Why Have the Goals and Assists Dried Up for Barcelona's Andres Iniesta?

Andres Iniesta hasn't scored or assisted a goal for Barcelona in La Liga for an entire year.

Just think about that for a moment. One of this generation's best footballers has not registered a goal or assist in the league since March 23, 2014. 

The epic 4-3 victory in the Santiago Bernabeu against Real Madrid last season was the last time the midfielder was on the scoresheet—an astonishing statistic, and an anniversary of which Iniesta won't be best pleased to be reminded.

He told Onda Cero's Al Primer Torque programme (h/t Football Espana):

"

My stats haven’t been good this season, far from it, but I’ve never looked at my game purely in terms of statistics.

Even so, I’m still happy with what I’ve done even if things sometimes don’t go as planned. I’m my biggest critic so nobody needs to point anything out to me.

"

The diminutive midfielder was never prolific but could be relied upon to come up with his fair share of the goods over the course of the season.

So to be heading into April and not see Iniesta's name in either the goals or assists column must surely be a little concerning to the club's management, if not the player himself.  

Let's take a look at some reasons why the goals and assists may have dried up.

Fatigue

David Ramos/Getty Images

The argument that because players are paid astronomical sums they shouldn't complain of being tired is moribund.

Two games a week on a continual basis is bound to take its physical toll on a player eventually.

Throw in international games, for which long-haul flights are often a given, and the situation is exacerbated.

Indeed, while last summer's World Cup provided an earlier than expected exit for the Spanish, Iniesta hasn't really had a proper rest for a few years now.

Don't forget that Spain went all the way to the finals of both the 2012 European Championship and the 2013 Confederations Cup.

That's going to eventually catch up with anyone. Not that Iniesta is making excuses: "Right now fatigue is a secondary issue and the desire to win everything this year far outweighs that. We are heading into the final stretch with the opportunity to battle it out for everything."

It's perhaps also worth pointing out that playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world often means that certain sponsor-related commitments and events must be fulfilled and attended.

Given the time such activities can take when a player could be at home resting, that particular area of a professional footballer's life shouldn't be downplayed, either.

Iniesta and his wife also went through a tragic and extremely sad personal experience, which would affect the life and emotional state of any human.

A Different Role

David Ramos/Getty Images

Given the emergence of Neymar and, more recently, Luis Suarez this season, Iniesta has been forced to adopt a deeper role—one that Xavi Hernandez might normally have played.

With Xavi's appearances this term being sporadic, Luis Enrique has used Iniesta in areas that he would previously not have been required to cover.

Looking at last season's template, it was Iniesta who would be making the driving runs into the box, penetrating at the heart of the opposition defence. Neymar was hesitant about moving in off of the touchline, and Xavi would be probing from that deeper standpoint, which allowed Iniesta to be the supplementary attacker down the left side.

If we use his goal at Real Madrid last season as an example, when have you seen him so far forward during this 2014/15 season?

The fact is he doesn't often get in those advanced positions now because, quite clearly, the Brazilian has taken on the mantle of driving deep into enemy territory.

Miguel Angel Lara of Marca commented:

"

The fact that Barcelona have three prolific scorers up front has seen Iniesta take on a deeper role with greater responsibility for building up the play.

In years gone by this was almost exclusively Xavi's stomping ground, but this season it has not been uncommon to see Iniesta on the edge of his own area or helping his team win the ball back.

"

As father time begins to catch up with Andres Iniesta, and with Xavi likely to move on to pastures new in the summer, might we be witnessing the beginnings of an entirely new role for the player?

What are your thoughts on Iniesta's unwanted record? Be sure to leave your comments in the section below and follow me for some decent debate on Twitter @jasonpettigrove.