Few people will lament Andres Iniesta’s departure from FC Barcelona as much as Messi.
In a book of personal tributes to Iniesta published last year, that of his Argentine colleague speaks volumes about how integral to Barca’s success the two have been, largely because of the unique personal understanding between them as individuals.
Messi tells how he never feels more comfortable than when knowing Iniesta is playing alongside him, for the players both feel and live for their football, without letting politics intrude, instinctively playing to each other’s strength, picking each other out with their vision and precise, intricate passing, laureates of poetry in motion.
But Messi also goes on to comment that this understanding extends to the dressing room where both players are introverted by nature, and yet are in complete touch with the meaning of each others’ silences.
Only Messi in the current Barca squad has had the experience of watching and playing alongside Iniesta from any early age, with both forming part of one the most successful and talented teams in the history of modern football.
Of course there are a million more fans out there who will mourn the passing of the Iniesta era. The huge respect to which he is held was made evident by the standing applause around the stadium he received as he was substituted, from Sevilla fans as well as Barca fans, and the many other Spaniards who were present. For the reason he is so loved by so many Spaniards, is the huge contribution he has made to the success of the Spanish national squad in recent years.
The ovation was for me one of the high points of the match, as was the moment when Iniesta – a hugely loyal Barca player but who is not Catalan born- was left by his fellow players to collect the cup from King Felipe, with the cheers finally drowning the whistles, for an instant the politics of division giving way to the shared homage to a legend of the game,.
