Iniesta says farewell to Japanese soccer with rare start for Kobe

KOBE, Japan (AP) — Andres Iniesta has said goodbye to Japanese soccer with his first league start of the season as title-chasing Vissel Kobe drew 1-1 at home against Consadole Sapporo. The 39-year-old midfielder joined Kobe from Barcelona in 2018 but has found playing time increasingly hard to come by with the latest appearance taking his total minutes on the field after 18 games this season to just 94. A sell-out crowd of 30,000 at Noevir Stadium gave Iniesta an affectionate send-off, organizing a tifo display which showed the player wearing Kobe’s No. 8 shirt and holding banners that read “Gracias Andres.” Iniesta’s next destination has yet to be confirmed and he has been linked with clubs in Europe as well as South America.