EX-BARÇA midfielder Andrés Iniesta has revealed in a soon-to-be-aired documentary of his life and career how he met his wife – and how it was love at first sight.
Albacete-born Iniesta, 35, who has been playing for J1 League club Vissel Kobe in Japan since 2018, says he was in a pub with a friend and found he could not take his eyes off the waitress.
He said to the friend, “Have you seen the dark-haired girl at the bar?”
This dark-haired girl, Anna Ortiz, married the football star in 2012, and Iniesta admits: “It was an instant attraction.”
Rakuten TV, based in Barcelona, launches An Unexpected Hero worldwide today (Thursday), in which reporters Jordi Évole and Ramón Lara narrate his life and times, from his early days after being headhunted by FC Barcelona juniors in 1996 – when he was 12 – through to his current career with Vissel Kobe.
Along with Iniesta's own commentary and memories, those closest to him in his personal and professional life give spoken testimonies – his mother, Anna Ortiz, trainers Pep Guardiola, Vicente del Bosque and Louis van Gaal, and fellow players Samuel Eto'o, Leo Messi, Xavi Hernández, and Sergio Ramos.
According to Iniesta's biographer and documentary scriptwriter Marcos López, An Unexpected Hero contains hitherto unseen footage, and stories never before told in public.
They include a goalkeeper's perspective, by Peter Cech, on Iniesta's Champions' League 2008-9 semi-finals goal against Chelsea, and the finer details of Iniesta's talks with Vissel Kobe before transferring from Barça to the J-League side, narrated by club chair and Rakuten's managing director, Hiroshi Mikitani.
Aspects of Iniesta's personal life are also laid bare, including his battle with depression ahead of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, caused by an accumulation of injuries and by the death of his close friend Dani Jarque, who played for RCD Espanyol.
In a tweet yesterday featuring a clip from the documentary, Iniesta wrote: “It's been really special, reliving moments of my life surrounded by the people who are most important to me: YOU, 'Mam'. Tomorrow, my documentary premières – free to watch only on Rakuten TV.”
Photograph: Andrés Iniesta on Twitter (@andresiniesta8)
