Andres Iniesta, Our Own Sam

2010 Has Turned Into a Wonderful year for Andres Iniesta

What a wonderful year this Gentleman had! It started in a rather disappointing fashion missing most of the 2009-10 season, but now it all comes down to fate. It looks like somebody up above decided to get him rested so that he can do bigger things at the biggest stage of all. Going into the world cup Iniesta was meant to play the supporting cast. No one, I mean no one in their wildest dream imagined about him scripting the biggest triumph of his nation. Spain, a perenial under achiever in footballing history was catapulted into World Cup triumph by the one of the smallest of players. Iniesta may be small but he definitely got a big tough heart. Yes, I know that's only in the soccer field. You got some doubt, ask Cristiano Ronaldo. He picked up a fight with him in his first clasico and now it looks like that was the biggest mistake of his life. Remember the Pep push stuff that happened in the clasico. Everyone remembers Valdes getting under Ronaldo's skin during that incident, but watch carefully who started it all - Andres Iniesta.

Iniesta may have been a little bit naughty at times on the pitch, but off it he has been a true gentleman; something very rare among footballers these days. Many non-Barca fans find it difficult to accept this. The character of Anne Hathaway in "The Princess Diaries" says "My expectation in life is to be invisible". Sometimes you maight wonder that's the same with Iniesta. Before that goal at Stamford Bridge only Barca fans held him in high esteem but with following that goal with the great strike in South Africa, he is forced to be visible to the world. Even in that greatest moment of his life, he could never ceased to exist as our San Andres. Phill Ball explains it really well - "The incident was one of sport's great moments, I suspect. A football player, in the very moment of his apotheosis, with the eyes of the world's intensive focus on his greatest ever few seconds, suddenly shifted their attention from him to a man that few of the 700 million had even heard of - an act of selflessness surely unequalled in the history of sport and a wonderful example to the 'me' generation of how to behave". But my best Iniesta story is the one that is involved with that famous Stamford Bridge goal - Iniesta's Boot Raises 100,000 Euros . Many may ask what is special in that. He is not the first nor the last footballer who has stepped into help others. But there is a difference. We have seen many sport personality helping others in the past. But most of them do that to benifit a cause they support, or to help some of their fans. But in this case Javier's aunt's only request was to get the shirt signed. He could also have send them some photos. But Iniesta being Iniesta, send her very boots Iniesta was wearing when he scored against Chelsea in the Champions League semi-final. Do you still consider that as a rather usual act?

Little Man for the Bigger Occasions

Many opposition accuse Andres Iniesta for going down at the slightest of challenge. We Barca fans accuse him for not taking his chances at times, but not this season. Whiichever side you are; you won't be able to accuse him for going missing in the most importnat matches. He is one of those rare breeds of footballer who excels better when presented with a tougher challenge. Rewin back to 2005-06 Champions League final, Rijkaard started the match a bit defensive with resting Iniesta on the bench. Trailing 1-0 Rijkaard did the right thing by bringing him on after the break. Two seasons back his wonder strike took us to Rome, where he ran circles around the poor Manchester United midfielders. Apparently he was not fully fit that night. No wonder why Rooney went around declaring him the best player around. Have any doubt still, go back to that great night in South Africa. It was not only that he scored the most important goal of the night, he indeed was the best player on the pitch.

Iniesta is one of the most unappreciated stars in this Barcelona side. The work he does at most of the time gets over shadowed by Messi or Xavi. In plain comparision with Xavi he may find a bit wanting in the assit column. But we may be over looking a lot of facts in the search of mere statistics. We may be playing a 4-3-3 formation at most times, but once the match start we all know Xavi loves to drop deep and organise play from a bit comfortable area. Iniesta meanwhile will be playing the attacking midfielder taking on defenders with his quick feet. Iniesta's primary job is to make space for Xavi to play in those wonderful through balls. That's why I thing together they are the most brilliant midfield partnerships the world has ever seen - Xavi vs Iniesta. In that sense Iniesta is someone like the Samwise Gamgee from the The Lord of the Rings. Like Sam, he carries on doing his duty without expecting much appreciation from the much acclaimed football press or community. Maybe twenty years from now, many may not remember him and his contribution to the club. Everyone could be behind the Frodo's of the teams. But one thing is assured that the Frodo's of his team will never forget the great contribution of this great Little Sam.

Iniesta's Boot Raises 100,000 Euros

The boot with which Iniesta scored his famous goal at Stamford Bridge has raised 100,000 Euros for the treatment of Javier, a child with Cerebral Palsy. The funds were raised via a Lottery held by the Javier's family, but now its been learned that the winner has not yet claimed his/her's prize. The winning ticket was sold in Hellín, a town and municipality located in the south of the province of Albacete, in Castile-La Mancha, Spain. The lottery was held on the 18th of November. Javier's aunt contacted Iniesta's family to return the boot, but they informed her that they can continue to give the boot out. Now with the winner not coming forward to claim their coveted prize, the family have the option of auctioning the boots. With Iniesta's fame skyrocketing following his World Cup winner, this could be the ideal time to auction the boots and raise money.

Javier's family have to travel to Philadelphia every March and August to receive personalized therapy. Each trip is expected to cost 10,000 Euros. Javier's aunt, Encarna Pérez Martínez has spent years raising money to help her nephew and his parents travel to Philadelphia twice a year. She send a poster(of Iniesta's famous goal) and a Barça shirt that she had bought to the star's family in the hope that he would sign them. Her idea was to conduct a lottery to raise the money for next session of therapy and was overwhelmed to discover that when they were returned to her duly signed by the Barça star, also included in the parcel were the very boots Iniesta was wearing when he scored against Chelsea in the Champions League semi-finals this year. 'A member of Iniesta's family had told me that there was another surprise in the parcel which could be used for another raffle, so I expected a signed ball or something like that,' said Encarna. 'But when we opened the parcel and found the boots we were overwhelmed. We are so grateful,' she added.

Iniesta Out For a Month

Andres Iniesta has been ruled out of action with a calf tear in his right leg. The medical staffs have confirmed that he has suffered total rupture of the right femoral biceps muscle, and could be out for action for four weeks. With this injury Iniesta will will be missing the Champions League semi-final against Inter Milan. He is also set to miss a set of La Liga matches - Deportivo, Espanyol, Xerez, Villarreal, Tenerife and Sevilla. FC Barcelona has coped well with Iniesta's absence but against a team like Inter Milan, his service could be very crucial. Iniesta has been plagued by injuries this season and with World Cup fast approaching no one wants to take any risk. He is expected to return for Champions League final, if Barca get past Inter. Keita and Toure could be very good cover for Iniesta, but they both cannot match Iniesta for skill. Let's hope we can get past Inter without "San Andres".

Andres Iniesta vs Getafe

Andres Iniesta Compilation

Andres Iniesta Expected to be Fit for Champions League Final

Ok, for all the Barca fans who had their fingers crossed while Iniesta had further tests today can relax for the time being now. According to Sport.es there is a high possibility of the player being fit for the finals against Manchester United. The report suggests that the injury is not as serious as one thought. The tests confirmed that Iniesta has suffered only a small tear to the muscle in his right leg and that he will be able to recover quickly. There is no official confirmation from the club website but if we go by the Thierry Henry injury report by Sport.es, we may have a strong reason to believe this. Andres Iniesta has been an integral part of this dream team of Guardiola. He undoubtedly has been the star of the show in recent months and his performances and his consistency has seen fans placing him along with Messi.

The rest could come as a boon for Iniesta who has been playing non-stop football after he returned back from a similiar injury. That absence of Iniesta coincided with Barca's bad form and that explains how essential is the player for Barca. Iniesta will miss the Copa Del Rey final on wednesday and will miss the rest of the three league matches. If things go well we might see him getting some playing time against Deportivo, the last league game of this season. This news definitely is a huge relief for Guardiola and Barca fans. There is a high chance that we will miss Henry for the showdown match and hence we cannot afford to lose Iniesta.

Andres Iniesta vs Xavi Hernandez; The Dangerous Duo

So, the debate rages on; who is better Xavi or Iniesta. Nic from FCBNews did a poll to find the second best Barca player after Messi; not surprisingly that soon become a head on clash between two of Barca's little midfield brains. Iniesta emerged victorious ahead of Xavi but with a narrow margin. There is no doubt that FC Barcelona has been blessed with two of the world's best midfielders in Xavi and Iniesta; no soccer fans will deny that. But picking one of them is the most toughest job in hand. Xavi Henrnandez is the midfield General of the side. He controls and drives the midfield and there is no doubt that he is also the captain in waiting for both club and national side. After Guardiola took over he has improved a lot in the scoring section. He regularly finds himself in the scoresheet and no one can forget the number of assists he got. Andres Iniesta is fondly called "The Choir Boy" by media and fans. That name suggest his humble and unassuming nature. He is indeed an exception in an era where the most average of football players vie for media attention. He does his job day in, day out with not much fuss. He is an excellent dribbler and his dribbles has unsettled the best of defensive opponents. His inability to get into score sheet is always pinned against him but no one can deny the fact that many of his team mates get into scoresheet courtesy of his skills. He needs to be a bit more aggresive as I have written earlier - Time For Iniesta To Be Aggressive. He is more versatile that Xavi; actually than anyone in the side. He has played in more postion that any in the history of the game and actually did very well in all those positions. Guardiola started using him front left and that has already started a debate about "Whether to Have Henry or Iniesta in the front". I will come to that in a later post.

So only fact that can be derived from the first paragraph is that both of them are irreplacable in this Barca side. I personally believe that Xavi is better than Iniesta at this moment but then Iniesta has been improving by leaps and bounds with every match.It is mere furtile for us to debate on who is better. Thousands of views will be made supporting each other but no conclusion will be made. Instead we should put our effort to understand and appreciate the effectiveness of them as a pair. Frank Rijkaard could be credited with the forming of the duo but I believe the man who really understood their potential as a pair was Luis Aragones. I believe Rijkaard used them together because they were the best midfielder he had but Aragones realized the explosive power in their pairing. There was no doubt that Xavi was Aragones's favourite player but he also realised the potential of Iniesta and Xavi as a combo. He took the tough call to put Fabregas on the bench. a decision which took ages for English media to digest. Spain's last week matches against Turkey showed the importance of Iniesta in the side. Eventhough Xavi was in full flow their midfield didn't dominate as they used to. We have seen the same happening with FC Barcelona when Iniesta was out injured. During our recent bad patch our opponents cleverly double marked Xavi in the midfield and cut down the creativity from the middle. If Iniesta was present that would not have been easy. This was a tactic very well employed by Real Madrid when they visited Nou Camp in December.

Does that mean that Iniesta is a good player than Xavi. You can't say that authoratively. We have seen Iniesta struggling to knit attacking move from the middle when Xavi is absent from the middle. Especially in Copa Del Rey matches. I do believe that Guardiola's decision to put Iniesta in the right when Xavi is absent also contribute to that. To me Iniesta is a much more dangerous player when he starts on the left. So simply put "Xavi is a great player but Iniesta makes him better, and Iniesta is incomplete without Xavi". Ok, that statement may be an exaggeration but it has a bit of truth in them. Just see the way we dominate matches when both of them start in midfield. When both of them start in the midfield it takes out the option of souble marking from the opponents. To their credits they have formed a lethal partnership and understanding with each other; how many times we have seen thay both creating goals for each other. Even though there is tough competition , both of their nature makes it sure that it will always be a healthy one. Let's hope they remain true to their natures and churn out victories as they are doing now.

Keeping Fingers Crossed with Inietsa's Injury

Andres Iniesta travelled to the Spanish capital for joining his national side mates eventhough he would not take part in the current international fixture. Iniesta is said to have informed the Spanish coach about the extend of his inury and did reveal about his apparent dissappointment with his recent spate of injuries. This is the third time he is getting injured recently and Barca fans are a bit worried with the frequency. He is definite to miss the clash against Real Valladolid but most probably will feature in the home leg of Champions League clash against Bayern Munich. The absence of Iniesta against Real Valladolid may not be troubling many of the fans but if he is set to miss the Bayern clash , then alarms bell would be ringing. But this rest could be a boon to him as he will have enough time to rest and re-coup once again.

The last time when he was injured we went down a downward spiral. At that time also he got injured before the crucial Lyon tie. But this time he should have enough time to get ready for Bayern tie. Actually we were in a downward fall at that point and Iniesta's injury seemed to accelerate it a bit. But this time we look more confident and are back to playing some great football once again. What we don't need a repeat of his injuries anymore down the line. Barca as a team is not heavily depended on Iniesta , but to dominate the proceeding we need Iniesta in the middle especially against well organised sides. Without Iniesta we have seen many times Xavi getting marginalised in the attacking front. It becomes easy for teams to double-mark Xavi and cut the supply. So as every Barca fan I am eagerly waiting with my fingers crossed. It also shed light to the need to buy a attacking midfielder player who can be a decent cover for these two. Maybe we can find some in our youth setup. What's your opinion?

Time For Iniesta to be Aggressive

Iniesta has been the unsung hero in many of Barca's victory, but nobody gives any damn credit to him. But recently the bad run of results suddenly saw people recognising his talent and contributions. If there is a player we would all take for granted in the world football at present, it has to be Iniesta. The coaches uses him left, right, centre, back everywhere; and we the fans will never give him his due credit. Iniesta, for me is the second most talented player in our lineup after ofcourse Lionel Messi. When he made his debut as a Spanish International, everyone said he will find hard time to get into the lineup ahead of Cesc Fabregas; but then we all knew what really happened. Iniesta is that kind of player who likes to keep quiet and get on with his job.In his initial season we all thought he would never be able to score many goals. But he did prove us wrong in the last two season.

He is an excellent dribbler, who for me hesitates to take his chance inside the box. You cannot blame him for that; may be throughout his career he was looking to provide someone with goal scoring oppurtunity. In the Real Betis match, when we were 2-0 up he dribbled past two Betis' defenders with ease keeping the ball just inside the goal line. I was watching that match along with two of my friend who are supporters of Manchester United and Chelsea. The initial reaction from them was "How the hell he managed to get past those defenders?". He did that again in last match against Real mallorca. But in all these we still can see a hesitation to try his luck infront of the goal. The final shot after that great dribble in the Real Mallorca match made me think that he was placing the ball for an easy tappin for Hleb. But that never happened, maybe I am wrong. Messi has been spectacular this season, so was Iniesta. But for Barca to remain ahead of their challengers in all competition we definitely need Iniesta to take his chances more often. He is an aggressive player; but we need him to be even more and may be a bit selfish too.The most deadliest combination would be a full flowing Messi pairing with an Iniesta who is ready to take his chances.

Iniesta Out for Two Weeks

FC Barcelona would be missing their instrumental mid-fielder for two weeks. Andres Iniesta has been sidelined after suffering an harmstring injury. The doctors have advised him for complete rest for two weeks. This is sad as he was coming back to his best. His last two matches - against Betis and against England he was coming back to full force. He is definite to miss the first leg of Champions League encounter against Lyon. The best we can hope is to see him action against Mallorca in the Copa Del Rey second leg, which will be held on March 04. But that all depend on how fast he recovers; then again Pep may not risk him in that match and wait till he is completely fit. As far as Barca is concerned - we missed him during the crucial phase in December. But we came through it in flying colours. Pep could use anyone of Keita, Gudjohnsen and Busquets in the midfield; but they will not be able to substitute the skill of Iniesta.

Eto has been stalling the renewal of contract for sometime. Now the plot gets thicker with Manchester City and AC Milan reportedly interested in signing him. This is something which Eto wanted, as this will give him more bargaining power with the club. But this could also harm Eto's interest. Txiki Begiristain , the sporting director at Barca has reportedly made a statement that at Barca anyone can score. He also made it clear that their initail priority is to extend Eto deal; but they are well prepared if that falls through. Eto could be a bit upset at the treatment metted out by Guardiola in the beginig of season, but it is hard to believe that he would like to move out of Nou Camp. Where will he get a more perfect team to complement his goal poaching skills? But these development will force Barca to go after Benzema and Villa with more determination, and in the end Eto could be the loser.

Andres Iniesta, The Silent Hero

FC Barcelona sadly has been always about the players like Ronaldinho, Messi, Rivaldo, Ronaldo, Figo etc. Many a times we tend to overlook the contribution of many of our heroes. Andres Iniesta was in place to make that list of unsung heroes. This liliputian from Fuentealbilla has been Barcelona's best player of last season. He is inline to become the best player of this year also. But we will take his contribution for granted. As soon as Messi hits back his great stride we will forget this little man's contribution, surprisingly he will not complain about that. Usually there are two types of footballers - one with tremendous skills who tend to drift away now and then, and the other with moderate skills who tend to give their 100% percent everytime on the pitch. Iniesta belongs to the third group which does both to perfection.

Iniesta was off colour when FC Barcelona lost their seasons opener to Numancia; or may be we can say that Barca lost that match because their Mr.Reliable was having a bad day. Guardiola expressed his concerns over Iniesta's performance in that match and dropped him for the next match against Racing. But when he replaced Hleb in that match he showed what FC Barcelona was lacking till then. He undoubtedly has been the man of the match in FC Barcelona's last three matches. Even when the front trio has failed repeatedly it is Iniesta's partnership with Xavi which was pivotal in last two decent performnace by Barca.

Eventhough Louis Van Gaal was the one to handle Iniesta his debut; his success at the top level has to be accredited to the belief Rijkaard had in him. To an extent we can say that Iniesta was the most over abused player of the Rijkaard era. Rijkaard used him in all position - front left, front right, midfield, holding midfielder and even left back. His humility has earned him the title "El Anti-Galactico" by the Catalan press. Last match against Sporting Gijon is the prime example of the commitment he shows; he was slotted to play the attacking left front role but many a times we saw him track back and help Abidal in the defense. Because of this natureIniesta is simply the least substituted player in the Barcelona side.

Iniesta along with Xavi has become the core of Spain's National side. When he first made his debut there was reports suggesting that he is pretty unlucky to fight for a place in that already crowded midfield. Nobody gave him a chance of starting for Spain in the Euro. Such was his performance in the Euro qualifying matches that he pretty soon became the second most trusted midfielder for Luis Aragones; first being his campatriot Xavi Hernandez. He displaced Cesc Fabregas from the starting eleven. That didn't go that well with the English Press; there were suggestion put to change thes system so that the three Catalan midfielder can play together. He didn't start the Euro campaign that well; he was solid but wasn't magnificient. But with every match he improved and was at his best in the last three matches.

It's time the FC Barcelona fans stood up and appreciate this "Silent Hero". The more he plays the more he improves; two seasons before everyone complained about his ability to score goals. Now he is regularly getting into that scoresheet. His natural flair would be the driving force for FC Barcelona and Spain in the present and the future. With Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta Lujan forms the most dangerous partnership in today's midfield.

Iniesta Gets the Contract

Andres Iniesta extended his contract with barcelona till 2014. the contract was due to expire in 2010. He still had two years in his existing contract but the Club might be forced to offer him a much better deal after all the transfer rumours. Last transfer window there was too much speculation surrounding him with Madrid's wish to sign him. But there was no concern shown about the speculation by barcelona. Maybe they know the kid too well. Anyway its not known how much he is going to take home weekly, but his Buy-out clause is being increased to 150 million euros. So that's a statement made by barcelona about how much they rate him. There were complains that he was one of the worst paid stars among the barcelona players (Iniesta never made any complaints), hope now he get paid as good as others also.

Iniesta is a fabulous product which barcelona youth academy should be proud of. And the extended contract should be a Medal of Honour for the hardwork put by the Academy to churn out talents like Messi, Xavi, iniesta etc. He himself d confessed that his first year in the academy was very hard. But then leaving home in Fuentealbilla at an age of 12 is not that easy. He may be the most hardworking player in this Barcelona side. With his skill, flair and hardwork there is no doubt he will become a Barcelona giant pretty soon. It's sad that he hasn't found a regular place in the National side starting eleven, but he is one of Spain's key player. Let's hope he can take Spain to glory in the Euro.

For Rijkaard this contract extension should be sweet music to ears. Iniesta is the most key player in his scheme of things. In Iniesta Rijkaard has a trump card which can be placed anywhere in the field, ofcourse expect Goal Keeper. Hope this contract extention inspires him to do more and more great things at the club.