nationalcaps birth_date currentclub pcupdate years youthyears caps goals image_size nationalyears image name caption fullname ntupdate birth_place nationalteam height clubnumber nationalgoals youthclubs clubs religion position article_title
2 7 4 7 7 18 104 1 11 may 1984 barcelona 00:26 , 24 august 2015 -lrb- utc -rrb- 1994 -- 1996 1996 -- 2001 1994 -- 1996 1996 -- 2001 54 362 5 33 220 2000 2003 -- 2006 2006 -- 2004 2000 -- 2001 2001 2001 -- 2002 2003 2015 uefa super cup 104.jpg andrés iniesta iniesta with the 2015 uefa super cup trophy andrés iniesta luján 11 june 2015 fuentealbilla , spain spain u20 spain u21 spain catalonia u15 spain u16 spain u17 spain u19 spain 1.71 m on 8 0 1 0 1 3 6 12 0 albacete barcelona albacete barcelona catholic midfielder andrés iniesta

andrés iniesta

andrés iniesta luján -lrb- ; born 11 may 1984 -rrb- is a spanish professional footballer who is the captain for fc barcelona and plays for the spain national team as a central midfielder .
iniesta came through `` la masia '' , the barcelona youth academy , after an early emigration from his birthplace , and impressed from an early age .
he made his first-team debut in 2002 , aged 18 .
he began playing regularly during the 2004 -- 05 season and has remained in the team ever since .
he was an integral part of the barcelona team that won an historic six trophies in 2009 .
iniesta is widely considered to be one of the best players of his generation and one of the greatest midfielders of all time .
iniesta played for spain at the under-16 , under-19 and under-21 levels before making his international debut in 2006 .
he was selected in the team for the 2006 fifa world cup .
he helped spain win euro 2008 , playing every game and being selected in the uefa team of the tournament .
iniesta was also chosen for the 2010 fifa world cup and was a key member of the victorious spanish team ; he scored the winning goal in the final against the netherlands and was named the man of the match , and was also selected to the tournament 's all-star team .
at euro 2012 , iniesta steered spain to their second consecutive continental crown , being chosen as the best player of the tournament and winning 3 man of the match awards -lrb- including in the final against italy -rrb- .
iniesta won the uefa best player in europe award in 2012 , and was also chosen as the best player of the 2011 -- 12 uefa champions league .
he was runner-up to lionel messi for the 2010 fifa ballon d'or and achieved third place in 2012 .
he was named by iffhs as the world 's best playmaker in 2012 and 2013 , and won the la liga spanish player of the year award in 2009 .
iniesta has been chosen in the uefa team of the year four times -lrb- 2009 , 2010 , 2011 , 2012 -rrb- , and has been voted into the fifa world xi on six occasions : 2009 , 2010 , 2011 , 2012 , 2013 and 2014 .
in recognition of his outstanding performances with club and country , as well as his individual and team achievements , iniesta received the marca legend award in 2011 .
in 2014 he received the golden foot award .
