Andrés Iniesta has embarked on a new chapter this morning by signing with ASCIS. The Spanish World Cup winner is currently plying his trade in Japan with Vissel Kobe and Japanese brand ASICS have jumped on that by penning him to a contract.
The former Barcelona playmaker has worn Nike boots from day one in his career and quickly signed with the Swoosh after making his debut. Iniesta has been one of Nike's leading control players over a number of silos including the T90, CTR and Magista series and most memorably scored the winner in the 2010 World Cup Final. After leaving Barca earlier this year Iniesta signed for Vissel Kobe as his contract with Nike expired.
Nike's control silo is now the PhantomVSN and the Swoosh are focusing hard on their next-generation of players – hence why they weren't reluctant to let Iniesta move on. For ASICS, it's undoubtably a major coup, perhaps not on a global scale, but certainly in the Japanese market where Iniesta is the main man. Fellow Japanese brand Mizuno have carved out a similar deal with Fernando Torres who is also in their homeland with Sagan Tosu.
After signing the deal Iniesta explained; "I'm extremely excited to be part of the family ASICS, a brand that represents values similar to mine as an athlete. I am committed to inspire other people to move more, as well as promote the game from base levels in Japan to reduce the differences between Asian football and the rest of the world. I think that this movement is another positive step to achieve this goal."
