The Spanish national team manager Vicente del Bosque has said that the Barcelona midfielder Andreas Iniesta is a worthy recipient of the FIFA Ballon d’Or award this season. This is an award that is considered as the crowning achievement for any player.
There have been a number of competitors for the award this season, which has been owned by the Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi for the past three seasons. The Argentine has scored 91 goals in all competitions for Barcelona in the calendar year, but he faces stiff competition from the likes of Iniesta and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Even though Messi has scored a lot of goals, he has not lifted any major titles during this period. Iniesta, on the other hand, has managed to lift the European championships, while Cristiano Ronaldo has been successful in the Spanish la Liga. The 28-year-old Iniesta was voted as the best player of the Euro 2012 after helping Spain win the tournament.
Iniesta has now been part of the Spanish national team in the last three major tournaments, which have all been won by them. Even though Iniesta has been incredible part of the Barcelona success during the last four seasons, he has been consistently overshadowed by the goal scoring prowess of the striker Messi.
"I hope that Iniesta wins the Ballon d'Or, and I think that he will have a lot of votes. We try to be fair, but you can never please everybody. The complicated thing with Spain is not calling up new players, but finding space for them. For some to come in, others have to go out. Those that are in have shown that they are capable. It's not easy. I believe that this group still has legs," said del Bosque about the chances of Iniesta winning the FIFA Ballon d’Or award.
