Andres Iniesta: Remembering the Spaniard's first year as a professional

With nine La Liga titles, six Copas del Rey, four Champions Leagues, a World Cup and two European Championships, Andres Iniesta is one of the most decorated footballers in the history of the game.

Iniesta, who now plays in Japan with Vissel Kobe, spent 16 seasons with Catalan giants Barcelona, where he formed an iconic partnership with fellow Spaniard Xavi, and established himself as one of the greatest midfielders to ever play the game.

"“He’s fantastic. He makes the team work. The way he finds passes, his movement and ability to create space is incredible. He’s so important for Barcelona.”"

- Sir Alex Ferguson

Iniesta will likely be best remembered for his winning goal in the 2010 World Cup final against Netherlands, which saw Spain win their first ever World Cup.

Given his immense success with the Spanish youth teams, it is unsurprising that Iniesta went onto do great things with La Furia Roja.

Prior to his debut for the Barcelona senior team, Iniesta had already won the Under-16s European Championship in 2001, and the Under-19s European Championship in 2002.

His time at La Masia also drew high praise, with then-captain and future manager Pep Guardiola telling Xavi: "You're going to retire me. This lad (Iniesta) is going to retire us all."

The following year after his Under-19s international success, Iniesta made his debut for Barcelona under former Ajax boss Louis van Gaal - the man that Iniesta would later describe as his 'most important manager'.

On 29th October 2002, in a Champions League group stage fixture against Club Brugge, an 18-year old Iniesta played the full 90 minutes - wearing the number 34 shirt. Barcelona came away from Belgium as 1-0 winners, courtesy of a strike from Juan Roman Riquelme (a man who probably deserves his own Year One rewind soon).

Iniesta was one of ten players to be given their senior debuts by Van Gaal during his two spells at Barcelona - a list includes Camp Nou legends Xavi and Carles Puyol.

Iniesta made six appearances under the Dutchman, all of them coming as an attacking midfielder.

Iniesta managed to record his first professional assist in his first La Liga start, laying the ball off for Brazilian midfielder Fabio Rochemback to strike into the top corner in a 3-0 win against Recreativo Huelva.

The Spaniard found first-team minutes hard to come by after Van Gaal's departure in January 2003, making only three substitute appearances for the remainder of the season. He generally spent most of his 2002/03 season playing for Barcelona B, where he made 14 appearances.

The 2003/04 season was Iniesta's first full season in the first team. He made 17 appearances in all competitions, scoring twice.

His first goal for the Blaugrana came in the Copa del Rey against Levante on 14th January 2004, smacking home from close range in the third minute after Argentinian forward Javier Saviola had rounded the goalkeeper.

Despite sharing a dressing room with greats like Ronaldinho, Xavi, and Carles Puyol, Iniesta came away from his first full season in the senior team empty-handed, having finished second in La Liga behind Valencia, exiting the Copa del Rey in the quarter-finals, and being knocked out of the UEFA Cup by Celtic.

However, it wasn't long before Iniesta became a regular in the Barcelona side, and with that came his first senior trophy.

The 2004/05 season saw Iniesta feature in 46 games in all competitions, scoring twice as he showcased his talent as a central midfielder, and on either wing. Barcelona finished four points clear of arch-rivals Real Madrid at the top of La Liga, ending a five-year trophy drought.

We all know how the rest goes. Iniesta's induction into the starting XI, along with the emergence of a young Lionel Messi, kick-started a period of incredible success for the Catalan giants. The Spanish midfielder went onto win an astonishing 32 trophies at the Camp Nou, and made it into the FIFPro World XI every single year from 2009-2017.