Iniesta says goodbye to the World Cup | Spain

– It's the saddest day of my career – said the midfielder after the early elimination.

The greatest player in the history of Spanish football, author of the goal that made Spain a world champion in 2010, said goodbye to the World Cup in the summer. 34 years old. By the end of last season, he had already pioneered a path through Barcelona. He will end his career at Vissel Kobe, Japan

– it's a reality that is my last match with the national team. It's the end of a wonderful step. Finals are not always so imagined. The technician makes decisions, whether he understands them or not. The selection will continue to advance because the players are top-tier – said Iniesta, who has already been honored by the Spanish Federation by Twitter.

But his farewells could not have been more melancholic. Titled in the first three matches of the World Cup in Spain, Iniesta was taken by coach Fernando Hierro. For 67 minutes, Spain abandoned the perfect pbades and the intelligence of Iniesta. The ace looked from the reserve bench to an opaque and tedious display of his selection. Spain has swapped pbades unnecessarily, while Russia has comfortably defended itself.

The entry of the player has also not changed the prospect of the match, although it is fair to award them the best deals of Spain at the end of the second half -time and overtime. Before touching the ball, Iniesta has already tried to make the team play: he asked Isco to advance with the ball, guided Piqué on the best pbad options.

When I received it, I returned it first, trying to get the team out of the lethargy I had been in since the beginning of the game. When he did not receive it, he laid his arm down, his outstretched hand pointing to his own feet: "Here." When he tried to score with Diego Costa, he gave a perfect pbad and received an apology back. Same with Iago Aspas.

From a privileged position on the field, he saw Koke miss easy pbades and must be death of desire for Xavi, the former owner of this shirt 8. At the end of the second half, hit the most dangerous blow that Spain has managed to give in 120 minutes of football. He was arrested by Akinfeev, the hero of the afternoon in Moscow.

In his last season in Barcelona, ​​Iniesta was applauded by all the stages he faced, especially because of this goal against the Netherlands in Johannesburg in 2010. Dazed by euphoria generated by the unexpected ranking of the quarterfinals Lujniki did not realize that he was saying goodbye to one of the greatest football players in history.