Its all about numbers. For months now i'v been pondering in my little head the significance of numbers. First things first, numbers don't lie. With that in mind i looked back at some arguments I had in secondary school with my class-mates always yelling at the top of their voices ' Adriano is better than Henry, Okocha is better than Ronaldinho, Enyeama is better than Casillas!!!'. Seriously we argued that. Unfortunately we can't compare all players but today I bring you a compelling case study that will make u bend to the power of numbers.

Andres Iniesta Mesut Ozil (L) of Real Madrid CF battles for the ball against Andres Iniesta of FC Barcelona during the Copa del Rey semi final, first leg match between Real Madrid CF and FC Barcelona at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on January 30, 2013 in Madrid, Spain.

The number game is between Mesut Ozil and the duo of Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta. I know I know, why compare two players against one? Well Xavi and Iniesta are seen as a single, cohesive unit with people describing them as the best midfielders ever( I beg to differ). With two of them in your team, success is guaranteed and possession all yours. That's what analysts say anyway. In steps Mesut Ozil has shown that there is 'two' much hype placed on the Spanish maestro's. At least when it comes to stats. Let's play a game of numbers.


In the 2010\ 2011, Ozil in his debut season made a total of 17 assists in La Liga. Xavi had 7 while Iniesta had 3. In the 2011\2012 season, Iniesta had 9 assists while Xavi had 7. Ozil had 17. The 2012\2013 season saw Ozil chalk up 13 assists while Iniesta had 16 and Xavi 13. In 3 seasons the total number of assists(all comps) chalked up by Xavi is 35 while Iniesta has racked up 44. Mesut Ozil currently has over 90 assists for Madrid!!!

In the goal scoring department, the German edges out the Spanish duo once again, scoring a total of 27 goals in 3 seasons at Madrid. Iniesta scored 23 and Xavi 26 in the same period. Ozil also had the highest assist in the Bundesliga in 09\10 season with 17 assists while at Bremen. Numero Diez ( Number 10) also created the most scoring chances in 2011\2012 season with 103 across Europe. He also had the second highest number of assists in Europe in 2011\2012 ( behind Messi) creating 24 goals. He had the highest number assists for Euro 2012 qualification,7. Many will squawk that both Iniesta and Xavi do stuff Ozil can't like retaining possession for long spells and twisting like a snake. News flash: All Spanish Midfielders do!!! Just look at the way David Silva and Juan Mata play. Maybe its the water they drink or something.

I submit that Ozil is statisically better than both Iniesta and Xavi combined using the three season's the trio have spent in the same league. Like my homie Jay Z will say: The numbers don't lie.


There is a serious debate going on and some more interesting facts on this topic at http://sportunes91..com/2013/08/do-statistics-make-better-player-join.html or engage us on twitter @Sportunes90

All stats were culled from Wikipedia.Org, Bleacher Report.Com, WhoScored.com

This is very good o, oya go and give Ozil the award for d best player in euro, that one wei dey inside ya cupboard. Have you asked urslef why Ozil has not been among top 10 players in the world..? If you get the answer, you would know its more than assist. Do you know there are some assists that are more beautiful than the goal scored..? Ok, thats the type Iniesta ans Xavi gives, while Ozil gives the types that even Musa can give to you.

Xavi is on d decline ozil plays much more closer to d opponents area so its easy for him to give a final ball.what xavi does is more like d prefinal because messi still drops deep all d time to give passes for others to score.madrid formation is stationary ozil just asists ronaldo or benzema most of the time d favour is hardly returned hence ronaldo scores with little assists and ozil assists with little goals

Xavi had 20 assists in 09 season

binhozie: Xavi had 20 assists in 09 season

Xavi's 09 assists doesnt count in this piece because Ozil wasnt in the Laliga then.. the statistics was based on all three in the same league