Andres Iniesta

Everyone likes to talk about the best player in the world.  But very often, people like to look at the one guy who is scoring a lot of goals.  This often leads people to look at players like Messi or Ronaldo, or even Falcao.  But for me Andres Iniesta is undoubtedly the best player on the planet.  Iniesta plays a bigger role for Barcelona than Messi does.  Sure Messi scores the goals, but you’d be hard pressed to find a better playmaker than Iniesta.  The way he moves with the ball is just fantastic.  He is able to dribble like a Brazilian and still has the close control and passing ability that has become synonymous with the Spanish game.  Every time Iniesta is on the field, his team is instantly in a better position to win the game.  It is unfortunate that he has not won the Ballon D’or, which says a lot about how dubious these awards are.  Those who vote for the awards essentially vote for the popular players and the players they like, rather than vote for the players that are at the top of their game.  It is rather tragic that Iniesta has not gotten the accolades that his famous teammate has gotten.  Watching Iniesta play is a true delight.  He makes the game tick like no other, and is a true example to young players all over the world that you do not have to be the strongest or tallest player in the world to be a great player.  How a World Cup and European Cup winner is not viewed as the best player, but a Portuguese diva and an Argentine who can’t replicate club form for country are the ones lauded for their endeavors is beyond me.  But I think true fans of the game will appreciate Iniesta much more than the people with the voting power.



Neymar's New Chapter

Neymar's eminent move to Barcelona is undoubtedly the story of the summer. The long drawn out saga of the Brazilian's move to Europe has come to an end despite the fact that Neymar said he would remain with Santos until after the 2014 World Cup.  Now that the move has been confirmed, it is time for Neymar to prove to the world that he can stand on his own on the same stage as the likes of Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. It is time for him to show the world that Brazil still produces the best players around.

But while fans of the Catalan side can be excited by the prospect of having Neymar in their side, they must also wonder about how he is going to gel with Lionel Messi.  The oft lauded Argentine is without doubt the star of the Barcelona side.  Neymar must learn to coexist with a player of Messi's stature. He is about to join a team of established players who have been playing together for years.  He is traveling on a road taken by other Brazilian stars before him. The difference between them being that those who came before him were the definite stars of the teams they played in. Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, Ronaldo, and Romario were all the main players in the Barcelona teams they played in.

I'm convinced that Neymar is going to be a success for Barcelona. He will add an extra dimension to their play, but he has to learn to deal with the fact that every play is not going to go through him.  He has to deal with the fact that he will not always get the ball.  If Neymar can accept being second fiddle to Messi, then he just might last at Barcelona unlike Ibrahimovic.