A midfield so legendary, that for years here in Argentina there was the belief that Messi couldn't play as well for the national squad because of their absence.

Most midfields could make a player dissapear in a storm, Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets could make an entire midfield dissapear

2 posts in 2 days? What did we do to deserve this?

It’s crazy how dominant these guys were, and if you look at them, none of them scream world class athlete, but they were the engine behind the success of the Barcelona machine.

Worth noting that when Pep brought Busquets into the first team Yaya Touré was playing in that position. And he was crushing it. At the time people thought Pep was nuts to play a young, unknown Busquets instead of Yaya.

The fact that one of the last games Busi will play is against Iniesta's team in Japan with Xavi as his manager...... I'm not crying I'm SOBBING

The crazier thing about these 3 was they all came from the same footballing school. They weren't fast or tall (Busi is tall i know), but good fkin luck trying to take the ball from em. Xavi, will keep the ball forever. Don Andres, will get it in absolute shite conditions and give it back to you on a golden plate. And Busi, will orchestrate the team's movement from his position. It's been a pleasure. The 3 of you + The GOAT Leo, Dani Alves and El Capita Puyol. They made me a Barça fan. And that made me a football fan. I grew up watching them toy around with world class players for almost two decades. It's sad this will end, but boy I am glad to see it all. And with the internet, I'll always rewatch them. Because that team was frightening if you're not a fan, as a fan? The gigantic confidence I had during those days I tell ya. Visca Barça!

All the essential skills needed to run a team put and compacted in these 3 players. Sad to see Busi is leaving Barca but he is leaving huge huge shoes to fill. Definitely every Midfielder idolises Iniesta Xavi and Busquets. Players like them are a coach’s dream!

The Barcelona team of 2011 was truly legendary. Literally none of the players were physical specimens, but they were so skilled and competent at passing the ball that pressing them was useless. Shows that at the end of the day, football ain't all about athleticism.

These 3 are the best ever in their positions. No one else touches them.

I always felt like Busquets never got his flowers bc he played next to Xavi and Iniesta. Often he gets overlooked and you won't see his name mentioned in talks of great mildfielders. As you said people lean towards more offensive/attacker heavy players, while Sergio was more defensive. Also I think this video further shows just how great Pep is. Whom still gets disrespect from football fans. Pep noticed all these guys potential before anyone else and called it. He's a mastermind, master tactician, and elite at seeing talent and potential. As a Barca fan these guys spoiled me on what a midfield should look like and how one should perform. When I watch teams that have crazy talent up front but struggle to score, I'm always like "I swear if this team gets a good midfield, they'll run this league." That is my usual comment on Angel City FC here in the States. The creative, playmaking work of midfielders is underappreciated bc viewers just see scores, not the setup for the score. This isnt hockey where every player who took part in a goal score setup gets credited for an assist.

Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets… all blessed with talent AND a good attitude, all as humble as ever and that’s why they achieved legendary careers. No egos, just humble geniuses that love the game. We will never see it again.

4:13 what a sight!! Iniesta with all his trophies!! 😂😊

that trio never had a trophyless season… started their first season together with sextuple and won their last season with a treble.

Spain won rhe world cup sub20 in 1999. Xavi dominated that tournament. He played in the role he would play years later, a bit more advanced than the 4. It was a masterclass.

To think that Spain not only had all 3 of these players in their midfield but also had Xabi Alonso, Cesc Fàbregas, David Silva, Thiago Alcantara and Juan Mata as rotating players is utterly ridiculous. No wonder they won 3 international tournaments back to back

The Hungary Golden Team from 1950 - 1956 went unbeaten for 4 years and only lost once in 6 years of international football is worthy of being mention. The midfield that consist of Gyula Lóránt, József Zakariás and József Bozsik are the original creators of "Total Football" that was later used effectively by the Dutch in the 1970s Barcelona and Spain 2010s teams.

I want more stuff like this on iconic midfield trios

Yes, because they defined their positions to the point that we reference them when we teach/analyse any midfield player according to their position or qualities.

my future kids will be hearing about this trio these were just amazing times

Kroos, Modric and Casemiro played tennis

Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets not only dominated the midfield of every game they played, they made you forget that the other team HAD any midfielders. Any game with them turned into 11 vs 8 immediately. Gonna miss them alot.

Most defently the best midfield ever they brought me alot of joy hopefully Pedri Gavi and maybe De jong bring me some more in the years to come

What would Barça have been without Pep Guardiola. Pep clearly has an eye for talent. Such a great man!

As someone who is only 1.70m in height and was rarely selected for my team in the 70s because of that, I always enjoyed watching Xavi and Iniesta. And Maradona, And Messi. And Pirlo. They all made the tall guys look like parking-meters, and I just loved it.

This is all about XAVI, He made Tikitaka he always controls the game like a conductor, he was also the besr passer ever. He teach Iniesta and Busquets how to play like him. XAVI is the most trophy winner in Barca the one who played the most games and the one who played for Barca for the longest time 17 years in first team and 25 years in Barca. He's the Godfather of Barca

Kroos Casemiro Modric are another trio but in terms of technique i think xavi iniesta busq was another level

I love Xavi and Iniesta so much, but Busquets is genuinely one of a kind. That man is the best DM I have ever seen, and I am sure will ever see.

Ik it’s a tad unconventional compared to your other vids but could you do a video looking back on the 2011-2012 season. It’s arguably a candidate for the title of craziest season ever. Here are just some of the insane events that happened said season (some of which you’ve already covered on your channel or at least mentioned). . Montpellier winning Ligue 1 with a young Giroud as their star striker. It was also the last season of Ligue 1 before PSG dominance started (Monaco and Lille did snatch 2 titles but the other 9 went to PSG turning Ligue 1 from one of the many chaotic leagues in terms of title races into an alleged farmers league). . Juve winning their first league title since Calciopoli as invincibles which led to them winning 9 in a row. . Bayern being somewhat close to a treble only to choke in the DFB final to Dortmund, losing the league to Dortmund too and losing the UCL final to Chelsea despite it being played at the Allianz and going 1-0 up at the 83rd minute. . This season was also the last time a team not named Bayern won the Bundesliga. This may change this season but who knows . Chelsea’s astounding UCL run despite finishing 6th . Real and Mourinho winning the famous La Liga de Los Records with Ozil getting 28 assists (still wasn’t Europe’s top assister in all comps somehow and only tied for first place in La Liga assists with a little magician we all know and love) and Ronaldo scoring 60 in all comps. . Atletico winning the Europa League with Falcao being arguably the best 9 on earth. . City winning the premier league in the last few seconds of the final match day on goal difference thanks to Aguerooooo scoring one of the most clutch goals in the history of the sport . Messi having probably the greatest season ever for an individual player. Ik Haaland is a freak of nature and 100% deserves the hype but 2012 Messi and Ronaldo were beyond unplayable. Messi had 73 goals and 32 assists in 54 games. He also scored 50 league goals which feels like some bs stat but the fact it happened makes you wonder what’s possible.

I refuse to believe that Guardiola, Busquets and Rodri arent 3 Spanish guys that got possessed by the ghost of an unknown defensively midfielding genius that picks a new target every generation. Theyre literally all re-gens of eachother

Yesssss!!! This is the video I was waiting for I will watch all ads .. won't skip any of them Thanku so much❤

Thank you and please keep them coming ❤

Now this was a near perfect team,From the pique in the back to Messi infront.

love your video essays. Keep up the great work. Subbed

Imagine if these three and MSN were all on the same team and in their prime at the same time.

Very good video, thanks for making it.

You are world class in what you do as well, my friend. God bless you.

This guy always uploads bangers

Very nice video my friend! Good job!

2 videos in less than a week? _Godsent._

The beautiful and sweet memories of the glorious days. Man this video made me cry. Thank you for this amazing video and thank you God for allowing me to be alive to witness this era with such phenomenal players. Especially Messi.

I just love to hear you talk about football players and legends of the game

Nice content bro. Doing gr8.

That pic at 0:15 is the max level of any midfield to grace this beautiful game

2 uploads in the same week … I love it

Yeah, you’re on a roll now. I like this. With these numbers (number of videos in lesser days) you’re chasing the Balon d’or

Great vid! It takes an intelligent manager to spot the talent AND intelligense in the players.. The character and intelligense in these 3 players is what made the difference. They could implement and execute their own tactics, while also adjust to and counter anything thrown at them. Btw, it would be great if you could do a series of the best midfield compositions of all times for the top champions league teams.. (Juventus, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Bayern Munchen, etc) :)

2 videos in a row that quickly ??? Madness also our boy looking strong love that

always a must watch when you make a video on my club

Another great video mate! Wondering if you might do a Bobby Firminio vid soon as he's just played his final ever Anfield game. As a Liverpool fan he's been my favourite player over the last few years of success we've had; his attitude and ability just gave me so much joy and he works harder for the team than any forward I've seen barring maybe Wazza

that era's Spain midfield was downright illegal... imagine already having Busquest, Xavi, Iniesta... then having the options of bringing on David Silva, Juan Mata, Xabi Alonso, Fabregas, Carzola....

Just a quick note. Together they won 2008 Euro (not Busquets), 2009 UCL, 2010 WC, 2011 UCL, 2012 Euro and 2015 UCL that’s INSANE

You and rawr need to do a video, both brilliant 👏

Keep up the good work mate!!!

Best midfield and team ever. It was balanced in every aspect. The joy watching them

2 posts in 2 days keep up the grind mate, and also can we plsssss get a video about bales time with Madrid🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏it would be much appreciated.

Love the vids

Man I'm going to miss seeing the classic "Busquets vs No Space" KZfaq seasons' highlights comps. I've always said that of the three, Busi would prove the most difficult to replace because his skillset is a really niche mixture of top tier attributes, he has vision like Xavi, can pass like De Bruyne, wins the ball like Makelele, has a first touch like Ozil, can dribble like Iniesta, has close control like Messi, can make majority correct decisions at lightning speed and on his day he reads the game better than any other player (when to press, when to drop back, where to stand, where the ball should be) it's nigh on impossible to find someone else who can do all these things so well aside from Rodri I can't think of anyone else who comes even remotely close. El Clasicos won't be the same without a Busi double drag back or dropped shoulder to evade a pressing Madridista. Thanks Busi for sharing 15 years of art in the guise of football. Oh and sorry Tinashe for using your comments to pay tribute to Busi instead of using my own 😂

the E is not silent 😂 amazing that this is the only remark... the pronunciation on a foreign language as always excellent video

As a Barca fan who got into them at the end of this era, my first game watching them was a perfect one: their 2015 UCL Final win against Juventus. Even though Xavi and Iniesta were older, the midfield trio were so good when I watched.

Very touching 😢

Video idea - Make a series of going through the ‘greatest teams’ that have ever played or maybe even partnerships such as Maldini and nesta or even the same principle but applied to strikers and other positions, perhaps comparing them?

My take in all this is the high possibility of 300k subscribers during the course of the year for this channel

Me and my father called those 3 'The Bermuda Triangle'. Everytime they played, all opponents caught between them just dissapeared, never to touch the ball in any meaningful way

Three of the greatest players ever, goosebumps just thinking about them. The anchors, masterminds and engines of what is probably the greatest team ever 🙌🏻 And thank you for another great video! You and Tifo deliver by far the best football content on this platform, always a pleasure seeing a new video uploaded!

It’s very rare to find such a balance in a midfield. For me other than these three, was the trio of Gerrard with Alonso and Mascherano.

Defo one of the GOAT's and the best Barca has ever had in midfield, imo. Iniesta!

what's legendary is Football Iconic posting two days in a row

Beautiful

Best midfield trio of all time is Xavi, Iniesta and Alonso. A world cup and back to back European cups. That's excluding their astonishing individual club honours. Modric-Kroos-Casemiro is a close second.

Xavi is getting underrated nowadays, the 🐐 cm for ones who know ball

This video made me emotional

These men along with Messi made me fall in love with football ❤️ Ahh those Barca days, my own college days, tiki taka..... I'll remember those days for the rest of t life 🥲

This,along with Pirlo,Kaka,Seedorf and Gattuso are the best midfield we have seen in 21st century

The MOST EPIC & ELEGANT Not a Barca fan.....can even be considered an enemy but can't deny solid truth my guy.

Your videos are quite impressive. An all round great quality content and presentation

In club AND country, I never realised that they probably are the best country side midfield trio too.

I agree that they formed the best midfield ever. This got even more incredible when you stop to think they also had Piquet, Puyol and Messi, all formed by the same club in a gap of time that allowed them to play together. It may never happen again, in any club...

Like a lot of American football fans, I really came to admire the game watching KZfaq videos, and the ones that always left me wanting more (live games) was Barca or watching live the great great Spanish side (Euro, WC, Euro champions). Even to novices, you could see that those guys were Him. Just like the past three years randomly dropping in on Manchester City the most novice observer could see that KDB was running (dominating?!!) the game and made everything else (goals) happen and was just beautiful. The video of Iniesta's retirement game at Barca (ending with him sitting on the pitch shoeless) made me tearful more than Messi's farewell from Barca. Sergio B was just a delight and his stature (6' 2") gave an aura that Barca would not be allowing any of Mourinho's Real Madrid intimidation tactics. That Xavi is now the manager of the BlueandRed and willing them to a La Liga title this earlier in his managerial career makes me smile. Thank you @Football Iconic for this video. 😄

Those 3 were the spine of Pep's legendary Barca. This Barca team and Ajax 1995- the 2 best club teams ever, by far. Simply untouchable teams😱

That voice… so relaxing

as a Real Madrid fan who loves football and doesn't spread hate i agree what this guys did for me they the greatest 3trio i ever seen much respect 🙌🙌🙌🐐

Whole may be greater than the sum of the parts, but my word, those parts. I'm taking Don Andres as the pick though. Just a thing of beauty to see him float through a crowded midfield. Best midfield ever, best team ever. The guy banging in the goals wasnt too bad neither

Kroos-Casemiro-Modric is probably one of the closest trio to this.

Im not here to fight with anyone, im just here to remind yall of how Casemiro, Kroos and Modric were ALMOST at the same level as the greatest midfield in football being Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets

Beautiful beautiful time😢

They dominated club and international football together 1 World Cup 1 Euro 3 UCL 5 Laliga and many more together

you know i still remember that 2014 barca squad when i think of barca with the greatest midfield and the greatest attack in my opinion.

Cool one

Thank you so much for making this video. This provides a sense of closure to us true Barça fans. You can not imagine to what extent we were happy to see Xavi back as our coach. We will always love Xavi, Busquets and Iniesta.

Here is to hoping that pedri, gavi, or frenkie live up to even half of what these legends produced. VISCA EL BARÇA I VISCA CATALUNYA

2015 Xavi leaves with a treble 2018 Iniesta leaves with a double 2023 Busquets leaves with a single It's like an indirect projection of Barca's steady decline over the years

Football intelligence and reactions beats physical dominance every time. That's why it's the beautiful game.

awesome video they really were the heart of the team

They were the midfield of the Barca team that I fell in love with when I started getting into football. I could watch that team all day long and not get tired. It was almost mathematical how they would find a way to break down the opposition, and with Messi up front who they had also known for years, this was like watching one mind in 4 bodies. To borrow a term from a certain announcer, they were simply magesterial.

Nostalgic

This was the midfield that made me want to play midfield

This midfield was just poetic.

Like all the best midfields, it had a wonderful balance and cohesion, as did Modric, Kroos and Casemiro, for example. Similarly, Keane, Scholes, Beckham & Giggs, albeit a quartet. Not looking to cause an argument I don’t support any of these clubs, just appreciative of their respective qualities 😎

You look good with beard man. Keep it 😂😂