Who’s better, Andres Iniesta or Zinedine Zidane? Both players have graced La Liga but which one is better, I’m talking overall here not just in la Liga, here’s my view on Iniesta and Zidane.

After growing up watching Zidane I never thought that in my life time there would be a player that comes close to Zidane let alone be possibly better than him. This question has been circling for a few weeks now on social media sites and on TV shows dedicated to La Liga. I don’t really know how people come to one conclusion about how one player is better than another, trophies maybe? Who’s got the most Goals? Writing this might prove hard because in years to come Iniesta will win more trophies and score more goals and will go on to surpass Zidane.

For this head to head I’m going to start with Iniesta. Iniesta is for me the best in the world, goal scorers like Messi will come and go but playmakers like Iniesta come once a decade maybe if we’re lucky. The way Iniesta moves around the pitch is a joy to watch, the passes he attempts are extraordinary, just last week the pass he made for Sanchez goal was sublime, a real treat for those watching. Iniesta is 28 so I think if he stays lucky he will have another 6-8 years left in his career.  Iniesta has come in a wrong era in my opinion, with Messi and Ronaldo stealing all the plaudits Iniesta is left without much recognition here in the UK. I’m not too sure how much media attention he gets in other countries but certainly in Spain he is loved, I’ve seen whole spreads in newspapers dedicated to him in Spain. For me he is the most influential player in the game right now. He could make a goal scoring opportunity from absolutely nothing.

I’m now going to focus on Zidane. I’m a massive fan of Zizou and he’s one of my most favourite footballers ever. I’ve grown up watching him and at times have been mesmerized by the things he’s done, the way he moved about the pitch was inspiring. The man was a magician with the ball, just like Iniesta he also did astonishing things that had fans in awe. Zidane was part of the Galaticos that played for Real Madrid in the early 2000’s and that team was at the time the best I’d ever seen, I adored that team. Although he left the game on a sour note Zidane is still one of the best I’ve seen.  Zidane and Iniesta have been part of fantastic teams that have dominated the world but who was more influential in their respective times, Zidane with the Galaticos or Iniesta with this new Dream Team? Both have scored winning goals in world cup finals, Zidane with two in 1998 and Iniesta with his one in 2010, both the players are very similar and both play with the same style.

I’ve given my opinion on these two fantastic players but now is the time where we get down to the official stuff.  Here’s the trophy count for the two players.

Iniesta                                                  

  • 5 La Liga titles
  • 3 Champions leagues
  • 2 Club World Cups
  • 2 UEFA Super Cups
  • 5 Spanish Super cups
  • 2 Copa Del Reys
  • 1 World Cup
  • 2 European Championships

Zidane

  • 3 League titles
  • 2 UEFA Super Cups
  • 2 Club World Cups
  • 2 Spanish Super cups
  • 1 Champions league
  • 1 World Cup
  • 1 European Championship

I am aware of the fact that Zidane has won a Ballon D’or and 3 World player of the year awards, of course that gives him some sort of advantage but take a look at the player around Zidane at that time when he won, was Davor Suker (Ballon D’or runner up 1998) better than Messi, No. Iniesta has a higher quality of players to compete with. Alright I know Ronaldo** was playing fantastically at the time but was he playing better than what Messi is today, I don’t think so.

So there we have it, my views on these outstanding players and their official trophy counts. I loved writing this piece as its brought back some good memories of these players but I’m interested to hear what you all think, who’s better in your eyes? Please your feedback in the comments below and let me know what you think.

NOTE – ** Refers to the original Ronaldo not Cristiano