La Liga is one of the best leagues in the development of young players and I’ve picked my top 4 that you should look out for in the next coming years.  These are my picks and just who I think can go on to achieve great things in their careers. Some have been in and around La Liga for a while but there are some who are going to get the attention they truly deserve.

I’m going to start with a personal favourite, Barcelona’s Thiago Alcantara. He has been around the Barcelona first team for a while but he is still relatively young and he has the potential to be one the best ever. Thiago’s ideal position is Central Midfield or attacking midfielder. I think he plays best when more advanced than the other Barcelona Midfielders. At such a young age he has already achieved so much, 3 league titles, 1 champions leagues and 1 Copa Del Rey, not bad for 21 year old. He has many strengths and only a few weaknesses. His main strength for me is his first class touch and how well he copes under pressure, vital for any Central midfielder. Having a good first touch can change a game in an instant. The way he copes when surrounded by opposition players is a joy to watch, he doesn’t panic and very rarely gives the ball away. With Xavi’s career coming to end is Thiago the perfect replacement? Thiago comes from a footballing family, his dad won the world cup in 1994, his brother, Rafinha  is also a footballer for Barcelona and his cousin plays for Benfica in Portugal.  The only downside to his game is he isn’t very physical for CM, in order to be the perfect midfielder he needs to become bigger physically. He also lacks concentration with him this season losing key passes a few times which have led to Barcelona conceding.

If you have watched the recent 3 Clasico’s then my next player of focus will be very familiar to you, Raphael Varane. Varane is one of those players that you can tell from a young age he was going to be an amazing defender. I’ve watched him from about 2008 when he was at lens at France and I knew from then that it wouldn’t be long till a bigger club come knocking. I was right, who came knocking? Only one of the biggest clubs in the world, Real Madrid.  Varane was signed by Real Madrid in 2011 and was persuaded to join by Zinedine Zidane. Varane is starting to show his class and talent this season with him being a vital part of the Real Madrid team. His key strengths include his lightning pace which we have seen first-hand in the recent Clasico’s. He also very strong and has a fantastic aerial ability, which in the Clasico’s we have seen with him scoring 2 headers and winning key headers. With these strengths he is what I see as the perfect CB, he has everything you need to make it as a defender. He can compete with most players in the game. He is also the perfect modern day centre back. Varane has taken his first team chances well and I think if he stays at this performance level he could easily go on to be one the best defenders ever.

Next up is Malaga’s Isco, a central attacking midfielder or a winger. Isco is hotly tipped as the next big thing and has dozens of clubs knocking at his door. Isco has a value of around £15-£20 million which is more than affordable for most of the clubs that are after him. In 2012 Isco won the Golden boy award beating off players like Christian Erisken, Stephan El Shaarawy and Mario Gotze, Not bad eh? In the summer of 2012 Malaga sold Santi Cazorla to Arsenal and this move helped Isco progress. As you’d expect Isco was always going to be in Cazorla’s shadow at Malaga and wouldn’t be given as much of a chance but when Santi was sold Isco was given the chance and fitted the huge hole perfectly well. He has a fantastic technical ability and has a good eye. He also reads the game well and knows where to pass the ball before he’s even got it . Isco also has the ability to split a defence with a single pass. He also has an added bonus in his locker, he can shoot quite well, a superb attribute for any attacking midfielder.

Iker Munian. I don’t know where to start with him there is so much I could say about him.  Iker is 20 but has been around the Athletic first team for what feels like a million years. He made his first team debut as a 16 year old. I feel that Iker has the potential to replace Xavi/Iniesta in the Spain squad as the creator of the goals. Iker has been dubbed as the ‘Spanish Messi’ by some Spanish press. Iker has great close control and has lots of flair is which is what you want from your wingers. In the time I’ve been watching Iker (about 2009) I have noticed he is hard to track because he is constantly on the move moving infield then back out wide before the defenders can get close to him. If Iker can stay injury free and continue to progress at the rate he has done then I don’t see why he can’t go on to be one of the best Spanish players ever. Another key point on Munian is he uses the ball well and very rarely makes a mistake when on the ball. A truly fantastic talent and real joy to watch.

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

Lionel Messi — best ever? Let’s leave that argument for another day.

Let me tell you the unusual story of how some childish schoolboy behaviour stopped him from signing for Argentine giants River Plate.

As a kid he was diagnosed with growth hormone problems and needed funding to pay for his medical attention. Coming from a poor family, his parents couldn’t pay for it. Local clubs couldn’t either, so they had to turn to a bigger club. This is where River Plate come into it. Leo was 12 years old and he had been given a trial at River Plate along with his friend Leandro Gimenez. It was January 2000 and both boys were in a car heading towards Buenos Aires. Both were very talented and had impressed the coaches at the trial. Messi scored 8 goals in a 15-0 win. River Plate would house players if they were 13 or older but Messi and Gimenez were only 12 so they would have to stay with family, which was a problem for Messi as he didn’t have any living there.

He asked his friend if he could stay with him and his family, Gimenez said yes, like any friend would. You may be reading this thinking it’s a bit pointless but what happened next changed football history. The man who drove the two boys to the trial had to take another one back so there were 3 in the car. Messi and Gimenez started arguing about who would sit in the middle, Messi jumped in the car and sat next to the window leaving Gimenez sat in the middle. Gimenez annoyed at this, turned to Messi and said “Fine, you can have the window seat but you can’t stay with me in Buenos Aires”.

A few weeks had passed. Gimenez was living in the capital and training with River Plate but Messi was not there. Messi’s father was aware of the problem that Leo had nowhere to stay, so he asked River Plate for a job so he could live in Buenos Aires with Leo but they declined. One scout/coach said that if Messi didn’t come they would miss out on a great player but others at the club said they had loads of others just like Messi and they would get another player just like him if he didn’t sign.

Gimenez stayed on River Plate for 3 years but got injured twice, both serious injuries. After this he was never really the same player and decided to quit football. The two have not spoken face to face since the argument about the window seat. Gimenez however sent Messi a Facebook message during the World Cup in 2010. Messi liked the message but that is as much contact the two have had.

Gimenez now works as customs officer in Buenos Aires. And Messi, well I don’t really need to say much about what Messi is doing, do I?

When you read or hear about Sergio Busquets what springs to mind? Diver? Play actor? In his time in the Barcelona first team he has been labelled and scrutinised in every way possible but there is so much more to him than what the press say. In this modern era of football people tend to go along with what they read in the media and don’t say what they feel. I’ve always said that Busquets is a brilliant player and he can only get better. I feel I may be one the only Busquets fans around but he is so massively underrated and he deserves praise for what he has achieved at his young age.

He made his debut in 2008 and from that day he has performed superbly with him being a vital cog in the Barcelona team. In the Barcelona team 3 players get all the praise and all the recognition but although he doesn’t get goals Busquets deserves just as much credit. At the tender age of 24 he has achieved the following:

• 3 La Liga titles
• 2 Copa Del Rey trophies
• 3 Spanish Super Copa trophies
• 2 Champions league trophies
• 2 European Super Cup trophies
• 2 World club cups
• World Cup 2010
• European Championships 2012
• UEFA team of the tournament for the European Championships in 2012
• Won La Liga Breakthrough player in 2009

Despite the trophies and individual awards he has also made many changes to both the Spanish team and the Barcelona team. With his sterling performances in the Barcelona team he benched Yaya Toure and Seydou Keita which eventually made them leave the team because they weren’t getting the playing time they desired. In 2010 Barcelona signed Javier Mascherano a player who also happened to play in Busquets position so what happened? Busquets upped his game even more which forced Barcelona to move Mascherano to a Centre Back. Not only did he do this with Barcelona he also did with it Spain moving Marcos Senna out of the squad. After Euro 2008 Senna was pushed out the squad by Sergio, with Senna still performing well for club, there was no moving Busquets who then went on to take his place in the 2010 World Cup squad.  Away from trophies and moving players out of position he always gives 100% on the pitch and he seems to have his head screwed on. Busquets is a model professional and he has Barcelona blood and the Busquets family name has history with Barcelona with his dad being a former Goalkeeper and a current goalkeeping coach at the club. When his dad was at the club he used to take a young Sergio to training and used to take him the dressing room where he would listen to the talks and the players advice  so even from a very young age he was destined to be a footballer.

How much more can Sergio go on to achieve? I personally think he could go on to be one of the best in the world and possibly become a future Barcelona captain and maybe Spain captain. Let’s not forget that he is still only 24 so if things go well we could have another 10 years of him.

I’d love to hear what you think so either leave a comment on the bottom or follow me on Twitter (@ConnorParry17) if you would like to talk about this topic or La Liga in general.

Is La Liga finally becoming the dominant force in Europe, if not the world? For many years the Premier League has been seen as the best league in Europe, but I and clearly many others around the world beg to differ. Just last week we watched the World XI announced live on TV and in case you missed it the whole XI were from La Liga, with 10 coming from Barcelona and Real Madrid and Falcao making up the numbers. Was this the correct decision?

I have many reasons and statistics why I think La Liga is the best league. I’ve watched football for as long as I can remember and I’m a season ticket holder at Liverpool but other than Liverpool I very rarely watch other premier league games as I don’t find them that interesting.  I’m not going go on and on about why I don’t like the Premier league because that would bore you now wouldn’t it? Instead I’ll tell you why La Liga is, in my opinion better.

In La Liga the best players in the world play there whereas there are only a few ‘world class’ players in the premier league. Messi who has dominated the Ballon D’or for 4 years and has torn apart several English teams in various champions league matches plays in La Liga, Sure Messi took his time scoring against an English team but once he did it he hasn’t stopped scoring 7 goals against English opposition including a fantastic 4 against Arsenal. Ronaldo who has played in both the Premier League and La Liga is also amongst the best in the world. Ronaldo at his time at Manchester United score 118 goals in 292 apps whereas at Real Madrid he has scored 174 goals in 173 apps a fantastic record. His best season at Real Madrid had him scoring 60 goals in one season but at Man United his best was 42. When in conversation one of the main things that people bring up is him scoring 60 goals and that apparently means, straight away La Liga is a poor league. This is a question to all those reading this, ask yourself a question, would you rather see a player score 40 goals or 60 goals? The more goals the better, I love goals and I’m pretty sure that you love goals too so why complain? Staying with the better players in La Liga I know turn my attention to who I feel is the best Number 9 in the world at the moment, Radamel Falcao. Earlier on in the season Falcao scored 4 against Chelsea in the Super Cup. There are many more players I could praise but I’ve just focused on who I feel are the best.

Another reason I think La Liga is the best has nothing to do with players or statistics, it is all about you. Think to yourself before you criticise La Liga how many La Liga games did have you watched this season so far or how many did you watch last year? I bet about half you watched less than five. Most people who claim to watch La Liga will watch El Clasico and that is it. How can you get a real feel for La Liga when you watch 2 games a season? Besides Barcelona vs Real Madrid, there are some really good games in La Liga that are worth a watch.