Andres Iniesta spoke on his decision to leave Barcelona, transfer the the Japanese squad Vissel Kobe, and his experiences in Japan.
"In Spain, I was empty in every way, both in body and soul. Playing football in your home country is demanding at all levels, and not only for sport. The pressure to be with a club like Barcelona was high. When I decided to leave Spain, I freed myself from that tension. In Spain I could never make a mistake, while in Japan the pressure is very different. I can still fail, but I have fun all the same."
"The fans in Japan live the matches for how they truly are. They'll cheer you and protest, but they don't get angry. The Japanese handle defeats in a different way than in Europe. This is the philosophy that took the the longest to assimilate to and understand, I've always been very competitive and I've never liked to lose. Now I try and learn from them and see it through a different lens. This time spent at Vissel Kobe was definitely calmer than those at Barcelona."
