This story on Vissel Kobe, led by Spanish great Andres Iniesta, was originally published in October last year. KEEPUP revisits the interview as FFA Cup winners Melbourne Victory prepare to face the J1 League giants in a Champions League play-off next month.
Andres Iniesta arrived at Vissel Kobe amid plenty of fanfare in May 2018.
One of the most successful players in Barcelona’s history, having won LaLiga nine times and four Champions League crowns among his haul of 35 trophies, Iniesta was brought to Vissel to deliver silverware.
Up until his arrival three years ago, Vissel had never won a trophy but during the Spain great’s time in Kobe, the ambitious Rakuten-backed outfit have won the Emperor’s Cup (2019) and Japanese Super Cup (2020).
Vissel also qualified for the AFC Champions League for the first time in their 55-year history in 2020, reaching the semi-finals.
Iniesta and Vissel will feature in the Champions League again, albeit via a play-off initially, after finishing third in J1 League last season behind winners Kawasaki Frontale and Yokohama F.Marinos.
FFA Cup champions and Isuzu UTE A-League club Melbourne Victory stand in the way of Vissel and the group phase as the Kobe-based outfit seek to become kings of Asia.
Vissel will host Victory on March 15.
“The team have been saying we want to become the number one team in Asia so the first big goal is to win the Asian Champions League,” Vissel defender Leo Osaki told Stats Perform about the project in Japan.
“Of course we have to win the J1 League, we can’t just be focused on the Champions League. But the biggest goal right now is to win the Champions League.”
When Iniesta swapped Camp Nou to join captain Lukas Podolski at Kobe Wing Stadium, it brought more eyes onto the club and attracted a host of stars the following year.
Spain’s all-time leading scorer David Villa, former Arsenal and Barcelona defender Thomas Vermaelen and Sergi Samper all followed Iniesta to Kobe.
Vissel’s investment in Iniesta paid off in 2019 after conquering Kashima Antlers for their first ever piece of silverware before overcoming 2019 J1 League champions F.Marinos on penalties in the Japanese Super Cup in 2020.
Since his debut, Iniesta has showed no signs of slowing down, despite his advancing years at the age of 37.
In 2021, the captain scored six goals and supplied four assists in the league as he spearheads Vissel’s cause under the ownership of Rakuten, who continue to dream big after buying the team from the Crimson Group in 2014.
“He didn’t come here to finish his career. He came to win and you can see it in the training and locker room,” Osaki said, with Vissel’s squad also boasting Bojan Krkic and Samper. “I think bringing him into the team opened the path for other world-class players to come in and it attracted a lot of people to watch the J1 League and Vissel Kobe. In that point of view, it gave the team a positive reaction.
“For him playing with us, since the first day he came, there was a positive reaction. Watching him from behind, it’s a dream come true because most of us were just watching him on TV.
“Playing wise, he demands a lot from everybody, not just players next to him but behind him, goalkeeper and strikers. In our bad times, he tries to talk to players and motivate them so the team doesn’t fall apart.
“Winning that title changed everything in a good way,” Osaki added. “Since it was the first title in the club’s history, that boosted the confidence for everyone. Also the expectations got higher. Winning those two titles changed a lot.”
“I think we haven’t accomplished anything, so the job isn’t finished. We have to play in the Champions League and become the number one team in Asia. We’ve made progress in terms of getting two titles. The team had never won any titles, so that was big progress,” the 30-year-old said.
“Playing in the Champions League gave us experience and confidence, which has helped us this season. In the Champions League, we didn’t end up winning but I think that experience gave us confidence and that’s why we are in this position now.”
“Bringing in Andres and all those world-class players always gives a positive reaction to the team but at the same time, fans are like ‘you have these players, so you have to win’. But football isn’t that easy,” he added.
“Of course we have quality players and we play with 11 players, but it’s a team sport. It takes time. Fans can’t wait, they want results instantly. We struggled in the beginning and we were focused on possession and everything but now we are probably 50 per cent counter-attack and 50 per cent possession – and we started getting results.”
He said: “I think sometimes we focus on the project too much in the past. Of course, we want to play out from the back, press the ball and dominate the game but sometimes we focus on that too much. At times we had 60-70 per cent possession but we couldn’t get results or win. We’re still working on that actually, playing out of the back. We kind of added a different kind of style, just go forward at times.
“Now, we’re focused more on the result. At times we play good and at times we don’t, but still focusing on the result is keeping us in this position now.”
