Andres Iniesta Must Inspire Barcelona to Title Triumph Against Granada

When Andres Iniesta blew out the candles on his birthday cake on Wednesday, with his wife Anna Ortiz and his children by his side, perhaps he made a wish. Perhaps Saturday crossed his mind.

Barcelona head south to face Granada, and if they win, Iniesta will lift his first Liga title as the club's captain.

Taking the reins from his friend Xavi for this season, the 32-year-old midfielder knew his time in this role would be limited. Iniesta doesn't have a lot longer at the top; perhaps three more seasons with Barcelona.

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Perhaps when he is celebrating his 35th birthday, Iniesta will not just be blowing out the candles but also the lights on his career at the club.

There will be twists and turns in the years ahead, and Barcelona's recent dominance may be challenged by an ever-improving Atletico Madrid and Zinedine Zidane perhaps giving Real Madrid stability. So every opportunity Iniesta gets, he must take.

Per Sport, Iniesta has 29 trophies across his career so far, behind only Gary Neville (31), Vitor Baia (35) and Ryan Giggs (36). Winning the league and cup double this season would bump him to 31, and with those potential three years ahead of him, he could end up being the most decorated player in football history.

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But let's not race to the end; there are still two games to be won. The Copa del Rey final against Sevilla and, firstly, a clash at the Estadio Nuevo Los Carmenes on Saturday afternoon.

Granada hasn't been the easiest place to go in recent years for Barcelona, with a 1-0 defeat in April 2014 seemingly ending their title bid under Gerardo Martino.

Although Barcelona came back from it to take the fight down to the last day, arguably that was one of their worst performances of the season and the most costly loss in La Liga.

Iniesta played that day, but all he could muster to help his team was an aggressive, out-of-character barge on Allan Nyom.

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Lionel Messi offered nothing either, Alex Song and Cesc Fabregas floundered, and a relatively inexperienced Neymar was still trying to develop the tools that let him slice through defences with such ease.

But after an out-of-sorts spell while Martino led the club, and then a struggle to find his place and role in Luis Enrique's side, Iniesta has hit his stride again.

The midfielder rarely proves the man to score the decisive goal or even set it up—he has one assist and no goals since November’s 4-0 humiliation of Real Madrid, in which he scored.

That is not to say he has performed badly in the interim, bar the period in which every Barcelona player struggled, from the Clasico defeat by Real Madrid on April 2 to the 2-1 defeat by Valencia at the Camp Nou on April 17.

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Iniesta has been an integral part of the mix, the man who drops deep and helps glue the team together, playing increasingly like Xavi as he gets older. He is the man who helps Luis Enrique’s side play in the style we have come to recognise as the Barcelona way.

There has been a well-documented shift towards counter-attacking and a loss of control of some matches, but Iniesta is a steadying influence. And if Barcelona are to beat Granada on Saturday, they will have to do it the old way once more.

There is little incentive for the Andalusian side to attack—they are safe from relegation and know they will be praised for a draw as much as for a victory.

So Barcelona will have to break down Granada and Iniesta has proven himself to be the master lock-picker.