Barca

All F.C.Barcelona players:information

Andres Iniesta:

Andres Iniesta was born in Albacete, Spain on May 11, 1984. Ever since he was a litle kid, his parents noticed that he had a talent for football. He used to perform some outstanding moves which convinced his father that his son is going to become a footballer.
When he was twelve years old, he had only one plan — to go to Madrid and start playing for Real. However, after his parents heard that Madrid is not a good place for their son, due to violence on the streets, they changed their minds and sent him to Barcelona. He joined FC Barcelona youngsters, and we can now definitely say that he didn’t make a mistake. He went through the Barca football school, and debuted for the first team in 2002. Soon after that, he started getting more and more chances to play. By 2004, he reserved his spot in the first eleven.
At the moment, he is the first choice of the current FC Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola for the attacking midfield position, along with Xavi. They are every oponent’s nightmare.
What makes Andres more special is that he plays great for the national team. He started in the U-16 team, and now, of course, he’s with the first team

Carles Puyol:















Xavi Hernandez VS Andres Iniesta ; the dangerous duo

So, the debate rages on; who is better Xavi or Iniesta. Nic from FCBNews did a poll to find the second best Barca player after Messi; not surprisingly that soon become a head on clash between two of Barca's little midfield brains. Iniesta emerged victorious ahead of Xavi but with a narrow margin. There is no doubt that FC Barcelona has been blessed with two of the world's best midfielders in Xavi and Iniesta; no soccer fans will deny that. But picking one of them is the most toughest job in hand. Xavi Henrnandez is the midfield General of the side. He controls and drives the midfield and there is no doubt that he is also the captain in waiting for both club and national side. After Guardiola took over he has improved a lot in the scoring section. He regularly finds himself in the scoresheet and no one can forget the number of assists he got. Andres Iniesta is fondly called "The Choir Boy" by media and fans. That name suggest his humble and unassuming nature. He is indeed an exception in an era where the most average of football players vie for media attention. He does his job day in, day out with not much fuss. He is an excellent dribbler and his dribbles has unsettled the best of defensive opponents. His inability to get into score sheet is always pinned against him but no one can deny the fact that many of his team mates get into scoresheet courtesy of his skills. He needs to be a bit more aggresive as I have written earlier - Time For Iniesta To Be Aggressive. He is more versatile that Xavi; actually than anyone in the side. He has played in more postion that any in the history of the game and actually did very well in all those positions. Guardiola started using him front left and that has already started a debate about "Whether to Have Henry or Iniesta in the front". I will come to that in a later post.


So only fact that can be derived from the first paragraph is that both of them are irreplacable in this Barca side. I personally believe that Xavi is better than Iniesta at this moment but then Iniesta has been improving by leaps and bounds with every match.It is mere furtile for us to debate on who is better. Thousands of views will be made supporting each other but no conclusion will be made. Instead we should put our effort to understand and appreciate the effectiveness of them as a pair. Frank Rijkaard could be credited with the forming of the duo but I believe the man who really understood their potential as a pair was Luis Aragones. I believe Rijkaard used them together because they were the best midfielder he had but Aragones realized the explosive power in their pairing. There was no doubt that Xavi was Aragones's favourite player but he also realised the potential of Iniesta and Xavi as a combo. He took the tough call to put Fabregas on the bench. a decision which took ages for English media to digest. Spain's last week matches against Turkey showed the importance of Iniesta in the side. Eventhough Xavi was in full flow their midfield didn't dominate as they used to. We have seen the same happening with FC Barcelona when Iniesta was out injured. During our recent bad patch our opponents cleverly double marked Xavi in the midfield and cut down the creativity from the middle. If Iniesta was present that would not have been easy. This was a tactic very well employed by Real Madrid when they visited Nou Camp in December.

Does that mean that Iniesta is a good player than Xavi. You can't say that authoratively. We have seen Iniesta struggling to knit attacking move from the middle when Xavi is absent from the middle. Especially in Copa Del Rey matches. I do believe that Guardiola's decision to put Iniesta in the right when Xavi is absent also contribute to that. To me Iniesta is a much more dangerous player when he starts on the left. So simply put "Xavi is a great player but Iniesta makes him better, and Iniesta is incomplete without Xavi". Ok, that statement may be an exaggeration but it has a bit of truth in them. Just see the way we dominate matches when both of them start in midfield. When both of them start in the midfield it takes out the option of souble marking from the opponents. To their credits they have formed a lethal partnership and understanding with each other; how many times we have seen thay both creating goals for each other. Even though there is tough competition , both of their nature makes it sure that it will always be a healthy one. Let's hope they remain true to their natures and churn out victories as they are doing now.

Carles Puyol began his footballing career in the local team of the small town where he was born, La Pobla de Segur. His talent soon attracted wider attention and, at the age of 17, he was signed up for the Barca academy at La Masía.

He rapidly became a fixture in Barca B and then progressed to make his debut with the first team on 2nd October 1999 against Valladolid at the orders of Louis Van Gaal. His appearances became more and more frequent until he made the right back position his own. Thanks to his determination to improve and a tremendous work rate, Carles Puyol adapted to the position of central defender.
In the 2003-2004 season, having been chosen as third captain, he played a vital role in the team's sensational run of form that led to the runners-up place in the league. Puyol made 27 appearances in the league and seven in the UEFA Cup.
However, Carles Puyol had to wait until the 2004-05 season to win his first medal with Barca. He was, by then, captain of the first team and an essential part of Frank Rijkaard's league championship winning side. At the end of the season, he finally saw his dream come true of lifting the league trophy in the Nou Camp.
During the 2005-06 season, he played as well as he had the previous year. The Barça captain had the honour of being presented with the league title trophy before the game against Espanyol, before lifting the UEFA Champions League in Paris after the monumental victory against Arsenal in the Saint-Denis Stadium. Puyol only missed five matches all season and none through injury. On three occasions he was rested by coach Frank Rijkaard and was then suspended for the other two games which he did not play in. He also scored one goal as he headed home during the 5-0 victory against Real Sociedad on October 30, 2005.
At the end of the following season in 2006/07 (in which he played in 35 of 38 League games), Carles Puyol suffered the worst injury of his career when the League was already over. He damaged ligaments in his knee in a friendly played in Pretoria on 20 June 2007 and this kept him out until 29 September. Despite missing the first months of the competition, the club captain finally played in 30 League games in the 2007/08 campaign.

In the treble winning season 2008/09, Carles Puyol was once again Barça’s most versatile defender. Guardiola used him as a right back in the Champions League final, a left back in the Copa del Rey final and also as centre back in most games. A great utility player, he also showed he can score goals, such as his header in the historic 6-2 win at the Bernabéu. In Rome he made history by becoming the first Barça captain to lift the Champions league trophy twice.

Carles Puyol is also a fixture in the Spanish national side, with which he played in the 2002 and 2006 World Cups and in the European Championships in 2004 and 2008. In the latter he was key figure as Spain won the title in Vienna.

PROFILE
Carles Puyol started off in the first team at right back but has since developed into a great central defender. He stands out for his tremendous fitness levels and his discipline on the pitch. He's a perfect example of a team player and he never over-complicates the job when he has to cut off an opposing attacking move.
He can also adapt to the left back position when circumstances dictate. Although he is not particularly tall (178 cm), his physical strength makes him very strong in the air and he is capable of man-marking opposing forwards who are taller than him. He also likes to get up in attack, especially for corners and free kicks.
More than anything else, Carles Puyol is a reference point for the rest of the squad due to his character and qualities of leadership and because of his pride in the Barca colours and his total identification with the Club.
HONOURS
FC Barcelona
2009/10 Liga
2009/10 World Club Cup
2009/10 European Super Cup  
2009/10 Spanish Super Cup
2008/09 Champions League
2008/09 Liga
2008/09 Copa del Rey 
2006/07 Spanish Super Cup
2005/06 Champions League
2005/06 Liga
2005/06 Spanish Super Cup
2004/05 Liga

Spanish national team
2008 European Championship  
2000 Silver medal. Sidney Olympic Games