LifeBogger presents the Full Story of a Football Legend best known by the Nickname; ‘don Andrés’.
Our version of Andres Iniesta’s Biography Facts, including his Childhood Story, brings you a full account of notable events from his boyhood days.
We’ll then proceed to tell you how the football Legend became famous in the beautiful game.
The analysis of the FC Barcelona Football Legend involves his life story before fame, family life and many OFF and ON-Pitch little-known facts about him.
Yes, everyone knows about his abilities but few consider Andres Iniesta Biography Story, which is quite interesting. Now, without further ado, let us begin.
Andres Iniesta Childhood Story – Early Life and Family Background:
For Biography starters, Andrés Iniesta Lujánwas born on the 11th day of May 1984 in the quaint village of Fuentealbilla, Spain by his father, José Antonio Iniesta (a Business Mongol) and Mother, María Luján Iniesta (housekeeper).
Andres was born as both a lucky and rich child. Rich as to his parents and lucky to come from a wonderful Municipality of Albacete, Spain.
He grew up in the municipality of Albacete, which is known for two things; the high percentage of local Spanish speakers and their fine wine.
Andres had everything he needed and wanted in life as a young kid. In turn, he respected his parents’ wish for him.
Andres Iniesta Biography Facts – Early Career:
He started playing at the age of 10 with Albacete Balompié, a local club in his hometown, Albacete.
At the age of 12, when playing in a tournament, he attracted the attention of football clubs around Spain. Iniesta’s parents had a connection with the FC Barcelona coach Enrique Orizola.
Given that their son was gifted at the game, they convinced Orizola to consider admitting Iniesta into the Barcelona Youth Academy.
In a recent interview, Iniesta’s dad remembers the moment he was asked.. “How do you remember the moment in which Andrés had to pack up his bags and move to Barcelona?”.
According to him..It was quite a long process in which he made the final decision.
We received FC Barcelona’s offer, and he had to go to La Masia, the club’s academy, by himself, as we could not leave our hometown of Fuentealbilla.
He did not want to leave the family and told me very clear he did not see himself going away.
I told him these kinds of opportunities did not come often, that he would receive a good formation in the academy… A couple of days after that Andrés came to me and said: “Dad, I am going to Barcelona”.
I was confused, so I asked him why he had changed his mind. And he told me something really shocking. He said: “I am going because you want me to go because it is your dream”.
From that moment, I can say I have learnt a lot of things from my son. He taught me a lot when he was only 12.
Andres Iniesta Barcelona Story:
He travelled with his parents to visit the prestigious La Masia academy for young footballers, after which, his parents enrolled him at the academy. After his photoshoots, his parents left for home. This happened in the year 1996.
Unlike many academics, FC Barcelona houses all their players from out of town in their own hostel from the age of 13 or 14.
However, Iniesta was just 12, and it was highly unusual for the club to sign someone that young.
Despite some objections, the club went forward with recruiting him and can rest assured it was one of the best decisions they could have taken for themselves and the player.
Andres Iniesta Biography – The Tough Start:
Young Iniesta struggled to live away from his parents, was often homesick and kept to himself.
Iniesta says he “cried rivers” the day he left for La Masia and struggled to be separated from his parents. He was very shy and kept to himself while there.
Andres Iniesta Biography – Rising to Fame:
He captained the Barcelona Under-15 team to victory in the Nike Premier Cup of 1999, scoring the winning goal in the last minute of the final, and was named player of the tournament.
Below is a picture of Pep Guardiola presenting to Iniesta, his trophy.
His style, balance and skill led Spain to win the UEFA European under-17 Championship 2001 and the under-19 Championship the following year.
Just after Iniesta arrived at the club, then-captain Pep Guardiola famously told fellow midfielder Xavi: “You’re going to retire me. This lad [Iniesta] is going to retire us all”
He only ended up retiring Guardiola from his 11-year career at the club which spanned from 1990 to 2001. The rest, as they say is now history.
Andres Iniesta Biography Facts – Family Life:
Andres Iniesta comes from a humble and wealthy family background. A typical Spanish family.
About Andres Iniesta’s Father:
First thing first, his dad is a business mogul, a man who started out from the scratch. José Antonio Iniesta started out as a construction worker before owning business empires.
When he had no work to do, he used to move to the coast to work as a waiter.
He has always been a lover of soccer and made all the efforts, so his son Andrés could carve out a dream of having a ball in his feet.
From his early days at small town Fuentealbilla in Spain until reaching the summit of world soccer, José Antonio has been next to his son.
More on Andres Iniesta’s Dad:
He is known to cry when seeing his son either in pains or injured. According to José Antonio Iniesta,
“Yes, a lot. I cry easily. I cry when my Andres is hurt or seeing him in pains knowing something is not going right.
More so, there were lots of moments for crying when Andrés was away from home to start his career at FC Barcelona.”
Despite being in the top handful of players in the world, Iniesta still has time for the family business.
Currently, José Antonio runs the family winery Bodegas Iniesta. When people ask him to compare his son with a wine, he says “it would be a wine of good quality, sincere and discreet.”
Iniesta Sr. explains how his son has only ever been focused on his football and performing well for club and country.
“He never aspired to be the leader or captain of anything,” he says. “There are captains who win their role with their bravery and others that do so with their humility, they are chosen by their teammates. My son Andres is just both.”
About Andres Iniesta’s Mother:
Her name is María Luján. We picture her here, alongside the breadwinner of the family.
María Luján isn’t much of a media person but someone who is known to have watched almost every single game her son has played since the start of his career.
About Andres Iniesta’s Sister:
Maribel Iniesta is her name. She is the only sister and sibling to Andres Iniesta. Maribel Iniesta grew up in an area where the wine business still flourishes. She resembles her mum, unlike her dad.
Maribel still sticks to her roots as she (at the time of writing Iniesta Biography) manages her family’s wine company.
Anna Ortiz Andres Iniesta Love Story:
Andres Iniesta’s Love Story and life surround just one woman. She is no other than the beautiful one, Anna Ortiz.
Anna Ortiz is a Catalan and a specialist in professional make-up, image consulting,
hairdressing, beauty and health. She currently works as an interior designer at Coton et Bois.
They met during a time Iniesta had an injury on his tight in the year 2008. He fell in love with her when she offered him some physiotherapy health services.
In September 2010, Andrés Iniesta confirmed Anna was pregnant with his child. She gave birth to Valeria Iniesta Ortiz. Below is a picture of Valeria with her parents.
Andres Iniesta and Anna Ortiz, after four years of staying happily together, decided to get married in 2012. The marriage took place at the castle of Tamarit near Tarragona.
Among the famous names present at the wedding were Lionel Messi, as well as ex-Barcelona striker Samuel Eto’o.
Shortly after the wedding revealed the news to his 3.9million followers on Twitter, posting a picture of himself with his wife and tweeting: ‘Amazing day! Just married.’
Andres Iniesta and his new wife, Anna Ortiz, spent their honeymoon on the beach in Cancun, Mexico.
There, the one-time newlyweds appeared extremely blissful and relaxed as they made the most of the sunny weather.
On the 31st of May, 2015, Andres and Anna had their second child and first son. His name is Paolo Andrea Iniesta.
Andres Iniesta is a good father who loves to spend quality time with his kids. He always tries to let the world know that. He is a real parent who puts his children above his own needs and wants.
Just like Radamel Falcao and Robert Lewandowski, Andres Iniesta has lived a happy family life.
Andres Iniesta Biography – Wine Company:
Yes, Former Premier League managers Sir Alex Ferguson and Harry Redknapp were well known for their love of wine, but none of them went so far as to own a vineyard or winery.
More so, today’s football players are more likely to put their riches into sports cars or flashy apartments than invest in anything as esoteric as the cultivation of the grape.
But perhaps less well known, due to his quiet demeanour, is Andres Iniesta who has put both his time and money into wine production.
During his wedding, he made all his visitors drink his Iniesta’s wine which is named after his daughter Valeria.
It’s a family business for him. If you lived in Spain you might also see his face beaming out from advertisements promoting wines from his family business, Bodega Iniesta. This is big business and all the family is involved in it.
The family already owned the business before he became a successful football player, and as he has grown up he has also become involved in its expansion.
More on Andres Iniesta Family Business:
In fact, Iniesta is the third generation from his family to take a role in the wine business, which was established by his grandfather Jose Antonio.
In total, his family has over 180 hectares of vineyards, and all the wines are made from its special fruits.
The business is located in Albacete, which is two hours’ drive from Valencia, and two-and-a-half hours from Madrid, its biggest market.
His company employs 35 people, 25 in the winery, and 10 full time in the vineyards where special wine fruits are harvested.
As at the time of writing Andreas Iniesta Bio, his company sells a wine that is named after his daughter Valeria, and another after his son Paolo Andrea.
He also introduced another wine called “116” which commemorates the minute in the match when he scored the winning goal in the 2010 World Cup final.
Overall, 1 to 1.2 million bottles of wine are produced in his company per year. His wine is available in 33 countries, including East Asia, south, central and north America, and west and east Europe. In the UK they sell for £6.50 to £17.
Andres Iniesta Biography – He was once a Madrid Fan:
Like every other young football fan, Andres Iniesta supported his local club, Albacete and Barcelona was his next best because he absolutely worshipped Michael Laudrup.
When he was just six, the Catalonian giants defeated his beloved side 7-1 and he developed a deep animosity for the side that could only be satisfied by shifting his allegiance to their most hated rivals Real Madrid.
His change in loyalties was further rewarded when Laudrup moved to Real Madrid in 1994. As revealed earlier, It was his dad who made him to get attached with FC Barcelona.
Andres Iniesta Bio – Highly Respected:
As at time of writing, Andres Iniesta is without doubt the most respected footballer in Spain. His wine sell very well in Madrid, the home of his arch rivals.
In Catalonia, he is respected as the captain of Barcelona, and in the rest of Spain, he is respected as the guy who won the World Cup for Spain.
Also, he is a typical Spanish family guy, which people appreciate. And he does not get involved in political controversy, which some other Barcelona or Real Madrid players sometimes do.
He once never wanted FC Barcelona:
Barcelona star Andres Iniesta has sensationally revealed he initially did not want to join the Catalan club as a youngster because of his strong family bonds with the club. He wanted a new challenge, a quest to move far away home.
In his words, “I did not want to come because I considered my family bond with them. I needed to go to a place so far away without them,” Iniesta told beIN SPORTS.
The passage of the weeks and talk with my father made him turn around.
Iniesta continued…“With my father, I have a lot of confidence, a lot of affinity and I know that when he tells me things, he usually succeeds.
I respect my father and I knew I had to take the plunge. After my decision to play for FC Barcelona, I saw the worst months of my life as a person, but with the help of everyone, day by day, it was much better.”
Needless to say, Iniesta’s initially terrifying decision has worked out incredibly well.
Andres Iniesta Nicknames:
Iniesta has a number of nicknames. The Spanish Press often refer to him as Don Andres while some call him El Ilusionista (The Illusionist) because of his ability and willingness to play in any position on the pitch.
Others call him El Cerebro (The Brain) because of his exceptional footballing intelligence.
In a dig at Real Madrid’s infamous Galacticos, the down-to-earth Iniesta has also been dubbed El Anti-Galactico.
Finally, Iniesta’s palid complexion has also earned him the nickname (The Pale Knight).
Andres Iniesta Instagram – The Thief Story:
Andrés Iniesta uses Instagram just like anyone else. “I am a father who likes to take pictures of his kids, yummy food, and interesting buildings,” he wrote in a recent Medium post.
One day, Iniesta suddenly found his account suspended, with Instagram claiming that he’d somehow violated the company’s terms of service with those family, food, and architecture photos.
Iniesta found that a bit strange, and the situation only got more concerning when his Instagram presence was, without warning, replaced with another Andrés Iniesta.
Iniesta tried reaching out to Instagram several times with no response from the company, even after his photos vanished and his username was handed off to someone else.
But eventually, Instagram made things right, restoring Iniesta’s original account and forcing the soccer star over to another, slightly less desirable username.
In a statement provided to Gizmodo, Instagram doesn’t go into detail about how something like this managed to happen so quickly and without any clear or justifiable cause.
“We made a mistake here and restored the account as soon as we learned about it,” the company said. “Our apologies go out to Mr. Iniesta for the trouble we caused him.”
