Iniesta - Andrés Iniesta Luján - Biography

Andrés Iniesta joined Barca as a twelve-year-old in 1996 after scouts had spotted him at the Brunette Tournament playing for Albacete.

From the start he progressed rapidly through the club's various youth teams and was promoted to the Barca B team for the 2000-01 season, where he almost immediately became the team's main playmaker under coach Josep Maria Gonzalvo.

Andrés' dream of making the first team finally came true in October 2002 when he was picked to play in the Champions League game against Bruges in Belgium. Van Gaal's Barca won that evening and Andrés made an excellent impression.

Now an recognised squad member, Iniesta has established a place for himself through hard work allied to his undoubted natural skills. In the shadow of some of the team's bigger names, Andres became a key piece of the League winning 2004-5 team, winding up as Rijkaard's most used player, figuring in 35 of the 38 league games. Iniesta also played 8 Champions League matches, scoring twice.

But he really established himself as a first team player in the 2005-06 season. Playing in central midfield in place of Xavi, who was sidelined for a long time with injury, Iniesta became one of the key players in the Barça side that won the League and the Champions League. He played in 33 League fixtures and 11 in the Champions League.

Iniesta continued to develop in the 2006-07 season and was one of the players most used by Frank Rijkaard in that campaign. He played in 37 out of 38 League games scoring 6 goals, his best return to date. In the 2007-08 season, and by now in the number 8 shirt, the midfielder continued to be an ever present in the side until the last few games when he picked up a knee injury.

In the 2008/09 season, Iniesta had an even better season than ever. Playing in a central or wide role he delighted the whole world with his amazing dribbling skills. He grew into one of the essential components of the Barça engine, and took the team to the Champions League final with an injury time goal at Stamford Bridge.

Injury affected his contribution in the 2009-10 season when he was already one of the leading players in the team. He played 29 matches in the league, 9 in the Champions League and 3 in the Cup. In the 2010/11 season, Iniesta was back to his best and in an injury free season he helped the team to another Liga and another Champions League. He played 50 matches, his second highest total as an FCB player.

Plus Andrés Iniesta is one of the key players in the Spanish national side, playing in the 2006 and 2010 World Cup and Euro 2008, when he was one of the players most used by Luis Aragonés as Spain lifted the trophy.

Without a doubt Iniesta will never forget 11th July 2010 and his winning goal in the dying minutes of extra time in the World Cup final against Holland. Despite his youth, Iniesta has now won every title the game offers.