Football: Iniesta, legend of Barça and La Roja, retires – “Being on the pitch is over”: legend of FC Barcelona and the Spanish football team, Andrés Iniesta announced his retirement on Tuesday. His next goal: to become a coach.
Andrés Iniesta Luján, born May 11, 1984 in Fuentealbilla (Spain), is a Spanish international footballer who played as a midfielder from the early 2000s to the mid-2020s.
Recruited from the Masia training center at the age of twelve, Andrés Iniesta made his professional debut with FC Barcelona during the 2002-2003 season. He then won numerous trophies including four Champions Leagues, nine Spanish Championships, three UEFA Super Cups and three Club World Cups within a golden generation that he embodies with his teammates Lionel Messi and Xavi . He succeeded the latter as captain of Barça until his departure in 2018. He finished his club career at Vissel Kobe in Japan, winning the three national titles, then in the United Arab Emirates.
Individually, Andrés Iniesta won the UEFA Award for Best Player in Europe for the 2011-2012 season and Best Midfielder for the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 seasons. He placed second in the Ballon d’Or in 2010, then third in 2012. Like Xavi, he is considered one of the best midfielders in the history of football, in particular thanks to his vision of the game. , his quality of passing and his dribbling, allowing him to create numerous spaces.
With the Spanish team, Andrés Iniesta achieved a historic hat-trick, consecutively winning Euro 2008, the 2010 World Cup where he was the only scorer in the final against the Netherlands (1-0), and Euro 2012 where he was voted best player of the tournament. With forty official titles, he is the most successful Spanish player in history and one of the most successful in the history of football, all nationalities combined. He has 13 goals and 130 caps with La Roja (with Wikipedia)
