Football Special Report: La Liga Preview- Top Three Midfielders In Spain
Midfielders carry immense importance in a team’s success during a season. They are entitled to perform the duty of forming a link between the defence and forward line. In addition, midfielders are responsible for retaining possession and rotating the ball around. In this way, it is a duty of a midfielder to look for open spaces for the formulation of attacks.
In the past, many world class midfielders played their role in La Liga. Some of these players include Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, Ronaldinho, David Beckham and many more. Even in the recent times, Spanish league was braced with some exceptional quality in their midfield, including some of the greatest players around the world.
Among all these players, Xavi, Barcelona’s midfielder, is the best in La Liga, and probably around the world. He is one of the most stylish players around the world, who controls the tempo of the game for his team. Xavi is so strong in the midfield that he allows the game to flow according to his own discretion. In recent times, Barcelona has developed an exceptional passing game, while Xavi is the heart of Barcelona’s strategy. He has got a great vision for passing, while he has the ability to hold onto the ball in difficult situations. These abilities make him the best playmaker of this time, which can be seen through his healthy assists every season.
Xavi’s qualities can be seen from the fact that he has won everything that is there to win in football, probably with the exception of FIFA Confederations Cup. He was instrumental in Barcelona’s recent success, while he was undoubtedly the best player for Spain in Euro 2008 and World Cup 2010. Due to his contribution for his team, Xavi was named as the best player at Euro 2008. Right now, Xavi is in exceptional form after a successful summer in South Africa. In the upcoming season, he would be instrumental in Barcelona’s bid for silverware.
If Xavi is the best around there, then Andres Iniesta is probably the second best in Spain. Iniesta’s abilities have been praised by many contemporary players and managers, as Wayne Rooney called him the best player in the world. However, due to injuries, Iniesta does not play as many games as Xavi or other midfielders. That is why he is the most underrated player in the world, a player with exceptional quality but less recognition.
In Barcelona, Iniesta forms a perfect partnership with Xavi. He might not be as good as Xavi in holding the ball, but he might be better than his teammate in passing the ball around. Iniesta has tremendous control of the ball, combined with an incredible first touch. Apart from that, Iniesta also likes to make frequent forward runs, owing to his great dribbling skills, and does not hesitate to shoot the ball. He can, therefore, score some goals as well, as he did for Spain in World Cup and for Barcelona in their matches. His most remarkable goal was in a Semi Final against Chelsea, in 2009 Champions League, which gave Barcelona their spot in the Final.
The big clubs in La Liga have an ability to buy great players, but some smaller clubs have done exceptionally well to raise some players, in their own backyard. One such club is Sevilla, a club with a great youth academy in Spain. The best midfielder in Sevilla, and one of the best in Spain, is Jesus Navas. The young Navas is a small player with a weak physique, but he has been blessed with exceptional ability. He is a great dribbler of the ball, while his sideways movement is very fast. He has the ability to get the ball through small spaces, which enables him to make many assists for his team. In addition, Navas has an ability to score, as he was Sevilla’s top scorer in their success in Spanish Copa Del Ray, with five goals. Like any small player, Navas has an incredible balance, which helps him in making long runs into the penalty area. All these qualities make him an incredible midfielder.
One interesting fact is that these three players are a product of their clubs’ youth systems. These players were not only a part of their clubs’ successes, but they were a part of Spanish success in South Africa as well.
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