The Ballad of Andres Iniesta

Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta announced that he will be leaving the club at the end of the season. Just a few days later, Barcelona secured the La Liga title, and are on course for a potential unbeaten season.

From back in 2002 when he made his debut at the Nou Camp, to now, Iniesta has been a constant in the Barcelona team. Quickly forming a rock solid partnership with Xavi in the middle of the field, Iniesta was able to allow his teammates to flourish everywhere by providing quality passes and crosses to them. Arguably one of the best passers and dribblers of all time, the Spaniard experienced success for years in Spain, at the same time as playing with greats like Ronaldinho, Eto’o, and Henry. Back in 2016, when his lifelong friend and teammate decided to leave the club, there was a noticeable hole in the Barcelona midfield. Iniesta was quick to fill this void by playing even harder. Despite aging, it seemed like Iniesta was still as agile as ever, continuing to show why he is one of the greatest midfielders to grace the field. Now, in 2018, Iniesta has finally succumbed to age, and has had to change his playing style to one that does not play a full 90. Nevertheless, Iniesta does so much while he is on the pitch, arguably producing more in 50 or 60 minutes than others produce in a full match. Despite only scoring a handful of goals in his career, his assist stats are through the roof, and his greatest quality is something hard to measure: hard work.

Another aspect that Iniesta brought to the team was his experience and ability to teach. Watch any Barcelona training film, and the man is always with some of the younger players in the team. He shows how to shape your body to make a pass, how to put spin on the ball to change its direction, even how to best play the game as a whole: in a humble fashion. Iniesta was never a flair player, nor was he ever cocky. He, Xavi, and Carles Puyol were a solid group in the center of the field, all of whom played with dedication and humility, influencing a string of players including one Lionel Messi.

For his national team, Iniesta has also achieved success. He scored the winning goal of the 2010 World Cup, and won more silverware in Europe. He was visibly distraught when Spain failed to perform well in the more recent tournaments, and he will be hoping for one more chance to show his skills before he retires for good. Barcelona gave him a fantastic fairwell, now it’s time for Spain to do the same by achieving glory in Russia at the World Cup. With those around him on the Spanish national team, it could end up being a fairytale 2018 for Iniesta.

 Gracias Andres, Gracias.