According to Catalan based newspaper Sport, Andres Iniesta (26) is contented to see Javier Mascherano (26) signing for FC Barcelona. “It’s a great boost, I know Mascherano and I have played against him on several occasions against Argentina and Liverpool. Moreover, he is the captain of the the Argentinian national team. Mascherano will come in handy, not only because he has defensive skill, but he also has great skills with the ball,” said Iniesta.

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Note to all readers: This article is taken from an article originally written in Spanish football magazine DónBalon by Roger Xuriach. It is a translation of the article with my own personal point of view added in additional comments. Enjoy It…

On Monday, David Villa held his first press conference as an FC Barcelona player. Every word, every look, coming from the Asturian makes you feel that he is certainly eager to debut with the Barcelona shirt, a fate that might happen this Saturday in the second leg of the Supercopa de España against advantage holding Sevilla.

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Andres Iniesta was the first of the eight Barcelona players, who were part of Spain’s World Cup-winning squad, to return to the club. While the remaining seven were called for the friendly against Mexico, Iniesta was spared the trip to the Azteca stadium.

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Andres Iniesta (26) recently sat down with Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo a week before returning to training.  He talked about the World Cup as well as the upcoming season.  The original interview can be found here.

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After leaving the gynecology wards in Barcelona’s hospitals buzzing in January-February this year, a result of his 92nd-minute strike against Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League, FC Barcelona midfielder and Spain international Andres Iniesta has ensured a repetition of that feat — perhaps on a larger scale — when he won Spain the title with his extra-time goal against Netherlands in the finals of the FIFA World Cup 2010.

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Spanish national hero and Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta (26) is very close to a special honor. A stadium in Albacete might bear his name in the near future. After his winning goal in the World Cup final helped Spain to win their first-ever title, some of the fans started a petition.

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According to British-based tabloid The Sun, FC Barcelona and Spanish International Andrés Iniesta (26) wants to invite British Indie rock band Kasabian for a ‘mad night out in Barcelona’ with the team. Which leads to the question… what, exactly, would a ‘wild night out’ in Barcelona for quiet Iniesta be?

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A familiar scene to FC Barcelona fans. Iniesta scores an amazing goal, right at the end of the match, peels off his shirt and runs in jubilation to the corner flag. Same celebration as the brilliant Champions League goal against Chelsea, but this time was a little different.

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It was to be a historical World Cup final as both teams, Netherlands or Spain, were going to hold the trophy for the first time in either country’s histories; a game between the creators of the total-football mentality and the current masters of it, thus football fans around the world had great expectations of witnessing a beautiful football game of great passes, chances and goals! It was hard to predict a winner of the game with 50% probability of  either team winning as Netherlands sent off Brazil in the quarter-finals while Spain sent off Germany in the semi-finals on their way to the final game. The Spanish team’s starting lineup was the same as in the game against Germany with seven Barcelona players starting while Valdes started on the bench. Great hopes and expectations were put in Villa and Pedro to score the winning goals for Spain during the ninety minutes or maybe in extra-time.

Read some brief notes about the match after the jump, and add your own thoughts on the game.

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FIFA has today announced the nominees for the 2010 FIFA World Cup Adidas Golden Ball trophy. Four FC Barcelona players have made it onto the list: Xavi, Iniesta, Villa and Messi.

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Predicting the semi-final game score between Spain and Germany was probably beyond one’s grasp as the game was thought to be a 50/50 chance for both teams. Even Paule, the German octopus, hesitated for a while before choosing Spain as a winner of the game – well he certainly did a great job! The game was to be a test for both teams. The German team to see whether they will be able to stand against the La Roja, and for the Spanish team to see if they will appear in their usual form as a strong and confident team. Seven of Barcelona players started the game while Valdes remained on the bench. Vicente del Bosque, Spain’s coach, realized that in a game against a strong German team a fit, fast and energetic player is needed to cause trouble up front as Torres was unable to find himself yet throughout the competition.

Read some brief notes about the match after the jump, and add your own thoughts on the game.

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The Spanish team players in the quarter-final game against Paraguay tonight were hoping to be the first Spanish team to ever qualify for the semi-finals in the World Cup. Vicente del Bosque, Spain’s coach, relied on the same line-up from the previous game with six Blaugrana players starting while Pedro and Valdes were on the bench. Paraguay had played relatively easy games before the game against Spain and they were to be put to test against a Spanish team that has yet to reach its full potential! Neither team has ever made it to the World Cup semi-finals before, a reason that might have ignited both teams to give their best for a never-accomplished-before achievement.

Read some brief notes about the match after the jump, and add your own thoughts on the game.

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With the same starting line-up from the last game against Chile, Spain went on to play their first game of the knock-out round against Portugal. Blaugrana players Pedro and Valdes started on the bench. At this stage, Spain knew they could not play the same way they had in the group stages, for there was no other way but to win the game in order to qualify for the quarter-finals. Portugal, until the game against Spain, had the best defense in the World Cup, with no goals conceded. Once again the Spanish team was put to test as to whether they might qualify for the quarter-finals!

Read some brief notes about the match after the jump, and add your own thoughts on the game.

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As noted by a brief report in Catalan sports paper Sport, midfielder Andrés Iniesta appeared to be very motivated in Spain’s final group stage game against Chile, and part of the reason for his performance was his great friend Víctor Valdés.

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The Spanish national team knew their third game in the group stages of the World Cup would be a tough one. The statistics before their game against Chile witnessed four South American teams qualifying to the second round, everyone topping their groups, and without a single loss! To qualify, Spain had no other choice but to win. Six Barcelona players were in the starting line-up while Pedro and Valdes started on the bench. The Spanish team was under pressure from the beginning of the game while the Chilean team was a bit more relaxed having won their previous two games against Honduras and Switzerland.

Read some brief notes about the match after the jump, and add your own thoughts on the game.

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Spain’s second game in the group stages of the World Cup was against Honduras. To qualify for the knock-out round, Spain has to secure six points after their first loss against Switzerland. Five of Barcelona players were in the starting line up, while Iniesta, Pedro and Valdes started on the bench. Honduras qualified only once before the current World Cup; that was during the 1982 World Cup and they are considered to have weak chances of qualifying to the second round.

Read some brief notes about the match after the jump, and add your own thoughts on the game.

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A number of FC Barcelona’s Spanish international players were involved in the match played against Switzerland in their first game of the group stages. Switzerland are famous for their tough defense and effective defensive strategies which allowed them to qualify for the round of 16 at the World Cup in 2006, ranking first in the table. During the game, six Barcelona players were in the starting line up while Pedro and Valdes started on the bench.

Read some brief notes about the match after the jump, and add your own thoughts on the game.

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As FC Barcelona and Spanish International midfielder Andrés Iniesta (26) finishes up an interview for Deportes Cuatro, the reporter asks him if he has tried playing a vuvuzela, the African horn that buzzes throughout the stadiums. Iniesta says that he has not. The reporter warns that “It’s difficult…It’s not easy. (Blow) hard, hard!” Then he says that he’s practiced a lot and demonstrates blowing the horn, before handing it back to Iniesta. The reporter assures Iniesta that they will cut the scene out … but they obviously did not!

Andres Iniesta, who was substituted late in the first half in Spain’s World Cup warm-up match against Poland, is recovering from his injury and could possibly be ready for his mational team’s first match on Wednesday.

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FC Barcelona attacking midfielder Andres Iniesta (26) was withdrawn after 40 minutes in yesterday’s international friendly against Poland as a “precaution” against injury, according to reports published in Marca. And now, his readiness for Spain’s World Cup opener on June 16 is in doubt.

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As preparation for the World Cup slowly begins to dominate the realm of football, many of the blaugrana‘s stars have switched their focus to helping their national teams gear up for South Africa 2010. Some such stars were on display in recent friendly encounters involving France and Spain. 

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“There are perhaps five central midfielders in world football who can open up a field so artfully [as  Cesc Fábregas] and two of them are already at Barcelona: Xavi Hernández and Andrés Iniesta.”

Paul Hayward, in an article published in The Guardian, UK.

FC Barcelona and Spanish International midfielder Andres Iniesta spoke with the press after Friday’s practice. Barça plays against Valladolid on Sunday and a win would see them clinch the league trophy for the second consecutive year. Iniesta, who has been out due to injury for the last month and most of the last two months, spoke about Sunday’s game and his possible participation.

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Catalan sports paper Sport reports that Barcelona midfielder and Spanish international Andres Iniesta (25) will feature along Real Madrid’s Kaka and Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney for EA Sports’ upcoming FIFA 2011 video game. The three football stars will feature on the game’s front cover as well as in several promotional campaigns for the number one selling football game.

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TotalBarca is proud to present its readers with an exclusive show called ‘Informe Robinson’. It stars former Liverpool star Micheal Robinson, who is now a part of the Canal+ network.

In this half-hour special, Robinson takes us into Xavi Hernandez and Andrés Iniesta’s private lives where they talk about everything under the sun.
A must watch for every culé.

The next installment of the show will be up soon, video after the jump, keep checking back!

Catch up if you missed it!
Part I
Part II

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FC Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta, who celebrated his 26th birthday today, did so by returning to the Ciutat Esportiva training grounds exercising at full pace along with the rest of the squad after being given his medical all clear.

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FC Barcelona and Spanish International midfielder Andrés Iniesta turns 26 today, May 11, 2010.  On behalf of everyone at totalBarça we wish him a very Happy Birthday!

TotalBarca is proud to present its readers with an exclusive show called ‘Informe Robinson’. It stars Former Liverpool star Micheal Robinson, who is now a part of the Canal+ network.

In this half hour special Robinson takes us into Xavi Hernandez and Andrés Iniesta’s private lives where they talk about everything under the sun.
A must watch for every culé.

The next installment of the show will be up soon, video after the jump, keep checking back!

Catch up if you missed it!
Part I

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Last year, May the 6th we saw a goal. A goal that created history for FC Barcelona, that is so monumental that it became the symbol of our success last season. A goal scored not only by Iniesta but by the whole team, the club and the fans!

I am sure everyone has a story to tell about how you reacted after this goal, just share your story in the comments below. I for one, wept and laughed and cried and did not sleep the whole night lying on my bed thanking God and all those supernatural forces that made that goal possible! And then I thanked San Andres.

Just enjoy the video.

Playing on a slippery pitch in atrocious condition, risk of an injury-causing clash of bodies is certain to happen, and it did last night for FC Barcelona defender Gerard Pique against Tenerife. Having had to make a lunge in an attempt to block Alfaro from taking a shot on goal in the 14th minute, the Catalan player took a knock to his right knee and was visibly in discomfort throughout the rest of the first half.

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