Iniesta Says Farewell to Barcelona
This weekend sees the final round of 2017/18 La Liga matches and Barcelona will celebrate winning the title at the final whistle of the match at the Camp Nou against Real Sociedad. While the players and fans will be joyous in winning the Spanish title, there will be one player who will feel sadness as he says farewell to the club and his name is Andres Iniesta.
Huge Success
The Spanish international is a Barcelona legend and the match against Real Sociedad will be his 438th game for the club. Iniesta has won every top trophy there is to win in both club and international football.
The creative midfielder has won La Liga 9 times, the Copa del Rey 6 times, the Champions League 4 times, the European Championship twice and the World Cup. Iniesta is considered the most decorated player in the history of the game and there is no better way to bow out than by winning another Spanish league title.
Iniesta is known for his ball control, balance and skill. He can move away from players with ease and often made the game look simple. Pep Guardiola summed up Iniesta perfectly when he said, “Iniesta doesn’t dye his hair, he doesn’t wear earrings and he hasn’t got any tattoos. Maybe that makes him unattractive to the media, but he is the best.”
The crowning moment of his career came when he scored the winning goal for Spain at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
Iniesta the Coach
Having called time on his career at Barcelona, Iniesta has been strongly linked with a move to China or Japan where he will continue his playing days. However, reports have recently emerged of the possibility of liking up with Guardiola at Manchester City.
Guardiola’s current assistant coach is Mikel Arteta but the former Arsenal player looks set to return to the Emirates Stadium as the new manager of the Gunners. If that move happens, Guardiola may require a replacement and Iniesta’s name has cropped up as a potential player-coach option.
Iniesta has no top level coaching experience but the players at the Etihad are sure to look up to a man who has achieved so much in football. In terms of the playing side of things, Iniesta would probably find playing time limited thanks to the number of current players at Guardiola’s disposal but may be tempted by a cameo role in the Premier League in his final years as a player.
If Iniesta the coach is even 50% successful as Iniesta the player, Manchester City could have a great replacement on their hands, if Arteta is to leave the club.