Iniesta: No better than Steven Gerrard and all that lot..

Andres Iniesta, midfielder at Barcelona F.C. Talented, skillful, lithe, dribbling king, maestro. These are the words that come to my mind when I think of him. Today at the World Cup Final, he wowed us all with his ability to hold the ball, create chances out of nothing and score the goal that took Spain to footballing nirvana. But will anyone remember the reason the Netherlands were denied a chance to compete due to a terrible bit of refereeing and opportunistic diving which got Heitinga sent off and gave Spain all that extra room to score that admittedly good goal. Today's match was supposed to be all about Robben's cheap tricks and Van Bommel's ugliness, but what I saw on display was some terrible play from the Spanish midfield who fell as though they had gone through training watching videos of Didier Drogba, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gilardhino and that lot. Falling to the ground at a feather touch and aided by a whistle tooting card-happy referee, it killed a potentially good clash between the two sides. Iniesta's dive which led to Heitinga's Red Card and an incident just after which led to Van Der Wiel's later should have been punished. Xavi and Busquets were no better. All I have to say right now is Iniesta, you may be celebrating that trophy right now and have your place among the Gods, but you have lost the respect of many football fans including me for what you did during the game. If it is Robben or Ronaldo doing it, it is considered even normal because good footballers they might be, good footballing individuals who command respect they never will be. I always respected Andres Iniesta. I once thought you were the best player in the world and beyond that. Today, you may still be the best player in the world, but you have proved today that you are merely a mortal, a mortal who can never command the same level of respect ever again. Adios to the footballer who takes a kick and still runs, you bunch of pansies.