After more than two decades dedicated to soccer, the day has come to say goodbye. After a lifetime on the playing fields, leaving a mark without making noise, without fuss or controversies, it is time to retire. Andrés Iniesta, a legend of the beautiful game, that boy who came from Fuentealbilla to Barça to make history, the hero of all Spain in that moment of the 116th minute in South Africa, will definitively hang up his boots next Tuesday at the age of 40.
The manchego has published a striking message on his social networks, in collaboration with the urban artist TVBoy, where his image dressed as Barça can be seen in a mural of the Copa del América alongside the words “to my future.” In a more secluded spot, the date October 8, 2024 is visible, the chosen day, symbolic for coinciding with his usual number, to close a long-standing stage that has delighted all soccer fans.
“I want to be a soccer player and have a successful career,” said Iniesta 28 years ago, still a child playing in the Albacete youth academy. The midfielder has not only fulfilled his childhood dream but has exceeded all expectations, undoubtedly one of the best players in history, as reflected in his 37 titles and an endless archive of memorable plays.”
It only took a few seconds, just a couple of touches, a few details of his immense quality, to perceive that Iniesta was a special player. His talent overflowed from day one, from when it all began on October 29, 2002, the day of his debut with Barça in a Champions League match against Brugge.
Andrés Iniesta celebrates the goal at Stamford Bridge that qualified Barça for the 2009 Champions League final
Magic appeared ipso facto. It seemed as though he was incapable of losing the ball, stuck to his boots like a magnet, always shielded between his seemingly fragile legs, until the exact moment when, as if he had an internal clock, he would slide that definitive pass or dare to shoot towards the goal. His elegance with the ball, advancing gracefully on the field, gradually imbued Barcelona’s game, first coming off the bench and ultimately becoming a standard-bearer for the club’s best years.
“Without Iniesta, the imprint of Barça in the last 15 or 20 years, as well as Spanish and international soccer, cannot be understood. He is a master class, a top player,” Pep Guardiola showered praise when the manchego decided to end his time at the blaugrana club after 22 years, 16 of them in the first team. An adventure that began at the tender age of 12. “It was terrifying, I hardly ate,” he recently remembered about his first weeks in Barcelona. From those tears every night in La Masia, distressed by the absence of his family, he went on to play 674 matches with the first team, the fourth most appearances, and to win 32 titles, including four Champions Leagues, nine leagues, and six Copa del Rey titles.”
“This club, the best in the world, which welcomed me when I was a child, deserves the best from me. I understand that in the near future I couldn’t give it my best physically and mentally,” said Iniesta on April 27, 2018, bidding farewell to the team of his heart. He left behind the memory of his first goal against Levante. Also, his stellar emergence from the bench in the 2005 Champions League final. His miraculous goal at Stamford Bridge. The treble in 2009 and 2015. His debut as the first captain in 2015, or his final goal as a Blaugrana in the 2018 Copa del Rey final.”
His successful career in the field was accompanied, however, by the shadow of depression following the sudden death of his friend and fellow player Dani Jarque. “I didn’t have that joy or energy that life should have. It creeps into your body and mind, and everything looks dark. I longed for night to come to take my pill and rest. It can happen to anyone,” he explained about those dark days that he began to heal on July 11, 2010, at the Soccer Stadium, where he scored the most important goal in the history of Spain. The whole world was watching that iconic, epic moment, full of maximum euphoria, of uncontrollable emotion for any fan of the Spanish national team. But the man from Fuentealbilla still had enough clarity, in the midst of celebration, to lift his shirt and dedicate that historic moment to the late Jarque. The manchego was the architect of the first and so far only star of the national team, as well as a key player in the titles of the 2008 and 2012 Euro Cups, of which he was the MVP.
Having reached the peak both with Spain and Barcelona, Iniesta stepped away from high-level competition to dedicate more time to his prolific family. Alongside his wife Anna and their four children, he embarked on an exotic journey in Japan, wearing the colors of Vissel Kobe, which lasted for five years. His latest experience was this past season in the United Arab Emirates, where his team ended up being relegated. Now, football, the leitmotif of his life since he was a child, is already in the past, but Iniesta’s legacy is infinite in the eyes of his fans.
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