Offside: ‘Bodegas Iniesta S.L.’ 5
The vineyards of Andrés Iniesta in his hometown will soon allow him to label bottles under his name. The Catalán news site Sport describes the new venture of the azulgrana player.
Tag Andres Iniesta
Internationals Round-Up: Spain defeats Henry, Alves and Messi win 9
It was international duty for most Barcelona players this past week. What follows is a round up of the matches our players participated in.
Five Barca players called up for Spain 35
Spain coach Vicente del Bosque has revealed his squad to face France in a friendly next week. Five Barcelona players namely Carles Puyol, Gerard Piqué, Sergio Busquets, Xavi Hernández and Andrés Iniesta have been included.
The five players have been named for the encounter on Wednesday and all five are also likely to earn a place on the plane to South Africa for the World Cup Finals in the summer. Thierry Henry will be captaining the opposing side in the Stade de France in Paris as he was called up by Les Bleus’ trainer Raymond Domenech.
FC Barcelona winger Jeffren Suárez (22) has also being called up by coach Luis Milla for Spain Under-21, for their encounter with Liechtenstein. The game in Ponferrada on Tuesday is a qualifier for the European Championships.
Andrés Iniesta on the web: “A champion never rests on victory” 7
One might or might not know, but FC Barcelona midfielder and Spanish international Andrés Iniesta (25) has a website, a blog, and an official Facebook page. His website and blog have versions in Catalan, Spanish, and English (although, the English translations read a bit like a “Google” translations: i.e. not the best. Through all of these sources, he is kind enough to reach out to the Barcelona fans and share his thoughts and more. Below are some of his recent comments:
Andres Iniesta gives his support to FEDER 3
FC Barcelona playmaker Andres Iniesta, 25, has given his full backing and support to the Spanish charity FEDER (the Spanish Federation for Rare Diseases).
Frank Lampard’s memento still a big talking point in Barcelona 21
Chelsea midfielder and England international Frank Lampard (31) is in possession of an extremely valuable item of sports memorabilia, though he is unlikely to be able to realise its value among Chelsea fans.
The midfielder is the owner of Andres Iniesta’s Barca shirt, the one the Spaniard wore in the Champions League semi-final at Stamford Bridge last season in which Iniesta equalised in injury-time to knock out Chelsea.
That moment is still considered the most dramatic of Barca’s season, despite the fact they went on to win the Champions League, the Spanish league and cup.
Iniesta: “I’m stronger now, but with less hair” 10
FC Barcelona midfielder and Spanish International Andrés Iniesta (25) is on the verge of playing his 300th match for the club. Recently, he sat down with the Catalan sports paper Sport to review his progress.
On October 29, 2002, a great day arrived for one of the most highly rated jewels that had been created by the La Masia. Louis Van Gaal gave him the option in Brujas, and since then he has counted 299 official matches at only 25 years of age. A lot is expected of him, but Andrés Iniesta is capable of surpassing any expectation.
About his debut game, the player from La Mancha remembers that is was “a very important day. I had been waiting for it for a long time, and finally it was a reality. Van Gaal said to me to go out, enjoy it, and be myself. We won 0-1 with a goal from Román (Riquelme).”
Match Preview: Barcelona vs Racing Santander 12
This is a featured post. Please scroll down for all the latest news.
Saturday, February 20, 20:00 CET – Camp Nou, Barcelona
It was always bound to happen.
It has forever been instilled that all streaks and records must eventually come to an end as last week a depleted, injury-struck and flare-lacking FC Barcelona stepped into the inevitable path of defeat at the hands of the in form Atletico Madrid. A result that saw the Blaugrana lose their first game in La Liga this season.
Six days have passed since then and as the dust begins to settle in Catalunya, memories of last weekend are being swiftly cast away as the world champions gear up to face cellar-dwelling and out of form Racing Santander in a match that will be one of the greatest tests for an under pressure Barcelona. For the Catalans will not be judged on how they performed in their loss last week, but for the manner in which they bounce back from it.
Iniesta: “I’d love to play with David Silva” 13
Andres Iniesta recently sat down for a ‘long’ interview with Catalan sports paper El Mundo Deportivo. Some excerpts:
How do you feel after having so many injuries?
I am feeling good and hope to continue this way. It’s difficult because many things have happened at the same time but I’ve got to accept them.
Do you think you could pick up another injury?
No, but if it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen. Injuries are part of football and depend upon how you feel and how your body responds to the day to day activity.
Xavi: “I thought about leaving Barcelona” 11
While it might seem hard to believe, FC Barcelona and Spanish International players Xavi Hernández (30) and Andrés Iniesta (25) have both contemplated leaving the club at various times in the past. Right now, Xavi is living in a sweet moment, with titles and world recognition for his football. But it was not always like that. “I have experienced all sorts of situations during my career at Barça so far and many times I have even thought about leaving Barcelona.”
“In the early years, I knew that there was a persona in front of me like Pep Guardiola — and I thought about it [leaving],” noted the azulgrana football player on the program Informe Robinson on Canal Plus, which will be aired on February 22 on that station.
Ibrahimovic and Messi within top 3 highest paid players of 2009 33
A chart was released by Portuguese marketing agency futebolfinance.com publishing the top 50 player salaries for 2009. Cristiano Ronaldo tops the list with Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Lionel Messi completing the top 3 list.
FC Barcelona leads the rankings in the top 50 with 8 players followed by Chelsea (7), Real Madrid & Manchester City (6), Manchester United & Bayern Munich (4), and AC Milan with 3 players. Liverpool along with the 3 other big Italian sides (Inter, Roma, and Juventus) have 2 players each in the rankings. Andrei Arshavin is the only player representing Arsenal on the list.
Iniesta Set for 300 Games with Barca 4
The FC Barcelona official website reports that Andrés Iniesta is just one game away from making 300 first-team appearances for the club and should reach the milestone this weekend against Racing Santander.
The midfield playmaker has come a long way since making his debut for the Blaugrana at the age of 18 during the 2002-03 campaign. That day he played against Club Brugge in a Champions League encounter in Belgium. Now at 25 Iniesta has become a world-renowned player after 299 matches for Barça and is fourth in the current squad in terms of appearances behind Xavi (510), Carles Puyol (470) and Víctor Valdés (339).
High praise
The Four Captains Speak 2
Speaking to Catalan sports paper Sport, Spanish radio station Ona FM and their personal websites and blogs, the four captains of FC Barcelona, had some words of encouragement for their fans:
Puyol
In Puyol’s post match blog entry he wrote, “There is no need for alarm. This team has demonstrated that it rises to the occasion when faced with adversities and always comes out stronger than before. Obviously, the injuries we have are important but the team is ready to move forward. Now we’ll have to work a little harder to cover for all of the injuries. Hopefully everyone will heal quickly because the most important part of the season is upon us. Competing for titles is the best part of a footballer.”
Speaking about this weekend’s game, Puyol said, “We look forward to seeing all of our fans in the Camp Nou this weekend. We need to be united as a group and in order for that to happen we need your help.”
Post Match: Player reactions 3
In the post match press conference the players and the president all agreed that Atletico deserved to win the game and that Barcelona didn’t play very well. However, they all recognized that the team is still in first place and aren’t too worried about Real Madrid having pulled within 2 points.
Iniesta
“Losing is never good. We lost a difficult game but we must continue. We didn’t play as well as normal but we gave it our all until the end. Atletico has a great team and is always capable of winning.”
Xavi
Quote of the Day: Andrés Iniesta, FC Barcelona midfielder 0
“We can’t make excuses in that respect (Absences of players). We have to take the absences as they are. We simply have one added difficulty to overcome. We’ll take the challenge.”
Iniesta, FC Barcelona midfielder, at a press conference Friday.
Iniesta: “We don’t need anyone’s help” 3
Andres Iniesta has spoken up on behalf of his injury-ravaged Barcelona team-mates ahead of their trip to Atlético Madrid at the weekend, saying “We do not need anyone’s help. With this advantage (five points clear), in the final days, we would be champions. If we were second, we would like to be even on points with the leader. It’s a logical situation.”
Speaking during a press conference today the winger looked relaxed and happy adding “If you do things right, you can click on any field. If you’re psyched, you can take points. Regardless of casualties, the gameplay is the same. We all have things clear and today was just one more session. The play of the central defenders and within the group, everyone knows what to do. The functions will be the same.”
Iker Muniain: “I love how Iniesta plays” 6
Athletic Bilbao forward Iker Muniain has expressed his admiration for Barcelona play-maker Andres Iniesta. When asked who his favourite player to watch was, the youngster said “Andres Iniesta, by the way he touches the ball and moves it from side to side. I love not only how he plays, but also his manner.”
Iniesta: “I want to be better than last year” 15
Andres Iniesta reckons he’s “feeling really good” at the moment and “I’ve been playing really well over the last six weeks or so, regardless of whether I’m scoring or not”.
Iniesta was a fundamental part of Barca’s heroic win over Getafe on Saturday and his form over the recent games has been back to his best. After the game he spoke exclusively to the Barca TV programme ‘El Marcador’.
Feeling good
Iniesta switched from the left to the right of the midfield against Getafe, but wherever he plays, he seems to shine. “I’m feeling good – over the last month and a half I’ve had some good sensations and I’m trying to take advantage of playing every game to get back to my best. It’s hard to make comparisons, but I’d like to be even better than I was last year. I want to get better every year – there’s still plenty of the season to play and I’m feeling good”.
What a move!