The Spanish midfielder Andres Iniesta He confessed very excitedly that he never thought “that this day would come”, at the ceremony of his retirement as a professional footballer at the old IMAX cinema in Barcelona’s Port Vell.
“I suppose you will allow me to be emotional today. But they are tears of emotion, of pride, not of sadness. They are the tears of that boy from Fuentealbilla who had the dream of being a professional soccer player. And I achieved it, with a lot of work and a lot of effort “said Iniesta, 40 years old.
Iniesta’s best phrases
“I never thought this day would come, but all these tears these days are tears of emotion, of pride. They are not of sadness. They are tears of that boy from Fuentealbilla who had the dream of being a footballer. And I got it, we got it. With a lot of sacrifice and a lot of effort. And never giving up. Essential values in my life. I feel very proud of that path. I feel very happy to achieve the award, the dream, of being a footballer.”
“This was a first step. The family has always been my driving force and strength, where I have always supported myself. I am lucky to have many generations of that great family here. My sister, my parents have been everything to me, for everything they have given and passed on to me. Today I have my big family, with Ana and our six little ones. Special mention for my father, who has always had a special connection. My passion for football and what I have done. In fact, I owe it to him. Thank you very much for the advice, the silences…”
“La Masía changed me forever, the best place I could be to enhance the values I had to have in life. Thanking the teachers, classmates… a place that marked my life. Coming to Barça was a dream and I I focused so as not to deviate. I arrived at the best possible place.”
“It was the first step to get where I wanted to be. Training with them, starting to play. All the coaches have had an influence on me. I couldn’t highlight any of them above. I don’t want to forget Van Gaal, who gave me the alternative “My gratitude for that bravery, because it was not an easy moment.”
“My other skin is the national team. Surely we go back to the latest achievements, but for me it begins at 15 years old. All those afternoons of training, teammates with whom I have grown up. Anyway… my path is a thank you to all the people that I have been encountering. I have had the privilege of being in the best era of the team. A special mention to Luis Aragonés, Del Bosque and Lopetegui for the respect they have had for me. Everything is summed up with a photo, that World Cup goal. “But we all scored that goal. Those of us who fought, the fans, all the players. The magic of everyone made it possible. And the magic of Jarque, who helped us from wherever he was.”
Guardiola’s Barcelona
“This stage would not make sense without having lived through the best time for my club, Barça. Years in which we had a great time. It was not just about playing, but how we did it. It was magical and unique. What I take away is what We enjoy it, those inside and our fans. It is a time that symbolizes everything for me to be able to be in the club of my life, to be in the lower categories, to reach the first team, to represent Barça… it is something unique and with the best memory in the world. Barça changed my life and has been everything for me. I can’t forget the group of players and coaches from those years who made it unique.”
“Football ends at this stage. The game continues… I can’t be too far from football, it has been my life and will continue to be. We are working on different projects. In this next step I have that motivation to continue training outside of the game.” football but in the same way. I need to learn, make mistakes, train myself, in the project of the clubs we have, the academies… which is a legacy that I want to continue maintaining. And I am already starting the coaching course. You know me, you know that I am quite stubborn. I hope to do a great job not running after the ball, but with great enthusiasm. If there is one word that can sum up this stage, it is PRIDE of having fought until the last day. as a footballer. The rest is history: titles, defeats, bad moments… but pride and never giving up is what makes me happy. With sadness because I would have played until I was 90, but happy to have realized the dream of being. footballer”.