Andres Iniesta interview: Barcelona legend says PSG boss Luis Enrique is a special coach with unique talent | Football News

“On a personal level, those are special achievements,” Andres Iniesta tells Sky Sports. He is referring to his player of the match awards in the 2010 World Cup final, 2012 European Championship final and 2015 Champions League final. You think?

This is about the closest that Iniesta comes to talking himself up. It is part of the reason why the legendary Barcelona and Spain midfielder is so beloved. In an era in which brashness seems to prevail in so many walks of life, his remains an understated genius.

Even his 116th-minute winner in that World Cup final was dedicated not to his own glory but the memory of another. Iniesta’s shirt-reveal honoured his friend, Espanyol captain Dani Jarque, who had passed away following a heart attack the previous summer.

The second of his triptych featured neither a goal nor an assist. Iniesta’s late replacement Juan Mata even scored within a minute in Spain’s emphatic 4-0 win over Italy in 2012. It was still obvious that Iniesta had been the game’s outstanding player.

A record of 106 goals in 1016 professional football matches reveals something about his longevity but, for an attacking midfielder, barely hints at the level of his influence and tells us nothing about why it was that this man shone brightest in the biggest moments.

How is it that he was able to produce in those finals? Maybe it is that he raised his level, intervening when required to steer these games his side’s way. Or maybe others dropped their level under the intense pressure, while he was able to maintain his own.

Does he have an explanation for this himself? “Well, it is a bit of everything,” Iniesta explains. “It is that responsibility, that mentality, that desire to play in these types of matches, that confidence in yourself, that determination to do your job.”

He pauses. “Fortunately, I had the opportunity to win those finals.”

Perhaps. But he also created those opportunities.

Most notably, he did so by lashing in that World Cup winner in South Africa. But there was also the pass before the pass to begin the rout of Italy two years later and then the assist for the opening goal against Juventus in that Champions League final in Berlin.

“They are special matches because you never play in those situations normally but you also try to do it in a natural way, the same routines, the same things, so as not to put more pressure on yourself,” he adds. Handling the pressure of a final would seem key.

Having fun with the football might be just as important. “Above all, enjoy that moment, enjoy the people, remember your family, the people who always support you.” Might that not weigh someone down? Not in Iniesta’s world. “It is a moment to be very happy.”

Iniesta is speaking to Sky Sports in Munich as part of his role as a FedEx ambassador, sponsors of the UEFA Champions League. His role, as someone who so often delivered in the big moments, is, quite literally, to deliver the trophy to the Bavarian host city.

He is well received by the crowds, still revered. Although, off the pitch, he cuts a slightly uncomfortable figure in the spotlight and one wonders how he is finding retirement since finally called time on his long career in the autumn. Iniesta turned 41 this month.

But he remains closely connected to the game. Still a Barcelona supporter, he talks of Lamine Yamal and his “unique talent” while confessing that he has an interest in Paris Saint-Germain edging out Internazionale in the final because of his friends at PSG.

Iniesta has history with both clubs. The last time that Inter lifted the trophy was in 2010 when Jose Mourinho’s side defeated Pep Guardiola’s Barca in a tense semi-final. Iniesta missed both legs through injury. “At the time, it was difficult to accept,” he admits.

That Barca side is regarded as maybe the greatest ever, winning the Champions League the season before and the season after. But a volcanic ash cloud forced them to travel to Milan by bus for the first leg. “Things happen in football that you cannot control.”

As for PSG, those memories are more enjoyable, albeit after losing 4-0 in Paris in 2017. “That was tough. But the comeback was one of those crazy matches.” Barca won 6-1 at the Camp Nou to progress. “It was one of those nights that you will always remember.”

Luis Enrique was Barcelona’s coach that day and one of the aforementioned friends to which Iniesta refers who is now at the French club. Winning the Champions League with a second side would help cement his legacy – a legacy Iniesta believes is deserved.

“He is a special coach. I have known him as a team-mate and as a coach and he has a unique talent. He is an incredible worker. He knows how to transmit his ideas to others, he knows how to convince. And he has very clear ideas about how he wants to play.”

Of course, the same could be said about Iniesta. Today, post-retirement, he puts his energies into his academy and what is called ‘The Iniesta Methodology’. Fundamentally, this focuses on the importance of developing not just better players but better people.

“I think football is a spectacular way to do it,” he says. “I had the opportunity to make a career as a footballer and this is a way of transmitting that path and its values to the youngest. The young boys and girls who are growing up now, they are the future.”

Iniesta’s playing days are in the past. And yet, he endures as a symbol. Physically, he was neither the quickest nor the strongest. Mentally, he has been open about his battles with depression and anxiety. But he showed us all that there is another way to win.

FedEx is an official sponsor of the UEFA Champions League

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