtelty all -around midielders and htis two should be completing not ron and messi,
Lampard IS a top player. Gerrard is now a good (not great) STRIKER. He is played up front with Torres now so his goalscoring record this season (still worse than Ronaldo) is only good while not great. Iniesta is an amazing player as is Messi. However, I feel the unit that they play in at Barca does make them look better because they are in their comfort zone. Still, all great players but Gerrard is still overrated in the extreme
This article is rubbish!! If we go by this logic then Maradona is not a complete player as he hardly headed the ball or shot with his right foot.!! pathetic logic!!
There is talk of Gerrad. Can someone explain to me what Gerrad has done for England??
Ronaldo is King!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! end of story.
I second that!!! people claim Messi and all these new names to be the best all because of the growing anti-Ronaldo sentiment instigated by his infamous ego. But if we put personalities aside and focus on the man and his
unprecedented talent, it is as obvious as 1+1, Ronaldo is the best. In Rome it was virtually Ronaldo vs Barca. Messi is being given the credit of dethroning Ronaldo doing ABCD and 12345 mmh yeah the god Messi!!! all crap. Xavi and iniesta are the real engineers of Barca, Messi is as good as a shoe without Barca. All he does is dribble past 2 maybe 3 people then lose the ball. If lucky he gets to pass the ball to a 9mm gun like Eto’o or Henry. Imagine him playing for Man City or Aston Villa. He would be absolutely invisble. No shine!! rubbish
Its true though, i get your point. Messi is point #1 playing for Barca, a well oiled team with perfect players from keeper to the last striker while Ronaldo on the other hand, in his own capacity the engine of Man United. #2 The spanish league is slower and less competitive compared to the EPL and yet Ronaldo still dominates play. #3Messi can’t hit freekicks [they are taken by the King Xavi], messi can’t crack 35 yard volley shots, messi is not faster than ronaldo in either running or on the moving legs dribbling thing, Ronaldo can pass overhead passes while messi is just grounder, Ronaldo is Ronaldo individually, but Messi is Messi only with Barca. And ronaldo is to Man United what Messi is not to Barca. 2009 brings Messi at his best form yet its not even half what Kaka did in 2007 better yet Ronald 2008. FACT!!!!!!!!!!!
Messi, Iniesta, Ronaldo are all definitely there. But Gerard, in this league. Sorry. really. He can go down to a second league comprising of players like Kaka,Xavi etc..
i think messi is the best without any doubt
Is it not so much easier to shine when you play a really attacking role like Messi and Ronaldo. It takes more to impress as a midfielder, because they do not get on the scoresheet as often but im pretty sure they have more assists and do better work in defence.
Claude Makelele is a prime example of how the best players do not always get the credit they deserve. Many a time he was the best player on the pitch but did not recieve man of the match award.
It takes 1 piece of magic to score a goal, but it takes 90+ minutes of solid defending and concentration to keep a clean sheet and stop the other team from completely over running you.
You have nothing to compare to goals for defenders midfielders and goalkeepers, it may not be the midfielders job to score goals, and therefore you cant compare the number of goals scored. You cannot have more than 1 clean sheet a match, so defenders will never be able to challenge forwards in that respect.
I believe iniesta is the best playerin the world, great vision, passing and all round ability, takes great tactics to stop him and xavi in barca’s midfield
you know nothing about football if you still babbling about ronaldo for player of the year..
the top three BEST PERFORMANCE OF THIS YEAR are the 3 magicians: messi, iniesta, xavi (with messi slightly top the other two for his goal collection, which is more valuable than assists), followed by ronaldo and gerrard..
it’s the most fair, objective judgment by far.
there’s no doubt, anyone who discredit one of these players is only a hater, or a newbie fan
i believe for the next 4 years Balon D’or will be shared between messi and iniesta, the two best talents in present football..
I’m not a barca fan, I’m a die hard kopiter, but surely not as blind as some fanatics here..
What does Frank Lampard have to do to get some recognition? Five straight years of 20+ goals from midfield, another year of 10+ assists, a leader on the pitch, arguably Chelsea’s most important player (even more so than Terry)…
@Kartik Krishnaiyer
Interesting how you base a portion of your argument AGAINST Ronaldo on his performance for Portugal but you make no mention of Gerrard’s history with England. Compared with Gerrard, Ronaldo is Pele when it comes to international performances.
This “article” should have been a forum discussion. There are no stats to back up the author’s arguments. I can respect the argument that the “Best Player in the World” should be the best All-Around Player. I don’t necessarily agree, but I can respect the argument. That being said, this author merely anoints Iniesta over Gerrard without any kind of argument one way or the other. Instead, it’s up to commenters to make their own cases.
Frankly, I think this argument boils down to personal preference. The people who hate Ronaldo will probably find a way to downgrade his accomplishments just like the Gerrard haters will find a way to find fault with him. Also, people who believe that the most important job is to score goals will go with offensive players like Messi, Ronaldo, Torres (no mention of him?), Zlatan, etc. People who like more all-around players will go with the Xavis, Iniestas, Lampards, Gerrards, etc.
@Matthew Uruhart
fifa Poy 2 finalists
2007 kaka ronaldo messi
2008 ronaldo messi torres
2009 messi ronaldo __?__
the past 3 years ronaldo and messi are nominated (no iniesta/xavi/gerrard/makelele). Like it or not the more skillful/flashier player or the player that gets the most highlights grabs the public/media’s attention. But unlike the Academy Awards, FIFA for the most part gets it right. Do people actually wanna see players like makelele tackle and play good defensibly or do they wanna see skillful players display their talent that results in an amazing goal? After he won the fifa player of the year in 2006, Cannavaro’s name never gets mention again. His play and career went downhill. I believe having good defense is an integral part or foundation of a good team. But great attacking is better to watch than great defending. Chelsea-Liverpool 2nd leg was a better game than Barcelona-Chelsea match(Chelsea had 11 defenders in that first game).
i think ronaldo is the biggest sucker ever. he simply shows off and does nothing great but lionel messi? what can you say about him? he is so great nobody can match him and his amazing talents. the air of humility in which messi carves his skills is much more interesting to watch than ronaldo’s boastfullness. gerrard however has also been splendid this season and it would be fitting to say that he, besides lionel messi, is the very best player in the world. this season, ronaldo has never been in gerrard’s or messi’s league.
I see all Barcelona matches (being from Spain, sure helps). I can’t talk about Ronaldo or Gerrard just because i don’t see EPL every, just highlights videos and european matches.
But if you ask me about BArcelona you have the best here. Iniesta is just amazing, he never loses the ball and can keep it easily from midfield to foward, he makes the dribble so easy and see him play with Xavi is Priceless. Xavi has not the dribbling accuracy of Iniesta, but he has as vision as him, and a suber pass skill. Messi has better shoot than Xavi and Iniesta, is faster, can dribble as anyone and he has the ball always in his feet. It makes him the most dangerous player in the pitch,
For me: 1.- Messi, 2.- Iniesta 3.- Xavi…
@46 Victor: Now that’s the voice of reason and very true!
@48 Sayan: Read 46…you Ronaldo hater!!
“steven gerrard for me, he does everything iniesta does, just better”
=================
You mean like go missing in an england shirt and fail to win any league championships or barely even challenge??
Iniesta destroys him solely on the fact he wins the big prizes and tips the balance. Gerrard is tremendous but not in iniestas class. That boy could be as good as zidane.
Lampard ofcourse. 100 goals and 100 assists in the last 5 seasons. Need I say more?
All the guys are good in there own way,bt of course Ronaldo outstands them all.United 4 ever
United 4 life,Ronaldo in the one.
ronaldo is not…
i agree he is alot better b4..
but this year ..
alot are better than him
I bet all of you guys who argued gerrard credibility are those shithead red devil’s fans.. there’s reasons why legendary zidane (hail great zidane) vote him as world best player (ronaldinho too). as for ronaldo, for me he is one greedy player. he usually dive (trully shameful =P) to get those free kicks and scored some. i think he manage to score 42 goals that season just because his teammates play very well and other MU players are also great players( he should’nt get all the credit). the reason why ManU lost the UCL final is because of him. he want to become “the hero” to get his second world best player award.look at how many long shot he takes that night. Messi trully is the best player right now (no one can agrue that) and for gerrard, he amazed me cuz he drives his team mates ( other liverpool players sucks like second division team).his influence make his team play well.. thats why zidane toute him as the best.. cannot imagine how well he can do if he plays for giant teams like barcelona =D.. lampard has class but not good enough for me.. rooney- lack of discipline and passion.. kaka’ is great.. xavi too…iniesta is unbelievable..
for me the the top 10 rank should be:
1. messi
2. gerrard
3. iniesta
4. kaka’
5. xavi
6. lampard
7. ronaldo
8. arshavin
9. fabregas
10.torres
go barca!! viva la catalonia!!
haha..
agree about ronaldo.. he kind a selfish for the award..
but if he play for barca..
he will be the one on the bench..
haha.. you’re rite.. he never will be good enough for barca
ya… dare say Gerrard’s better.
He’s one of the most accomplished players of all time
he can virtually play everywhere in da field!!!!
N.B he started as a defender & nw he is one of da best midfielders in da entire world!!!!
To me, Gerrard is the best. He is the most INFLUENTIAL player in the world. He can turn a match on his own. (FA Cup Final 06). What’s more, he can inspire others to turn matches (Champs League Final – his 1st goal). He scores a crazy amount of goals for a central midfielder, and he is one of the best tacklers out of the world’s CMs. While Iniesta, Xavi, and Alonso’s passing may be slightly more precise, he can still play mighty balls and also has great vision (assist for Cisse in FA Cup final 06, ball for Kuyt in 0-0 draw vs West Ham this year).
However, the one thing that will always remain unproven with Gerrard will be his ability to play for a hugely talented side where he is just another “cog in the wheel” like Barca, Real, Inter, or Chelsea (because he will never leave Anfield).
His performances for England are improving as he is playing his natural game. Under Erikkson he played as a defensive mid, Lampard’s clean up man (what Makelele did for Lampard at Chelsea) which he did well. McClaren used him completely incorrectly but Capello has finally realised that Gerrard is England’s best and is giving him a free role, and he is subsequently playing much better for England.
One stat: Messi scored his first goal against an English club in the Champs League final: before that he had played against Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea (almost 10 games). Even Arbeloa marked him easily. Proof (if any was needed) that Messi would not last in the English game and thus cannot attain the title of “World’s Best Footballer”.
Neither can Ronaldo because, for all his wonderful goals and performances, he goes missing when it matters. If things aren’t going his way, he will sulk. (Champs League Final – 4 shots in 10 minutes, Barca score then he barely touches it.) Also when he was sullen and sulky in EPL near the end of the season (when he threw his shirt off, shrugged and sulked his way through being subbed because he’d done nothing to help his side).
Iniesta is not yet as good as Gerrard, nor does he offer the goalscoring prowess, but at 23, has the potential to be better.
torres + gerarrd + xabi alnso = the best
liverpool + gerrard + torres + xabi alonso = the best champions league is ours next years
excuse me….Ronaldo is the best and dont you forget it..how are you people so nasty, give credit where it is due, cannot compare CR to Messi or all the other guys. When messi won it was only his lucky day, and that is all, it wont happen again and besides that. Cr has all the other things well in proprotion even better than david B.
Iniesta and Gerrard are both fantastic footballers with unique abilities. Messi is also a fantastic footballer with an amazing football mind.
Why is Messi rated higher than Iniesta and Gerrard?
- Messi began playing for one of the biggest and most successful clubs in the world (Barcelona) at a tender age of 18. If you take Iniesta and Gerrard, Where they as energetic and explosive as Messi when they were 18?
-It is not everyday you get a player being compared to Diego Maradona. Its true that Iniesta is an astonishing play maker with very sharp and accurate thinking ability. Steven Gerrard is also a collective playmaker and makes great and effective use of the entire pitch with his threatning long and short pass distributions. BUT Messi… He really is something special, something unique. The way he adds more flare to the “Beautiful Game” and his dribbling ability is a key to hiis succesful carreer. Hes dribbles past defenders with such simplicity and speed that the defenders cannot cope with him. Even watching him without the ball hes is special. His runs are so explosive and sudden that can easily catch a deffender of guard. He is such a fine delicate player who keeps suprising people with his magnificent explosive skills. He is truely amazing.
its easy to sya that stevey G is the best cos he sticks out in the liverpool team. but if you think about it messi xavi and iniesta play for a team that is full of superstars that would easly steal the limelight from steve had they gone to aanfield so just the meer fact that inesta shines out while surounded by arguably the best player on the planet and the best pure striker in the game, etto as well as the most cultured right foot in the game xavi, since zizou left then out got to admit that iniesta is ahead of his time. and i havent even mentioned people like henry. as for ronaldo, he does not have big match temprament, thats what distinguishes between great and good. when crunch matches come he is always mediocre. messi performs everywhere ask the argentines back in argentina.
1 xavi
2 iniesta
3 messi
4 steve g
Messi And Ronald are better than Iniesta and Gerrarad!