Iniesta speechless at glory

Iniesta: Spanish hero

Spain's World Cup star Andres Iniesta struggled to hold back his emotion after helping his country to glory in South Africa.

The Barcelona playmaker scored in the 116th minute against Holland in the final of the World Cup at Soccer City.

Their triumph capped a marvellous two years for Spain, who are the reigning European champions after success in 2008.

Iniesta was beside himself with joy at the final whistle following his strike in Johannesburg that came with four minutes left of extra-time.

"It's incredible," said Iniesta. "What a joy, especially when you see how we won it.

"There aren't the words to describe what I am feeling. After my goal, I thought about my family and all the people who I love.

"But the victory is the fruit of a lot of work."

Incredible

Iniesta added: "I can't quite believe this yet. I had the opportunity to score that goal that was so important for my team, and it's incredible.

"I've made a small contribution in a very tough game, a very rough game - there were all sorts of things happening on the pitch.

"Spain deserved to win this World Cup. It's something we have to remember and enjoy, and should feel very proud of everyone in this squad."

After he scored, Iniesta took off his shirt to reveal a T-shirt paying tribute to Daniel Jarque, the Espanyol player who died after a heart attack in August. The T-shirt said "Dani Jarque is always with us" and Iniesta explained: "I wanted to carry Dani Jarque with me and with my other team-mates. We wanted to feel his strength. We wanted to pay tribute to him in the world of football, and this was the best opportunity to do so.

"This is for Dani Jarque, for my family, for all of the people. It is the result of hard work over a long time and some difficult moments."