Iniesta to make history as Barcelona entertain Arsenal in the Champions League
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FC Barcelona's Spain international midfielder Andres Iniesta enjoyed a relaxed Sunday with his teammates as he looked ahead to Tuesday's Champions League clash against Arsenal.
While the hours tick down to the game in which Barcelona have to overturn a 2-1 first leg defeat from the first leg, Iniesta and his companions were sampling the fruits of his labor at the vineyards the Spain international owns.
Bodegas Iniesta are waiting for its first wines to mature, while the 26 year-old can already be considered to have reached his vintage.
Iniesta is famous all the World over for the goal he scored in the World Cup final last summer: the goal that took Spain to its first ever World title and which made him a national hero.
The player, who was born close to the city of Albacete in the province of La Mancha, has been applauded off the pitch in nearly every stadium that Barcelona has played in this season.
Now as he prepares for a game that he described on his Facebook page as "the first final of the year in the Camp Nou," Iniesta will make more history.
The product of the Barcelona youth system will make his 350th first team appearance for Barcelona against Arsenal this Tuesday night, becoming the youngest Barcelona player to make that play that number of games for the all conquering Catalans.
He made his first team debut in the 2002-2003 season and has been a first team regular since the 2004-2005 season. During the following years Iniesta, Leo Messi and Xavi Hernandez have established a style of play that has made both Barcelona and Spain almost unbeatable.
Iniesta has won almost every trophy it is possible for a Spanish footballer to win and if he has not won the Europa League or the UEFA Cup, it is because his side has always had its sights set higher than the second most important competition in Europe.
Iniesta, Xavi and Messi, all of whom are short on stature, but overflowing with quality have introduced a style of football that relies on first touch passing, rapid movement off the ball and almost continual possession. It is normal for Barcelona to have 80 percent of the ball in their matches, reducing their opponents by patience and skill.
Iniesta's first 349 first team appearances include 237 matches in the Primera Liga, in which he has scored 24 goals, 67 games in the Champions League, 34 in the Copa del Rey and the remainder in Supercup matches and the World Club Championships.
Against Arsenal, Iniesta and his companions know they have work to do. But Iniesta has an extra motivation to do well.
"I want to win the Champions League for my birthday," he said earlier this season. Iniesta will turn 27 a fortnight before the Champions League final at Wembley.
By then the player will already be on the way to his 400th appearance for Barca.
