Iniesta values league title success highly

Posted Monday, May 06, 2013 by Foxsports.com

Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta believes winning La Liga will make it a "good season" for the club despite disappointment in Europe.

Barca were eliminated from the UEFA Champions League last week when Bayern Munich completed a 7-0 aggregate victory over the Catalans in the semi-finals.

Going out of Europe is always going to be viewed negatively in a club as big as Barca but the heavy defeat to Bayern made it particularly hard to swallow.

However, Barca have bounced back from plenty of adversity this season not least because of coach Tito Vilanova's extended spell on the side lines as he battles cancer.

And therefore on Sunday, it was not surprising to see Barca storm back to defeat Real Betis 4-2 in La Liga.

Betis had twice taken the lead in the match through Dorlan Pabon and Ruben Perez but each time Barca responded with goals from Alexis Sanchez and David Villa.

Substitute Lionel Messi then came off the bench to net a brace to secure the winning result at Camp Nou which leaves Barca just one win away from being crowned champions of Spain.

According to midfielder Iniesta, the achievement must not be looked over lightly.

"It would be a good season if we win the league title. We'll try to win it again next season," he was quoted as saying on the Barca website.

Iniesta added: "God willing we'll be champions soon. There aren't words to describe the value of a title like this."

"If the team suffers, the fans do as well, and vice versa. When we win titles it isn't just for us, it's also for the fans."

Sunday's win was highlighted by a half-fit Messi's super sub role and raised more question marks about Barca's over reliance on the Argentinean.

Messi was unable to play an active role in the setback against Bayern and this has led to calls for an overhaul of the squad to ensure they are not a one-man team.

"There is a dependency on Messi because he's a fundamental player, but the whole team is also important. Having him with us is always a positive thing," Iniesta said.

"When the players talk about needed changed, we are referring to things that would change the team for the better. Changes that are designed to help us. I'm sure the core of the team is capable of competing and winning. We shouldn't go crazy with the changes next year."

Messi has scored 60 times already this season.