The Illusionist: The story behind Iniesta’s Ballon d’Or nomination

In the 2013 Ballon d’Or nominee list, there are some surprise names, some notable absentees as well as the obvious superstars of world football. One player whose nomination was never in doubt is Barcelona schemer Andres Iniesta. The Spanish maestro has finished in the top four of the Ballon d’Or final vote for three years straight and has continued to show off his world class talents throughout 2013. He combines style and substance with a lethal killer instinct that has tormented defences throughout his prestigious career. Here is the story of how Andres Iniesta secured his 2013 Ballon d’Or nomination.

Honours this Year

Iniesta was a key ingredient in Barcelona’s domination of La Liga last season. They won the title at a canter to win the title back from rivals Real Madrid. Despite defeat in the Champions League semi-finals to Bayern Munich, Iniesta was still as stylish and reliable as ever. He was able to keep his pass accuracy at 90% over the whole of last season which is a quite exceptional achievement, especially when you take into account the amount of passes he completed (2011) and that the majority of them were forward passes (57.2%).

The Spaniard also aided his beloved Barca to the Spanish Super Cup as well as helping Spain secure their inevitable spot at next summer’s World Cup.

Key stats

Iniesta amassed a tremendous 16 assists last season, three more than his nearest challenger in La Liga and so-called ‘assist king’, Mesut Ozil. This tally was the highest number of assists in Europe’s top five leagues in 2012-13. His conversion of key passes into assists was quite remarkable, showing off his ability to pick the right pass almost indefinitely. Iniesta made just 28 further key passes, giving him 44 chances created in total, making his tally of 16 assists even more staggering.

Andrés Iniesta Total Chances Created (Last Season)

It is very rare that Iniesta puts a foot wrong; his ability to draw a free-kick from his antics on the ball is a particular highlight of his game, he won 45 free-kicks for Barcelona last season.

He can maraud into the smallest of gaps, taking two, three, four defenders out of position and find a way to give the ball to a teammate. Talents like Iniesta are a very, very rare breed.

Does he deserve his nomination?

Yes, he does. Although it has not been his best year in a Barcelona shirt, he has still done enough to warrant a nomination. The stalling of his new contract has overshadowed his performances on the pitch this season, meaning he has not been in the best of form but there is no doubt he has been one of the top 23 players in the world in 2013.

Can he win it?

No chance. After winning the Player of the Tournament award at last years’ European Championships, there was a solid argument for him to break the recent Lionel Messi/Cristiano Ronaldo stranglehold on the trophy but this year there is absolutely no chance. Only Franck Ribery has a realistic chance of doing that this year due to his role in Bayern Munich’s domination of European football. The best Iniesta can hope for is a top ten finish or to be second, behind Messi, in Barcelona’s own mini-Ballon d’Or competition.