Tag: Andres Iniesta

  • Nominees for the 2012 Ballon d’Or

    Nominees for the 2012 Ballon d’Or

    The list for the nominees for the 2012 Ballon d’Or award were released by FIFA, with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as the obvious candidates to win this one, while Real Madrid beat Barcelona in terms of number of players on this list and no one really came close to Spain on the international front.

  • FC Barcelona – Lionel Messi Can’t Play Central Defender

    Sometimes, it seems that Barcelona build their team each summer thinking – We’ve got Lionel Messi, the best player in the world; we’ve got Xavi and Iniesta, the best midfielders in the world. The rest will work itself out. And then, you find yourself heading into the Clasico, to play against Real Madrid, without a natural centre back.

  • FC Barcelona – Dealing With the Andres Iniesta Injury

    The next couple of weeks have Barcelona travelling to Getafe (this weekend), playing Spartak Moscow in the Champions League and at home against Granada. There have been tougher schedules, so the Andres Iniesta could have come at worse times, but the man who’ll fill his place, Cesc Fabregas, is the one some are worried about.

  • FC Barcelona – Cesc Fabregas Finding His Place

    Contrary to popular belief, Cesc Fabregas played quite a lot for Barcelona last season. He featured in 28 league matches and 48 all together, scoring 15 goals and adding 20 assists. Not bad for a player who always feels left out due to the presence of Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi.

  • FC Barcelona – Figuring Out What to do With Cesc Fabregas

    Unhappiness, for various reasons, happens for people who play for Barcelona as well. A rising face of frustration in recent weeks is Cesc Fabregas, who has started in all three La Liga matches for the club but found himself substituted in all of them, making him feel unsatisfied with his current role at the club.

  • Andres Iniesta, European Footballer of the Year, Not Messi or Ronaldo

    For the first time since 2007, someone not called Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi wins the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award, what was once the Ballon d’Or, won by Andres Iniesta of Barcelona for the 2011-2012 season.

  • FC Barcelona – Finding Ways to Help Andres Iniesta & Lionel Messi

    Barcelona lost the Supercopa after three consecutive seasons, just like they lost their league title to Real Madrid last year. Changing of the guards? Probably not – keeping it close with 10 men at the Santiago Bernabeu, putting themselves with a chance to win in the closing minutes thanks to Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta means that one bad half hour doesn’t mean it’s all bad.

  • FC Barcelona – Looking for the Formula to Help Lionel Messi

    If anyone was surprised that Barcelona struggled to get their regular dominant possession game to work yesterday in Osasuna, he probably didn’t watch the same match last season when the hosts grabbed a quick 2-0 lead that lasted till the end. It wasn’t much different in Tito Vilanova’s first away match, but this time Victor Valdes made enough stops, and Lionel Messi was there once again with his golden touch.

  • Andres Iniesta, Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo to win UEFA’s Best Player in Europe

    Surprise? Maybe with Andres Iniesta’s name, but not by seeing Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have made it once again to the final three on the shortlist for UEFA’s best player in Europe award, with Iniesta guaranteed a third place while the two mega stars battle it out for the second consecutive year.

  • Euro 2012 Summary – MVP, First XI and Top Scorers

    Once again, Spain. Some people thought Italy’s improvement during Euro 2012 meant that they would peak in the final, but it wasn’t to be. Many thought Germany, after a perfect group stage and four goals against Greece in the quarterfinals. Italy were in the way. Spain, ”boring” Spain, with the most dominating performance ever in a Euro final, because they simply have the best players, by far.