Iniesta is the finest Spanish footballer ever. He should be regarded as highly as any of those footballing gods, past and present, whose pantheons we worship. As an attacking midfielder, Iniesta belongs on the same pedestal as Zinedine Zidane. If he can inspire Spain to another victory – just as he did in 2010 – or even enjoy another stellar tournament, in my eyes he will surpass Zidane.
Before every major final, we speak of those who differentiate themselves from the rest by defining games that most matter. We ask who will thrive under pressure. We query if those who have produced in earlier stages of a competition can do so when the winning post is in sight. Think of how few are capable of doing that. Then consider how often Iniesta has delivered. Few players get the chance to make an impact on one final. Iniesta has left his imprint on the final of every major competition.
Iniesta was not only part of the World Cup-winning team, he scored the winning goal in 2010 and was the man of the match. He was man-of-the-match in the European Championships final against Italy two years later, and named player of the tournament.
In the Champions League he was consistently in the team of the year, name-checked by opponents as much as Messi as the man who truly made Barcelona tick. Ahead of the 2009 Champions League final, Sir Alex Ferguson named Iniesta as the player he most feared. After the game, Wayne Rooney said Iniesta was the best footballer in the world. So it goes on. He was man-of-the-match in the 2015 Champions League final, too, by then Barcelona captain.
Our perceptions of Iniesta – both positive and misjudgments – are influenced by the quality of those around him. It is easy to see the emergence of Guardiola’s great Barcelona side through Messi’s impact, meaning many of those around him are viewed as support acts. Spain’s international success, and the manner in which Iniesta has driven them forward, shows how Barca’s success is down to more than Messi.
Iniesta is not a goalscoring midfielder. He has never been particularly quick. Even his assists record seems relatively modest. But our memories of particular games are shaped by the warmth of experience – what we saw on the field – far more than the cold data we analyse afterwards.
Put simply, Iniesta is a joy to watch; how he understands the game; the ease with which he glides away from opponents – particularly in the tightest of situations; how he is always in position, always there to exchange a pass with a team-mate to link defence, midfield and attack and keep the game moving at the pace he dictates. This is a skill no pass completion or assist chart can ever show us. The pleasure and thrill comes from the naked eye.
Iniesta’s influence on games defines his career more than statistics. The same was true of Zidane, whose goal and assist record fails to demonstrate on paper his authority on the pitch. Zidane is held in such esteem because, like Iniesta, he shone in the World Cup, European Championship and Champions League final. For much of my playing career, I felt Xavi was the finest midfielder I played against. After seeing Iniesta as a teenager, Guardiola famously told Xavi: “You will retire me, but this kid will retire us both.”
No one can replace Iniesta. Xavi and Iniesta changed how football is played – or certainly how managers believe games can be won. When I established myself in the Liverpool team in the late 1990s, everyone was following France’s template. Coaches saw the make-up of the 1998 World Cup-winning team and craved the biggest, most physically powerful, athletic players – especially in midfield. Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal team were built on similar principles. Academies were disregarding the slight, technical gifted players because tall, strong and quick was the future.
Every technically gifted player of similar height to Iniesta owes him a debt. The scouts heading to Russia – or certainly those from the most ambitious Champions League clubs – will not be under orders to ignore anyone under 5ft 7in. Quite the contrary.
Aged 34, Iniesta has retired now and bade final goodbye to his top-level football career. We should not think of him as a player who merely fitted into the grand plan of the most exciting football teams ever, but a midfield architect as responsible as any for the attacking design of those sides – and the teams of the future. We should not think of Iniesta as one of the best attacking midfielders there has been. He is worth more than that.