Where to find the new Iniesta?
After much speculation, midfielder Andres Iniesta finally announced his decision to leave Barca at the end of the season in a press conference late on April 27 (Vietnam time).
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| Iniesta holds up the King's Cup he won with Barca this season. Photo: REUTERS |
For Iniesta, this is probably a reasonable decision at the age of nearly 34. 16 years of professional football for Barca with 4 Champions League titles, 8 La Liga titles (will be 9 if Barca wins this season)... is a very satisfying achievement for a player's career. It's time for Iniesta to rest and... earn money the easy way with a contract in China or the US according to rumors.
But for Barca, parting with Iniesta at this time will leave many difficult problems for the coaching staff. Therefore, "finding someone to replace Iniesta" will certainly be the main goal in Barca's transfer plan this summer.
In some ways, leaving Iniesta has made it easier for Barca to restructure the team, but finding a replacement for him is not easy. With 38 appearances, Iniesta is still the most important midfielder for Barca this season, the only player capable of sharing the burden of leading the game with Messi.
This responsibility can gradually be transferred to Philippe Coutinho next season when the Brazilian midfielder has fully adapted to Barca's playing style and is ready to play in the Champions League (he cannot play this season because he played for Liverpool in the first half of the season).
Coutinho, despite his equally good technique, is not the type of player who can replace Iniesta in Barca’s style of play. Coutinho prefers to dribble and make breakthroughs rather than pass the ball, moving silently and intelligently to bring balance to the midfield.
Even if Barca return to a three-man midfield next season and let Coutinho play in midfield, they still need to sign a talented midfielder. Barca's midfield has been too unstable this season. Ivan Rakitic is 30 and is less and less innovative in his playing style, new signing Paulinho has had some shining moments but is still limited in his caliber. Meanwhile, Andre Gomes and Denis Suarez are just average players.
And finally, where in the world of football can we find a midfielder with the same technical qualities as Messi but is as quiet and humble as a defensive player like Iniesta?
