One is held captivated by listening to Bob Dylan's “Time passes slowly”. It has a verse 'Time passes slowly when you're lost in a dream.’
‘Hang on a second, we are experiencing it’.
This generation probably saw him controlling an over-weighted pass from a certain Fabregas, letting the infamous Jabulani bounce and slotting it past Maarten Stekelenburg, "El Ilusionista" left millions in awe of his magic. Thousands of Spanish fans in the stadium couldn't imagine it. The Soccer City erupted. A second later, normalcy returned as Iniesta celebrated the goal by paying his tribute to Dani Jarque. It was the greatest second in the sporting history of Spain. It was Spain's moment but more importantly, it was Iniesta's.
He perceives everything and controls it. But only one thing he can't control is time and time is the only thing that has ever come close to stopping him. Time is the only one that can stop him. He has previously manipulated time when he made 'the Chelsea fans cover their eyes in horror’ exactly one year before the World Cup.
When you talk about Iniesta, you keep aside all other footballing icons and keep him a little above everyone. Many people think this to be a two-way horse race between Cristiano and Messi but no player deserves it more than Iniesta.
La Masia career:-
Coming from Fuentealbilla, Spain, Iniesta joined FC Barcelona at the age of 12. The Blaugranas youth team coach Orizaola persuaded his parents to send him to La Masia. Iniesta captained the Barcelona U-15 team to victory in the Nike Premier Cup in 1999 at the age of 14. He scored the winning goal in the last minute of the final and was awarded the 'Player of the Tournament’ award.
Just after Iniesta arrived at the club, Pep Guardiola famously told his young teammate Xavi :
“You're going to retire me. This lad is going to retire us all.”
First Team and International career:-
Iniesta came into international attention when he helped Spain win the U-16 Euros. After representing Spain at the 2001 FIFA U-17 World Cup, Iniesta was also part of the squad that claimed the U-19 Euros.
He was called for the senior Spain squad at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He made his debut when he was brought on at the half time in a friendly against Russia. His first goal for La Rojas came against England on 7 February 2007.
Iniesta helped the Catalans claim the League and Champions League double in the 2004-05 season. An injury to Xavi at the start of 2005-06 season, allowed him more regular starts in the midfield. Since then, Don Andres has been a crucial figure in the team winning 8 La Ligas, 5 Copas, 7 Super Copas, 4 UCLs, 3 UEFA Super Cups, and 3 FIFA Club World Cups.
Andres has also won 2 Euros(2008 & 2012) and a FIFA World Cup (2010) with La Rojas. Another impressive record is that he has been named the MOTM in the Euros final, World Cup final, and the UCL final. A record that can't be matched by any other player.
Has there been a football player more loved than Iniesta? His legacy at Barcelona is enriched with titles and trophies every player dreams of. But more than his prized possession is the respect he garners from players and rivals around the world. Don Andres is regarded as one of the most complete players of this generation.
Ray Hudson described him the best in his commentary, "Magic from Iniesta. He doesn’t pull rabbits out of his hat, he pulls out big, beautiful peacocks.”
Words don't do much justice to what Iniesta managed to do on the field. It's a mix of brilliant skills, awareness of space, and class.
When Iniesta played his last game for Barcelona, he was seen sitting on the pitch till 1 AM, hours after the end of the game. Imagine how amazing it would feel to dedicate your entire life to something and succeed so thoroughly. Take a bow, Andres.
To the man who made millions fall in love with the beautiful game, Happy Birthday Andres.
