Andres Iniesta, a former Spanish national soccer player who played for J1 side Vissel Kobe until last year, came to Japan and spoke about his feelings for the victims of the Noto Peninsula earthquake in an interview with NHK.
Iniesta left Vissel in July last year and is currently playing for a club in the United Arab Emirates.
On the night of the 7th, he came to Japan for the first time in about seven months to coincide with a friendly match between his former club Vissel and Inter Miami of the United States, whose team includes Argentina national team player Lionel Messi, who he once played with. Did.
The company that Iniesta co-founded was involved in this match, and Iniesta wanted to use it as a place to support the victims of the Noto Peninsula earthquake, so all players from both teams attended before the match. We offered a moment of silence.
In an interview with NHK, Iniesta said that because he spent five years as a Vissel player in Kobe and received the support of people who rose from the hardships of the earthquake, he is now able to directly help those facing disaster. He revealed that he wanted to express his feelings.
He added, ``Although I'm overseas, I'm still connected to people in Japan, and I'm keeping an eye on the situation in Japan.The earthquake was a great tragedy and I was shocked.My family and I feel like we are part of Kobe and Japan. I feel that I want to always be there for you.I know that Japanese people are a very strong people who help each other, especially in situations like this.I think the situation is difficult, but with the help of various people, the situation is gradually getting better. I want you to go there," he said, expressing his thoughts.