HERO WORSHIP Andres Iniesta’s home: Fuentealbilla is a tiny village devoted to Spain’s World Cup star with two statues, a winery and a bar run by his grandfather

The dusty village Spain star Andres Iniesta calls home is covered in reminders of the World Cup winner. His Barcelona-themed house is on Andres Iniesta Street, opposite a statue and a winery. And his grandfather owns the town's best bar.

By Adrian Addison in Fuentealbilla

SPAIN superstar Andres Iniesta is 7,000 miles away with his new Japanese club Vissel Kobe but there is no way he will be forgotten by the residents of the tiny, dusty village in Spain's sun-baked La Mancha plateau he calls home.

'Don Andres' lives on another continent but he's a permanent fixture here in Fuentealbilla. Literally.

Iniesta's Barca themed house has his name carved into it in big stone letters.

The modern home it sits on is on the corner of Andres Iniesta Street.

And should the 34-year-old midfield maestro ever look out from any of his fat front windows, he can see a bronze statue of himself winning the World Cup - erected right on the very spot where he used to play football with his friends as a boy.

And there is a second, identical statue of the Spanish superstar a mile and a half away outside his own successful wine business.

Iniesta was born and raised in Fuentealbilla, a tiny village in the Castile-La Mancha countryside in the middle of Spain - a land made famous by 'Don Quixote'.

Young Andres was one hell of a player even then.

"I remember him as a kid when he played football here with his friends," Cayetano, a neighbour, told The Sun in a bar facing Andres Iniesta Street.

"He was different from everyone else because he controlled the ball so well, he dribbled, you could see the intelligence he had as a player. It was all there.

"He stays at his house with his family during the holidays.

"He has a drink in the bar, he takes his kids to the park. He's a simple, normal guy."

Fuentealbilla is far closer to Madrid than Barcelona and Cayetano, like the majority of people here, is a Real Madrid fan.

But it was Barca scouts watching second division Albacete Balompie that saw the boy's raw talent and, at the age of 12, he headed north to the famed La Masia football nursery.

It broke his heart to leave home, it was a huge wrench.

He later injected his own cash into Albacete when the club found itself in financial strife.

"The Iniesta family are very dear to us," Albacete fan Alejandro Fernandez told The Sun.

"We want him to return here before he stops playing. Or maybe as the boss. He'd be welcomed with a big hug."

Yet when Iniesta comes home to visit these days, it's grapevines he strolls through - not defences.

Because here wine, not football, is the family business.

Iniesta's father, Jose Antonio, runs the business day to day but the footballer is involved all the way - down to even approving the design of the labels.

Minuto 116, for example, is a wine named after the minute of the 2010 World Cup final in which Iniesta scored the winning goal.

“Wine has always been a tradition for our family, but we didn’t have enough economic power to set up a winery until Andres entered the world of soccer,” Jose Antonio said.

“Our goal has always been doing what we like, without necessarily making money. But we’ve been doing things well and so we keep growing.

“We’re exporting to 39 countries. With Andres moving to Japan, we’re going to expand even more internationally.”

It was that goal against Holland that really got the ball rolling for Iniesta's wines.

Jesus Gomez, the winery's commercial director, told The Sun: "The winery as we know it today began in 2010 after Andres scored the winning goal in the World Cup.

"Andres got a 'millionaire' contract that year with Barca and he used this money to invest in this area and in his people."

He likes to come back here because it is a very quiet town, he has his family and friends here and he has a great time.

Andres Lujan, His Grandfather

It has 30 permanent staff and employs around 100 more during the harvest season.

Over a million bottles of wine were produced in 2017, a 500 per cent jump from 2010.

Around 60 per cent travels overseas.

And the target market is, of course, Asia. In particular China and Iniesta's new home - Japan.

Stocks in Japan of Iniesta's wines soon sold out when he signed for Vissel Kobe.

That's all good news for the family firm.

But Fuentealbilla folk want their most beloved son to come home.

Iniesta's grandfather Andres Lujan runs a bar that only opens on days his grandson plays football so folk can watch the game on a big screen, and every inch of the place is plastered with Iniesta press cuttings and memorabilia.

Andres Senior said: "His family has always been with him.

"We took him to Albacete for four years and we were all so proud of him every time he played.

"We always believed he would get to where he did.

"It's far too soon to say if Andrés is happy in Japan. He needs at least a year."

Opposite the Lujan bar there is another monument to Andres Iniesta in this tiny rural village - a replica of the World Cup set on a plinth with a press cutting sealed beneath celebrating his winning goal.

The journey to that trophy began on these streets then led at the age of eight to the nearest big town, Albacete - about hour or so drive away.

Then came the five hour drive north to Barcelona at the age of 12.

Señor Lujan was with his grandson every inch of the way.

But Andres junior is now 7,000 miles away.

His grandfather said: "They tell me it's very far.

"It's too far for me and my wife to go see him there. We're too old. But maybe we will. Who knows?

"Anyway. He likes to come back here because it is a very quiet town, he has his family and friends here and he has a great time."

THE SUN Adrian Addison, Spain. Published: 10 Sep 2018