Top 10 players of the World Cup

2010-06-21 08:43:21 GMT2010-06-21 16:43:21 (Beijing Time)  SINA.com

Lionel Messi or Wayne Rooney? Cristiano Ronaldo or Kaka? Iker Casillas or Gianluigi Buffon?

Whatever your choices, we can all agree that the world's biggest sporting event can't arrive soon enough.

South Africa and Mexico kick off the World Cup on June 11, but until then we can only count down the days until the tournament begins. We're going to do that with 101 different stories running over 101 days -- call it World Cup 101.

7 Andres Iniesta

NATIONAL TEAM

39 appearances, 6 goals

WORLD CUP

10006: 1 app, 0 goals

Country: Spain

Club Team: Barcelona

Position: Midfielder

Age: 25

There's a reason they call him "El Illusionista" -- "The Illusionist." Andres Iniesta is a whimsical playmaker who transcends position and role to create a steady flow of chances for whoever is lucky enough to be playing in front of him. So multifunctional as to be capable of slotting into just about any midfield or attacking job, Iniesta is the creative counterpart to Xavi's pragmatism in Barcelona's and Spain's golden tandem. Coming up as Ronaldinho's understudy, Catalunya and all of Spain now shudder at the thought of life without Iniesta. Luckily, lithe as he may be, he has an uncanny ability to play through injury.

Scouting thumbnail: Small, technical playmaker with low center of gravity and tremendous ball control and creative vision, regarded by some peers as the best player in the world. Very difficult to dispossess and can also run at defenders and take them off the dribble. Sometimes overpasses when he should take the shot himself.