Iniesta (1): "I prefer to play on the left"

In an interview with Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona midfielder Andrés Iniesta talked about the season so far.





A lot of people are surprised you're not on the Golden Ball list. How do you feel about that?
It means that the people who are deciding this think I'm not worth to be on the list. If I would deserve it, I would be on it.

How many team-mates have told you that you should have been on that list?
A lot actually and that's something that can make you happy. Every player knows what he adds to the team and if he's going through a good time or not. I don't really care about things that I cannot decide myself. Of course I would have liked to be on this list, but I cannot do anything about it.

What do you think about individual trophies like the Golden Ball?
For me, the team is the first thing, but the player who wins a trophy like that of course deserves it because of the individual quality.

You think you will win it one day?
I hope to be on the list next season, those things are a kind of motivation, but if you're not on it, there's nothing more to talk about. My objective is to get better every year, to win trophies with the team and everything that comes above that is welcomed and that's it.

Who is your favourite to win it this year?
It's difficult. We have Xavi, Messi and Eto'o amongst the candidates and I would give it to all three of them. Messi is unique, decisive. And he won the gold medal in Beijing. Xavi was the best player of the European championships which he also won with Spain. I couldn't tell you who deserves it the most.

You're playing your best football ever these days?
I think you can say that. I like people saying that because each year they are saying the same thing about me. So I guess I'm getting better each year and that makes me very happy.

If you could be the coach, where would you put yourself?
I would put myself where I'm usually playing, on the left. I've always said that I don't really care about my position, but having a fixed position makes you feel more comfortable.

Last Sunday, Guardiola put you on the right...
You always have circumstances and being on the pitch already makes you happy, but I like to play on the left.

In Bilbao you pulled back a lot to the midfield to get the ball. Was that your own initiative or the coach asked you to do this?
It seems that wherever iIplay, people always expect me to be the best and sometimes it's difficult when you're not playing on your usual position. Playing on the left or on the right is not the same thing and in Bilbao I needed some time to get into the game. When I changed my position, things went better.


This was the first part of this interview. You can read the other parts in the following days with Iniesta talking - amongst other things - about his admiration for Laudrup and about his relation with Guardiola.