Football
Andres Iniesta retires: Barcelona, Japan & the coaches who influenced him
The gifted kid from the outskirts of Albacete grew up following Michael Laudrup and Pep Guardiola, and was given the chance to hone his raw talent in their shadows when he was exposed to Barcelona’s revered La Masia youth academy at the age of 12, even if he did “cry buckets” on arrival.
He did not know then the influence the latter would have on his career.
Guardiola admired the understated up-and-coming playmaker when captain of the Catalan giants, famously suggesting fellow midfielder Xavi would retire him and “this lad Iniesta is going to retire us all”, before as coach making Iniesta a pivotal part of his all-conquering side.
“Barcelona was like an exam every game and you had to pass that,” says Iniesta. “That’s the base and each time you have to adapt to the environment, mould yourself to the style that is required of you – but always keeping the essence.
“I’ve had different coaches. I started with Louis van Gaal and then there was Guardiola, Luis Enrique and Ernesto Valverde. All coaches teach you something and you can learn something from all coaches. Maybe there are times I played less, but that experience enriched me too.
“It would be hard to point out a coach who has influenced me the most and that’s the same with the players I have played with and learned from. I have been in Barca and Spanish national teams in very good moments and I have been with the world’s best players and I have learned from all of them.”
Iniesta pauses for a moment to consider his answer and then continues: “It’s not only what you have immediately around you, but an opponent, an opponent’s system or style of play. I’ve always thought this motivation to learn is the motor to keep improving.
“You can learn from everything, not only from your immediate surroundings but from everything surrounding your football.”
He highlights the relentless energy of Marcelo Bielsa’s sides and the challenge of breaking down Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid in El Clasico fixtures.
“I have been lucky to have played a lot of games in my career and you encounter a lot of teams, a lot of proponents,” says Iniesta.
“It is not the same in the different competitions that you play like the Champions League or La Liga or for the national team. English teams or Italian teams are very different. When you played against Marcelo Bielsa’s Chile, that was a particular team.
“Playing against Real Madrid when Mourinho was coaching – or Carlo Ancelotti – are experiences which really enrich you.”
It was Barcelona, though, who inspired coaches around the world to adopt the principles that made them so successful – the tiki-taka, the suffocating press, the focus on technically gifted players at a time when others were scouting for strong, powerful athletes.
“Barca has always been characterised by being a team that wants the ball and wants to keep the ball,” says Iniesta. “In the time of Guardiola, the football itself didn’t change but it was a time where teams were really looking at us and trying to learn.”
Ipswich Town defender Axel Tuanzebe is expected to be out for at least a month after sustaining a freak hand injury while doing the washing up.
The 26-year-old DR Congo international sustained a deep cut to his thumb while he was washing the dishes last week.
The former Manchester United and Aston Villa player had started the first six Premier League games of the season for promoted Ipswich before missing Saturday’s 4-1 loss to West Ham.
Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna said on Saturday Tuanzebe’s injury was a “very unfortunate accident”.
“He’s naturally a miss with the way he’s started the season. He’s going to be out for a little while,” McKenna said.
Ipswich told BBC Sport the accident had occurred at home and Tuanzebe has had successful surgery.
Ben Johnson replaced Tuanzebe at London Stadium, where defeat left Ipswich still winless after seven league games.
Liverpool have confirmed Sofie Lundgaard suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in Sunday’s Women’s Super League win over Tottenham.
The 22-year-old went down in the first half following a 50-50 challenge with Spurs defender Amanda Nilden.
The Danish midfielder signed a new contract for the Reds in September and had featured in their opening three WSL fixtures, but will now undergo knee surgery.
Reds boss Matt Beard said to the official Liverpool website, external: “We’re all devastated for Sofie.
“We have to rally around her because it’s going to be tough at times during the rehabilitation programme. Sometimes these things happen in football and it can be so cruel.
“This is going to be a test of her character but I’m sure she will come back stronger from it with the support network she has here and the closeness of our group of players and staff.”
Lundgaard has become the third player in the WSL this season to rupture her ACL following injuries to Everton duo Aurora Galli and Inma Gabarro.
Wayne Rooney has been charged with improper conduct by the Football Association following his red card in Plymouth Argyle’s 2-1 win over Blackburn Rovers.
The Pilgrims’ head coach faces three charges over the incident which came after Joe Rankin-Costello’s 87th-minute equaliser for the visitors. The Pilgrims felt there was a foul on Ryan Hardie in the build-up.
Rooney is accused of using insulting or abusive language towards a match official and that his conduct after he was red-carded was improper and/or violent.
He is also accused of a further improper conduct offence for returning to the field of play after his dismissal.
Argyle won the game thanks to a stoppage-time header from Morgan Whittaker, with Rooney’s assistant Pete Shuttleworth saying the former England captain’s “passion” spilled over in the incident.
Rooney, who has been Argyle boss since May, has until Tuesday, 15 October to respond.
Spain World Cup winner Andres Iniesta has retired from playing at the age of 40.
Iniesta is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in history, thanks in part to the midfield partnerships he formed with Xavi Hernandez and Sergio Busquets for Spain and Barcelona.
He earned 131 caps for his country, scoring the winning goal in the 2010 Fifa World Cup final and winning the European Championship in 2008 and 2012.
Speaking at an event in Barcelona, a visibly emotional Iniesta said he planned to go into coaching.
“Being on the pitch is over,” he said. “I can’t stay away from football, it’s my life and will continue to be my life.
“Yes, all these tears we have shed these days are tears of emotion, of pride. They are not tears of sadness.
“They are tears of that boy from a small town like Fuentealbilla, who had the dream of being a footballer and we achieved it after a lot of hard work, sacrifice, of never giving up, essential values in my life.”
Iniesta spent the majority of his 22-year career at Barcelona after graduating from the club’s La Masia academy.
He made his senior debut in 2002 and went on to win 29 honours, including nine La Liga titles and four Champions Leagues crowns.
One of his most memorable goals was a spectacular stoppage-time equaliser to knock Chelsea out of the 2009 Champions League semi-final, with Barcelona going on to beat Manchester United in the final.
In 2018 Iniesta joined Japanese side Vissel Kobe before moving to the United Arab Emirates in 2023 to play for UAE Pro League side Emirates.
He was runner-up in the 2010 Ballon d’Or and included in the Fifa Fifpro World 11 for nine successive years between 2009 and 2017.
Scotland “might have to suffer” in a difficult Nations League group but assistant manager John Carver is adamant there will be long-term gains as he looks to qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.
Scotland visit Croatia on Saturday and host Portugal next Tuesday, having lost their opening matches at home to Poland and away to the Portuguese.
Those September defeats leave Steve Clarke’s side without a competitive victory in over a year and on a run of just one win in 14 matches.
“I think you can see what we’re trying to do,” said Carver. “There’s a clear identity, how we are going to play in and out of possession.
“We continue with that and you’d like to think results will come.”
Two calamitous penalties contributed to a 3-2 loss to Poland at Hampden, while Scotland led at the interval before going down 2-1 in Lisbon.
“We can take so much encouragement from our last two performances,” added Carver. “Nobody expected us to perform the way we did in Lisbon. We should have got at least a draw.
“People thought we were in for a drubbing but we were in the game. We didn’t sit back, we had a go at them.”
SNSInverness Caledonian Thistle board members have warned fans the club is likely to go into administration next week.
ICT is in financial crisis and sitting second bottom of League 1.
The aim of the administrative process would be to rescue the club by finding a new buyer but Inverness risks a 15 league points deduction and potential relegation.
ICT’s board told a meeting of about 200 supporters on Monday night the club was facing a difficult future.
After the meeting, interim chairman Scott Young told BBC Scotland News: “The hope is that by doing the administrative process we can market the club for someone to come in and takeover.
“Going forward it would be a great club for someone to own.
“It’s in a fantastic city and got a great history even though we are only 30 years old.”
He said administration offered an opportunity for the club to start again and move forward.
ICT launched a Go Fund Me page last week in the hope of raising £200,000 in 14 days to avoid administration this month.
It has raised more than £70,000 so far.
Team manager Duncan Ferguson is also temporarily working for free to help ease pressures on the club’s finances.
Even if it successfully avoids going into administration this month, ICT said it would need further injections of funds to survive the rest of the season.
Losses ran to £1.2m last season and the club has forecast a similar loss this year, but warned that figure would not include money spent on restructuring following relegation.
ICT Supporters Trust has urged major shareholders and former directors to help prevent the club from going into administration.
Last week it said it was “hugely concerned” about the club’s future after previous assurances it was safe.
Getty ImagesThe club was formed in 1994 following a controversial merger of two historic Inverness Highland League clubs – Caledonian and Inverness Thistle, which were both formed in 1885.
The news club climbed through the leagues and has been managed by some famous names, including former England manager Terry Butcher, Hearts legend John Robertson and current boss Duncan Ferguson, who played for Rangers and Everton.
Inverness has enjoyed cup glory, including winning the Scottish Cup in 2015.
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