Iniesta's struggles plain and clear despite Barcelona's resurgent form
MADRID --
There is a sound that used to echo around Camp Nou. You hardly hear it these days. It is the chorus Barcelonistas use in homage to an angel-faced player as loved across Spain almost as much as any Spaniard of his generation. It draws out the second syllable of his surname long, and deep: "In-yeees-ta, In-yeees-ta." It is the joyous celebration of Andres Iniesta's moments of brilliance at his home stadium, next door to the youth academy where he grew up.
Iniesta wore the captain's armband again for Barcelona on Wednesday night in the first leg of their 1-0 win of their Copa del Rey quarterfinal match against Atletico Madrid. He has had the captaincy for much of the season, because Xavi Hernandez, the 34-year-old designated club skipper is no longer a first-choice regular in midfield. Once again, an evening passed without the crowd being stimulated into a rousing chorus of Iniesta's name.
Barcelona's La Liga form has picked up at a pace in their last two games, and their momentum in the Copa de Rey was sustained by Lionel Messi's goal, after he reacted quickly when his late penalty had been saved by Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak. A one goal lead will be a small cushion to take to the Vicente Calderon for the second leg next week and Barca will enjoy their gathering good form. But they remain a long way from looking like the preeminent club side in the world that Messi, Dani Alves, Sergio Busquets, Xavi, Gerard Pique and Iniesta poignantly recall being a part of in the years from 2008 to 2012.
In those days, on the rare occasions Messi was subdued, Iniesta could dribble, pass and sometimes even finish as effectively as the Argentinian. "Spain's version of Messi," people called Iniesta when the Spanish national team was conquering consecutive European championship titles, in 2008 and 2012 and winning the World Cup, thanks to his immortalized, extra-time volley in Johannesburg, in 2010.
Yet this season, Iniesta is no Messi at all. He is barely even a very pale version of the great Iniesta.
The statistics are telling. He has scored no goals in La Liga this season. Granted, in his early career at Barcelona, Iniesta gained some notoriety for the fact that his finishing was so often a letdown after the dainty shimmering runs, the peripheral-vision passes that made him such a darling of Camp Nou. "Andres never scores, you know!" laughed Josep Guardiola, Barca's head coach after his unexpected, powerful volley won a UEFA Champions League semifinal against Chelsea, in 2009.
Guardiola's team went on to win the final that year, and did it again two years later. Iniesta scored regularly enough in those periods. And the names Messi, Iniesta and Xavi became a shorthand for Barcelona's brilliance at pass-and-move soccer.
Barca have moved on, though, not without a degree of nostalgia. Xavi is mostly a substitute, reserved for the starting lineup for perhaps two or three matches a month. Messi has had his ups and downs in the last five months. But Iniesta, 30, has simply eluded the radar.
It's not so much the lack of goals, but the vanishing assists. Iniesta has set up goals in the Champions League -- three -- and against lower-division opponents in the Copa del Rey, yet Barcelona have now gone through half a season in La Liga without a single Iniesta pass leading directly to any of their 48 goals. Plus, his zero assists in league play remains startling to say the least. He has played in just shy of 75 percent of Barca's La Liga matches.
The most fluent Barca need a confident, visionary Iniesta. Against Atletico on Wednesday, he was frequently stymied by the combative Juanfran, the Atletico right back, when he sought duels along the left flank; his feet seem leaden where once they were featherlight. There was a vintage piece of dexterity when he turned away from Gabi in the second half, but he was also bullied off the ball the combative Mario Suarez.
When Iniesta goes incognito, Barcelona tend to look more dependent on Messi. Neymar is providing some of the thrill, and the stimulus that Iniesta once did, but the fluid link between the strikers and the midfield is lacking. Ivan Rakitic, the relative newcomer to that midfield zone, provided more impetus against Atletico than Iniesta.
Speaking after match, Iniesta addressed the issue of his own form: "If you feel well in yourself, and I do, you have to be happy. But I also always think there will be better to come. There's a lot of the season left."
He felt, he added, that the 1-0 win had been earned by Barcelona's superior possession. The key was Busquets, the enforcer who, like Iniesta, has not maintained his authoritative standards at times this season. Busquets tumbled in the penalty area with less than ten minutes left, having being lightly touched by Juanfran. His fall appeared excessive. The penalty was awarded. Messi struck it within reach of Oblak, who parried well but allowed the ricochet to land nicely for Messi.