Andrés Iniesta - The Artist: Being Iniesta

Copyright 2016 Andrs Iniesta

The right of Andrs Iniesta to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

First published in Great Britain in 2016
by Headline Publishing Group

First published as an Ebook in Great Britain
by Headline Publishing Group in 2016

Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law, this publication may only be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, with prior permission in writing of the publishers or, in the case of reprographic production, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency.

Every effort has been made to fulfil requirements with regard to reproducing copyright material. The author and publisher will be glad to rectify any omissions at the earliest opportunity.

Cataloguing in Publication Data is available from the British Library

[COVER CREDIT]

eISBN: 978 1 4722 3232 8

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Contents

About the Author

Andrs Iniesta is widely considered one of the greatest footballers of his generation.

After graduating from La Masia, the fabled Barcelona youth academy, Iniesta made his first-team debut in 2002, aged 18. He became a regular in the 200405 season and has remained in the side ever since, helping Barca to an amazing string of trophies, including eight La Liga and four Champions League titles.

At international level he has well over a century of caps, and has twice won the European Championships. In 2010, he scored the winning goal to hand Spain their first World Cup.

About the Book

People put my name into Google and they think they know me. But they dont.

Andrs Iniesta was twelve years old when scouts invited him into Barcelonas famous La Masia academy. Shortly after he joined the club, Pep Guardiola remarked of him, This lad is going to retire us all.

Iniesta rapidly became a permanent fixture in the Bara midfield, propelling the club to a raft of trophies, including eight La Liga championships and four Champions League titles. With his country he was won the European Championship twice, and scored the winning goal in the 2010 World Cup final.

Behind the wonderfully graceful passing and movement, and the accolades and trophies he has garnered, there exists an intelligent and thoughtful man who, until now, has let his beautifully skilful feet do the talking.

In The Artist: Being Iniesta, the Spanish maestro paints a vivid self-portrait, in his own words but also in those of his coaches, team-mates, opponents, friends and family. The result is intriguing.

A NNA

For just being you, for loving me the way you do, and for being the person that you are. You gave me back the joy of living and gave meaning to my life. Meeting you was the most magical thing that could have happened to me; destiny brought us together so that we could share our lives. You have given me the opportunity to become a father, form an incredible family and feel what complete happiness is alongside you and our children. We have already shared so many unforgettable and unique experiences, but I know that by your side the best is always yet to come. My life would make no sense without you, Mami .

M AM

We only get one mother and I could not have had a better example in life than you. You have made me the person I am today. And the things that you have taught me, I would like to teach my children. You are my role model. I cannot imagine what you went through after I left home to live in La Masia when I was only 12 years old. Without you, all of the things that I enjoy now would not have been possible. You were always happy to be in the background, away from the limelight, but no one is more indispensable than you. We have cried and suffered a lot together, but now every moment that I spend with you I enjoy and appreciate for the precious thing that it is. I am eternally gratefully to you for everything you have done for me, Mam.

P AP

You have always been my guide, my coach. You are the father every kid would love to have protecting him as he grows. It would be very difficult for me to appreciate where I am today and how far I have come without you being by my side. You never dreamed of Champions Leagues, European Championships or World Cups; you just dreamed that your son would become a professional footballer and we made it. We cried and suffered along the way, but now we can both enjoy it together. I am forever grateful to you for all that you have given me. And above all, for all the countless things you taught me along the way, Pap.

M ARIBEL

You will always be my girl. Because being without you for five years was not easy; and because, although we fought when we were young and I would love to tease you from time to time, I could not have a better sister than you. You have such a big heart.

We have the same blood and that makes us closer than ever. I love you so much, more than you realize. I know that you are always there for me. Thanks for being by my side, My girl.

V ALERIAAND P AOLO A NDREA

My treasures. My princess and my little terror. What wonderful things life has given us! What complete happiness. The princess of the house and the champion of the house. What a pair you are! One day you will read this wonderful book and realize so many things. You are my inspiration.

A NDRS J NR

How could I forget you? People dont know you, but I do. I know you and I know that you are beautiful. Even though you are not here with us in the flesh, you will always be with us in spirit; our angel who we fought so hard for, and who we will never forget.

This is not an orthodox biography. Nor is it a traditional one. More than Iniestas book, its the book of Andrs; nothing more, nothing less. Perhaps it seems that in this long story, he rarely appears at the forefront accustomed as we are to authors of autobiographies being the all-action heroes of their own life stories; spicing up the epic and playing down the doubts and fears.

Here Andrs takes a different approach. But even when you dont see him, he is there. He is in every one of the lines that we started writing together in 2012. He is present far more than it first appears, and if you asked him he would probably say that he appears in the book too much. What he most definitely wanted to appear was every last detail of his long and patient climb to a summit he never thought he would reach.

Not in his wildest dreams would he have imagined the career that he has had. And nor did anybody tell him, when he was a 12-year-old boy left in La Masia, separated from his parents, just how tough it would be sometimes. Football, it turns out, would not always free him from lifes problems. He first began to run with the ball at his feet in Fuentealbilla, in Albacete, and he remains intrinsically connected to the small Spanish village that he ended up putting on the map. Having reached this point in his career, captain of Barcelona and a symbol of the style of football that conquered Europe and the world be it with Rijkaard, Guardiola or Luis Enrique in a Bara shirt; or with Luis Aragons or Vicente del Bosque for Spain he wanted to stop the clock, put his foot on the ball, and take a look back.