All posts tagged: Iniesta

Andres Iniesta Bids Farewell To Glittering Career In Front Of 45,000 Fans In Tokyo

Andres Iniesta Bids Farewell To Glittering Career In Front Of 45,000 Fans In Tokyo

Published by Webster

Retiring Spanish football legend Andres Iniesta bid farewell to his playing career Sunday in an exhibition match between Barcelona and Real Madrid greats in Tokyo and will now look to go into coaching. The 40-year-old announced in October that he was hanging up his boots after a career that saw him win two European Championships and the 2010 World Cup. He gave a crowd of more than 45,000 fans in Tokyo one last glimpse of the skills that also saw him win nine La Liga titles and four Champions Leagues during his 16 years with Barcelona. He made sure he went out with a bang, delivering a last-minute cross that the Real Madrid defence turned into their own net to hand Barcelona a 2-1 win. “I think it was a great game for the Japanese fans,” said Iniesta, who played in Japan for five years after leaving Barcelona in 2018. “If they went home satisfied then I’m very happy.” Iniesta lined up alongside former midfield partner Xavi Hernandez, with Rivaldo, Rafael Marquez and …

Ex-Barcelona And Spain Great Andres Iniesta Retires Aged 40

Published by Webster

Former Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta, who won two European Championships and the 2010 World Cup with an all-conquering Spain team, announced his retirement from football on Tuesday at the age of 40. “Being on the pitch is over,” a visibly emotional Iniesta told reporters at a news conference in Barcelona while reflecting on a professional career that began with the Catalan giants in 2002. “I can’t stay away from football, it’s my life and will continue to be my life. Now I need to continue educating myself, I’m in the process of doing my coaching diploma and that’s the next step.” “I will try to come back and do a great job. However it won’t be running after the ball, but from another place,” he added. Iniesta came up through Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy and made his first-team debut aged just 18, becoming a mainstay in the midfield before his departure 16 years later after 674 appearances. He won nine La Liga titles and the Champions League four times with Barcelona, also …

Lionel Messi pays incredible tribute to ‘phenomenon’ Andres Iniesta on retirement: ‘The ball will miss you…’ | Football News

Published by Parlour News

Argentine legend Lionel Messi penned a heartfelt note for his former Barcelona teammate Andres Iniesta, who announced his retirement from professional football. Messi and Iniesta were part of Barcelona’s golden period, during which the club dominated European football and won all trophies together at the club level. The duo had impeccable chemistry on the field, and Iniesta often ran through the midfield and placed ideal passes to Messi in front of goal. Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta played at La Masia and then ruled European football together. (AFP) Meanwhile, Iniesta, who scored the World Cup-winning goal for Spain in 2010, decided to hang his boots on October 8 – a number which was associated with him throughout his career as he wore the number 8 jersey in club football. Eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi paid tribute to Iniesta, with whom he shared several memorable moments on the field, including lifting multiple Champions League and La Liga trophies. “One of the team-mates with the most magic and of the one’s I enjoyed playing together the most. …

Andres Iniesta retires: Football’s Harry Potter has left the stage | Football News

Published by Webster

It’s now richly embedded in the Barcelona folklore that when Andres Iniesta first arrived at the doors of La Masia – the club’s talent churning factory – one of the local residents famously blurted out, “He doesn’t look like a footballer.” The scrawny midfielder Andres Iniesta didn’t just lack the physique for the most demanding role on a football pitch, but also came across as an awkward teenager, who couldn’t speak up for himself. Almost three decades to the day, at the age of 40, the Spaniard has officially signed off from the sport with one of the most begrudgingly good resumes. Social media could barely believe it: he was still playing at 40? To many, he had already brought the curtains down in 2018, in a poignant farewell at the Nou Camp. Fresh off his last appearance in a Barcelona shirt, sitting barefoot in the middle of Europe’s biggest stadium – all empty, lights out – the iconic picture had a sense of finality about it. Wasn’t it a perfect night to call it …