Orlandi during his debut with Barcelona’s first team at San Mamés
As Samuel Eto’o chased the Pichichi trophy in the 2005/06 season, the final stretch of La Liga saw Barcelona, already crowned Champions League winners, field an unusual lineup at San Mamés. The defense, in fact, was unprecedented: Jorquera in goal, Belletti at right back, Olmo and Oleguer as center-backs, and the talented winger Andrea Orlandi deployed as a left-back. It was his debut with the first team in a Barcelona shirt (ending in a 3-1 defeat) and a pivotal chapter in a life that took him through English, Italian (his native country), Indian, and Cypriot football during his professional career. That career was abruptly cut short by heart problems, forcing him to retire in 2019 at age 34. But the bitterest chapter came later: a heart attack that left his heart without a beat for 16 minutes.
Andrea Orlandi during his time at Barcelona
That is the inspiration behind *Sixteen Minutes*, a book written by Ilie Oleart, director of the *La Media Inglesa* channel. The book focuses on Orlandi as a footballer, an agent, a contributor to his YouTube channel, and above all, as a close friend. “The first idea was to do a typical autobiography. ‘Andrea Orlandi and My Life,’ as it’s always done,” Oleart tells SPORT. They quickly scrapped that approach. “I thought: let’s tell, in a fun way, the reality of a professional footballer who debuted for Barcelona’s first team, scored a goal in the Premier League, but also suffered a lot.”
Ilie Oleart and Andrea Orlandi
“It’s impossible to write a book like this with anyone other than Andrea Orlandi. He has the ability to laugh at himself and not take himself too seriously. There are few footballers who have played at the Emirates, in the Premier League, and at Barcelona alongside Ronaldinho, who could be considered a big deal. He doesn’t,” Oleart emphasizes about his friend. One of his dilemmas, in fact, was his own role in the story. “I didn’t want to appear much in the book,” he admits. However, the publisher *Panenka* pushed him to take a more prominent presence. “They told me: it’s important that you also put yourself in the story. You are also a protagonist in real time because Andrea is your friend.” The result is a delicate balance: “It’s that fine line between being a witness to the conversations but not participating.”
It’s impossible to write a book like this with anyone other than Andrea Orlandi. He has the ability to laugh at himself and not take himself too seriously.
— Ilie Oleart, author of *Sixteen Minutes*
In practice, his role during their encounters was more passive than it might seem. “Actually, I never had to do anything. For example, Andrea met with Ángel Rangel and they talked nonstop for three hours.” Oleart barely intervened, except when it was necessary to steer the conversation. “When they went off on tangents, I would say, ‘Explain that again to me,’ and that’s it. But otherwise… nothing.” From this natural flow come many of the anecdotes that bring the book to life, such as a flirtation with fines in the UK that Andrea tried to avoid—unsuccessfully. The chemistry between them shapes the narrative with stories that, while funny, often hide less pleasant truths: “When a person has so many strong emotional blows, they use humor as a layer to manage it,” Oleart reflects. That perspective also connects to the public perception of footballers: “Nowadays, because they earn so much money, there’s little empathy. It’s like, ‘they’re millionaires.’ But the body isn’t infinite; it’s not a gas tank.”
The figure of Andrea’s father runs through the narrative, along with other very emotional parts, such as the closing of the former Barcelona player’s chapter. “He wrote the epilogue himself. I touched up four things, but basically it’s his.” Oleart highlights his narrative ability: “He writes very well.”
