Photo/Illutration Andres Iniesta, in tears, announces his diparture from Vissel Kobe in Kobe’s Chuo Ward on May 25. (Toshiyuki Hayashi)

KOBE–-Spanish soccer star Andres Iniesta suggested changes in his team’s playing style were partly to blame for his departure from Vissel Kobe, although he had hoped to finish his playing career here. 

“In the last few months, I’ve always been ready to contribute to the team but I felt the head coach had different priorities,” Iniesta said on May 25 as he announced he would leave the club midway through the J.League season.

“I always thought I would retire from here but things don’t always go as I hoped,” he added, suggesting how different types of players are in demand at different times.

The 39-year-old has played only 38 minutes in three games this season.

The former FC Barcelona midfielder joined Vissel Kobe in 2018, when the team was trying to shift to playing a Barcelona-like style.

But the global soccer trend began to change, toward more aggressive and faster approaches with greater focus on one-on-one duels and fighting for possession and retaining the ball.

Those new tactics emerged as a break from Barcelona-style soccer, where the players retain possession of the ball with sharp passing and fluid positioning.

A turning point for Vissel Kobe and Iniesta came in June 2022 when Takayuki Yoshida took over as head coach.

Yoshida shifted to a more defensive approach as the team fought to remain in the J1 division. There were less and less opportunities for Iniesta, who was not known as a skilled defender, to find playing time on the pitch.

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