Football legends–Christian Vieri and Dino Baggio–have argued that Andres Iniesta remains the “most complete player in the world.” The soccer icons went ahead to compare him with Harry Potter, considering his quality skills, dedication and work rate over the years, for Spain and Barcelona.
Baggio and Vieri are respected Italian footballers who made immeasurable contributions to the Azzurri in the 1990s.
Image: Andres Iniesta likes to mesmerize defenders and he does it with so much ease.
Preceding the match between Spain and Italy which ended 2-0, Iniesta had been regarded as Spain’s best performer at Euro 2016. He is also one of the only three players to have been twice honored with the prestigious Man of the Match Award so far.
The mercurial midfielder received praises from both critics, opponents and fans following his exploits in all games played at Euro 2016 especially against Italy, arousing endorsements from legends of the round leather game.
“To me, he’s like Harry Potter,” Vieri, who scored 24 goals in as many La Liga appearances for Atleti in the 1997-98 campaign, told BeIN Sports.
“He does amazing things on the pitch. I haven’t seen a player like him in over 30 years.
“Him, [Sergio] Busquets, [Gerard] Pique, [Sergio] Ramos … They’re all great players, players of the highest level.
Baggio, who played against Spain at the 1994 World Cup, added to Tele Radio Stereo: “In the last 20 years, I don’t recall seeing as good or complete a player as Andres Iniesta.
“He’s awesome, he never misses a pass and is the most complete player in the world. Perhaps he’ll miss one a pass in an entire game.”
Image: Andres Iniesta is hailed a hero even by opponents.
As goals from Giorgio Chiellini and Graziano Pelle fired Italy to victory over Spain, Iniesta had this to say in a post-match interview:
“We were too concerned about what they were doing and these situations penalized us.
“In the second half we went for them and had something else to show. We were wrong [in our approach] in the first half.
“It’s a disappointment that we have to accept. They were more effective on specific occasions and overcame us.”