Given Andres Iniesta’s seemingly introverted character, it might have surprised many that the World Cup-winner has hinted that he may go into coaching after he retires. The Barcelona legend has hinted that he would be open to returning to the club down the line in an off the pitch role.
Iniesta was spotted in Qatar watching Spain while he has holidays from Vissel Kobe in Japan. After the tournament, he returned to Barcelona and visited the Barcelona squad as they ramped up their preparation for the return of La Liga on the 31st of January.
Speaking to Sport, he was asked if he could ever see himself working with Xavi Hernandez on the Barcelona bench. The two of course formed an iconic duo on the pitch.
“The cules, I think that what we want is for the team to win, it doesn’t matter if Xavi-Iniesta is there or whatever. No, let’s see, I won’t say it’s impossible but it’s very difficult due to timing, moments and so on.”
“I just want this Barca to win again, to be good, to find the right path that we all like. Regarding myself in the future, we will see what happens, hopefully I can come back to something here.”
Iniesta of course is yet to actually retire from the game. Recovering from a knee operation, the 38-year-old seems set to continue in the J-League for at least another season.
Likely to need a period of preparation, the timeline would require a historic run on the bench from Xavi in order for the two to coincide. Although Iniesta does not give off the first impression that he would be suited to management, Zinedine Zidane is the perfect example that a cover doesn’t not tell the whole story.
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