Fans creating something special in Aberdeen as one of football’s all-time greats, Andres Iniesta, announces retirement

Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin could not have hoped for a better start to his Scottish coaching career after last Sunday’s dramatic victory against struggling Hearts gave him his seventh successive league win as he kept the Dons level on most points with title favorites Celtic.

Pittodrie’s crowd of over 19,000 and the atmosphere it created was mentioned after the match by interim Hearts manager Liam Fox as being a big factor in the competition as it led to Thelin’s side winning a game in which the Hearts had tried so hard and there is no doubt that the Dons support are loving what they are witnessing so far.

Following this weekend’s international break, Thelin takes his team to Parkhead in what will be his team’s toughest test to date, and which will be a true measure of how far they have come.

There is no more challenging game in Scottish league football, but Thelin’s men are full of confidence and he certainly has players who can test Celtic if they are at their best.

Meanwhile, in world football, one of my favorite players announced his retirement this week.

Spanish midfielder Andres Iniesta was one of the most technically gifted players of the modern era, playing an incredible 131 times for his country.

He was instrumental in the team’s first World Cup triumph in 2010, scoring the only goal in the final against the Netherlands and receiving the man of the match award for his performance.

He also won the European Championship twice in 2008 and 2012 during the golden era of Spanish football and an abundance of national league, cup and Champions League medals with Barcelona.

Iniesta joined the Catalan giants’ world-famous ‘La Masia’ youth training center after being seen playing futsal at the age of 12 and made his debut for the club at 18.

He started out as a defensive midfielder, but became a more attacking player as his career progressed.

At just 5ft 7in, he had incredible game awareness which, combined with an exquisite first touch and excellent technical ability, meant he appeared unflappable even under the most intense pressure.

His former Barcelona coach, Pep Guardiola, praised him for his “mastery of the relationship between space and time” and anyone who has seen Iniesta play can easily understand what the current Manchester City manager was saying.

Lionel Messi, the greatest player to ever grace the game, also gave his opinion on his former teammate with the wonderful quote: ‘The ball will miss you, and so will we all. You are a phenomenon’.

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