KOBE (Japan): Daigo Nishi said it was an honour to play alongside Spain’s FIFA World Cup-winner Andres Iniesta as Vissel Kobe prepare to resume their 2020 AFC Champions League campaign in Qatar later this month.
“There isn’t much I can say about Andres Iniesta that hasn’t already been said, all I can say is that it’s an honour to play in the same team as him,” Nishi told the-AFC.com.
“Of course his quality really helps our team but it will also be interesting [in Qatar] to see how other teams react to his presence.”
Vissel generated global headlines in 2018 when they lured the Barcelona legend and four-time UEFA Champions League winner to the J1 League, before they acquired Nishi from domestic rivals Kashima Antlers ahead of the 2019 season.
A year later and the pair both starred as Vissel defeated Kashima 2-0 to win their first major piece of silverware and secure a place in the AFC Champions League for the first time in their history.
The Japanese side made a perfect start to their maiden Continental campaign earlier in the year, posting a 5-1 win at home to Johor Darul Ta’zim and claiming a late 1-0 victory at Suwon Samsung Bluewings with Iniesta’s world-class ability on display from the off, although the result against JDT has since been deemed null and void after the Malaysian side’s withdrawal.
However, since football resumed in Japan following the COVID-19 enforced postponement, the side’s domestic form has been inconsistent at best as they currently languish in the bottom half of the J1 League table.
Head coach Torsten Fink departed in September and has since been replaced by Atsuhiro Miura, who will hope the resumption of AFC Champions League action can help spark a return to form of a team that started the year so promisingly but have faded as it has gone on.
“We are not doing very well as a team at the moment but, having said that, I see potential in a tournament like this that will be played over a short period of time,” admitted the 33-year-old.
