Why Iniesta Deserves the UEFA Best Player Award

Andres Iniesta who is a central midfielder for FC Barcelona won the 2011-2012 UEFA Best Player Award in Europe. Iniesta defeated the other two candidates Lionel Messi ( Barca ) and Cristiano Ronaldo ( Real Madrid ) during a vote by journalists from UEFA Member countries accordingto CNBC . The vote was held during the UEFA Champions League draw ceremony held at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco. It is great that a player who is neither Messi nor Ronaldo receive theaward. While Messi and Ronaldo made history in their respective clubs, there are others who have contributed to football. One example of a person who contributed is Andres Iniesta . The reasons for Iniesta deserving the Best Player Award are many but can be limited to the following important reasons. FIFA World Cup Iniesta played an important role in the 2006 World Cupin Germany and the2010 World Cup in South Africa. The biggest role played by Iniesta in the 2010 World Cup was his last minutego al against Holland during extra time. The result of Iniesta 's goal was Spain becoming the 2010 FIFA World Cup Champions. It was also one of the highest points in a career that spannednearly two decades . UEFA Euro Match Andres Iniesta was named the Carlsberg Man of the Match during the Euro 2012 Group C match between Spain and Italy. When it appeared that Spain would lose toItaly, Cesc Fabregas scored an equalizerwith assistance from Iniesta . Iniesta received the same award duringthe Euro 2012 Group C Match against Croatia . Jesus Navas scored the only goal of the match with an assist from Iniesta . The UEFA Technical Team named Inietsa as the Euro 2012 Best Player of the Tournament in recognition for his contributions to theevent. Iniesta was awarded after Spain defeated Italyto win Euro 2012. The Technical Team said that Iniesta " symbolized " the UEFA Euro 2012 tournament. UEFA Champions League Iniesta participatedin the 2011-2012 UEFA Champions League with FC Barcelona. During the match between La Blaugrana and AC Milan on March 4, 2012, he scored one of the winning goals for his team. Conclusion Iniesta deserved the award because of his efforts with the Spanish National Football team and FC Barcelona during UEFA events. It is hoped that this is the beginning for players besides Messi and Ronaldo to receive awards from UEFA . The same could apply to awards from FIFA as well.