Andres Iniesta's road to destiny: Federer, Alonso, Estiarte and the sound of silence

In an alternate universe, Spain may never have been crowned world champions in 2010 had Andres Iniesta missed the flight to South Africa. A year of pain due to a series of leg injuries had almost taken its toll on the midfielder and his selection to the World Cup squad, let alone his participation, was in serious jeopardy.

After having played through injury towards the end of the 2008/09 season – just so he could play a part in the dismantling of Manchester United in the Champions League final in Rome – his muscles could no longer take the punishment and he was out of action for weeks at a time in the 2009/10 season.

When Iniesta did return to action for Barcelona after being sidelined for long periods, he just wasn’t the same Iniesta anymore. Physically, he was alright. Mentally, he was not. And injuries were not the sole cause.

Espanyol captain Dani Jarque’s death in pre-season had also affected the midfielder so deeply on a psychological level that he had lost confidence in his abilities. Having come through the ranks of Spain’s youth teams together, Iniesta was a broken man when Carles Puyol informed him about Jarque’s collapse and subsequent death at Espanyol’s pre-season camp.

The magician we were so accustomed to watching on a weekly basis was suddenly without a trick up his sleeve. And it prevented him from fulfilling his potential at the highest level.

“I got to the stage where I no longer had confidence in myself. I'd lost certainty that I could still do the things I'd always done. It was very tough.” – Iniesta

Iniesta’s guardian angels

The club and the Spanish team knew something wasn’t right and it was decided that two people would help Iniesta on the road to recovery before the 2010 World Cup. Emili Ricart, a physiotherapist with the club was given the task of getting Iniesta back up to speed. The Spanish national football team’s physio Raul Martínez was also tasked with monitoring his progress.

Emili Ricart – the man tasked with getting Iniesta back in shape physically and mentally (Image: andresiniesta.es)

They would turn out to be more than just doctors doing their job. They would protect a world class player who had absolutely no business being in a position to hit rock bottom.

They had a mountain to climb, though. Just two months prior to the World Cup, Iniesta tore his hamstring in a routine indoor training session. As concerned club physios rushed to his side, Iniesta was already in tears as he trudged off the pitch. It was almost impossible to console him.

“I tore my hamstring but it was more like my soul was torn apart.” – Iniesta

Barcelona suffered without him. They were eliminated by Inter Milan in that famous Champions League semi-final tie. While the Liga title was pretty much wrapped up with just one loss the entire season, it was the country of Spain that was now sweating over Iniesta’s fitness.

Everyone except Vicente Del Bosque.

The Spanish coach, a former player himself, knew all about how muscular injuries affected players. “Muscular injuries directly affect your mood,” he explained. “They prevent you from playing even if you feel alright.”

This was the Iniesta dilemma that confronted the coach and medical staff. Do they pick a player who had suffered a thigh injury four times over the course of the season or do they go with someone else in a country that had an assembly line producing top quality talent by the dozen?

Del Bosque picked Iniesta in the Spain squad despite his injury concerns

When the final 23-man squad was announced, Del Bosque had taken not one but two big risks by selecting two players who had missed the end of the club season. Liverpool striker Fernando Torres, who had undergone a knee surgery in April, was included and so was Iniesta.

The DVD that ‘healed’ Iniesta

As the team got together before flying out to Johannesburg, physio Ricart burned a DVD for Iniesta. He would watch it over and over again every night over the next few weeks during the campaign. He needed to be emotionally strengthened according to Ricart – a herculean task compared to just fixing his body.

His logic was simple and it seemed like it was the only way to get the demons out of Iniesta’s head. The DVD contained videos of other great sportsmen who had gone through similar trials and tribulations – sportsmen who had endured everything that was thrown at them and eventually come out victorious.

It contained videos of tennis’ no1. ranked Roger Federer in his weakest moment – losing to Rafael Nadal in a Grand Slam final and crying his heart out on stage as he received his runners-up trophy. But there were also videos of how he bounced back to eventually win the one Grand slam title that had eluded him throughout his career – the French Open.

Iniesta then watched Formula 1 driver Fernando Alonso suffer a near-fatal crash in the 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix when he had to be stretchered out of the Interlagos circuit and taken to the hospital. Alonso would soon recover and then win back-to-back titles with Renault (in spite of the threat of Michael Schumacher) to be crowned the youngest double champion in F1 history.

Alonso and Federer served as examples to show Iniesta how to bounce back

Also featured on the DVD was Barcelona’s then head of external relations Manuel Estiarte (now Pep Guardiola’s personal assistant on his staff) who had represented Spain in water polo. With nearly 600 appearances, Estiarte was a legend in the pool and was the top scorer in five of the six Olympics he participated in.

He had suffered cruel heartbreak in 1992 when Spain narrowly missed out on the gold medal to Italy in the Barcelona Olympics. But he, too, would redeem himself at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta where Spain won the gold medal.

Lastly, much to Iniesta’s surprise, the DVD had clips of Iniesta himself. He saw himself going down with a muscular injury against FC Basel in the 2008/09 Champions League, needing to be replaced.

He then watched on as arguably his most important goal in a Barcelona shirt flashed on the screen – the 93rd-minute equaliser against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge where he powered his strike past Petr Cech into the top corner from the edge of the box.

That goal saw Barcelona qualify for the final on away goals and set them on their way to clinching the treble (which eventually became a sextuple). If not for that goal, that squad managed by Guardiola would never have gone down in history as the greatest side in club football.

All these videos reinforced the notion that Iniesta – a man short on confidence – was something more than he believed himself to be. It was meant to relieve him of the emotional stress that ultimately affected his physical being. He did not need any zen master telling him to go on a quest to find inner peace. There were no psychologists asking him to lay bare his innermost feelings.

He just needed to be reminded that he was Iniesta – a treble winner with Barcelona, one of the most influential players at the best club in Europe at the time, a European champion with Spain, a world class player – feared by his opponents and respected by teammates and coaches alike.

The rebirth of El Ilusionista

Spain’s World Cup campaign had a disastrous start as they lost 1-0 to Switzerland in the first group stage game. La Furia Roja had dominated the game from start to finish but Swiss goalkeeper Diego Benaglio played the game of his life. And a defensive error in the second half had seen the Swiss score.

It was also a game where Iniesta hobbled off in the 77th minute following a tackle from Stephan Lichtsteiner. It would rule him out for the next game and all his worst fears were realised.

Enter Raul Martinez. The Spanish physio, who had been working on Iniesta’s fitness, told the midfielder just one thing: “Andres, how it ends is important.”

Iniesta then set about working on his recovery process. Spain still had a chance of making the knockout stages and he was not about to let his team down after making it this far. Iniesta would make his return in the game against Chile, scoring the second goal in a 2-1 win in what was a must-win game to qualify.

Iniesta seals Spain’s qualification to the knockout stages

The goal transformed Iniesta. His emotional state improved and Martinez saw the sudden change in his behaviour. Iniesta was back to his old self on the pitch – getting involved in the buildup, finding teammates with that third eye very few players possess, finding openings before they were created and piecing together the jigsaw that was the Spanish attack.

From then on, nothing stopped the Spaniards. David Villa was in fine form and banging in goals from all across the pitch... Iker Casillas saved a crucial penalty against Paraguay... Puyol took to the air like a jumbo jet to head home the winner against Germany and, suddenly, Spain were in the final.

The day before the final, Martinez treated Iniesta like he always did and realised that there was absolutely nothing wrong with him. He was in perfect shape physically.

“Andres, it’s done,” he informed him. There was nothing more he could do. But, for good measure, Iniesta watched the DVD one last time before going to bed.

The sound of silence...

The final should have been an exciting game with two contrasting styles on display. But Netherlands were not interested in sticking to their style. Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk had other plans – kick the stuffing out of Spain when they had the ball.

Mark van Bommel was tasked with marking Iniesta and he fouled him with every opportunity he got. For the first time in a long time, a new side of Iniesta was laid bare – an uncontrollable rage that had been simmering under his skin. He was fed up, he was fired up. And it required Puyol’s assurances to calm him down as referee Howard Webb’s ineptitude saw the Dutch players escape with mere cautions.

Amidst all that rage, Iniesta found serenity that ultimately saw Spain win the World Cup. That goal in extra-time when time stood still.

Deep into extra-time, Jesus Navas had made a run on the right flank and found Iniesta after cutting in. Iniesta simply back-heeled the ball to Cesc Fabregas who found Navas continuing his run. Torres then received the ball on the left and saw Iniesta creeping into the box.

His cross was not the best but it was only half-cleared as the ball fell to Fabregas. Iniesta got himself back onside and Fabregas made the diagonal pass to release Iniesta and put him one-on-one with goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg. Iniesta took one touch to control the ball and let it bounce...

“Everything stops and we are alone, just the ball and me – like in slow-motion. In that moment I heard the silence and knew the ball was going in.” – Iniesta

The half-volley was ferociously hit and beat Stekelenburg to find the back of the net with four minutes to play. Soccer City erupted – as did Spain. As he wheeled away in celebration, he removed his shirt to reveal a message underneath – “Dani Jarque, Siempre con nosotros”.

“Dani Jarque, always with us”

It showed how selfless and thoughtful Iniesta was as a human being. That he chose to share the most important moment of his career, of his life, with someone who couldn’t be there spoke volumes. He wanted Jarque to be remembered as much as the goal itself.

Jarque’s wife was watching the game back home and she was moved to tears. She wasn’t the only one.

Everywhere he went in La Liga the next season, fans chanted Iniesta’s name. Espanyol – Barcelona’s derby rivals – gave him a standing ovation. The shirt he wore now has a permanent place at the Cornella-El Prat stadium next to a mural of their fallen skipper.

“What people see is what my parents have taught me. Feeling happy as a person is above every triumph.” – Iniesta

Prior to the World Cup, Iniesta was a man in the noble pursuit of happiness. In his own words, he “took refuge in his people and football”. And despite being crowned King of the World in Johannesburg, it was his grace and humility that ultimately shone through and won him the utmost respect.