TOKYO: Yokohama F Marinos coach Kevin Muscat has no plans to adjust his tactics to the presence of Spanish world champion Andres Iniesta when the J1 League leaders face Vissel Kobe in the Asian Champions League on Thursday.
Kobe coach Takayuki Yoshida has declared former Barcelona midfielder Iniesta, 38, fit for the game at Saitama Stadium, but Muscat stressed he will remain focused on his own players going into the round of 16.
“He’s obviously had a very remarkable career and it’s not just Iniesta, they have some good players – as can we – who can decide moments in the game,” said former Melbourne Victory coach Muscat.
“We didn’t do anything differently for individual players, we prefer to focus on the collective and prepare to focus on what we do.
“We tend to find that if we focus on ourselves, we’re influencing the game in the right way.”
That approach has already paid off for Muscat as the Australian successfully guided the club through the group stage of the Asian Champions League and put Marinos five points clear in Japan.
Kobe, on the other hand, has struggled throughout this season despite advancing to the bottom 16 of the continental championship for the second time in three seasons.
They are third from bottom in the domestic table and their fourth manager this year, with Yoshida taking over on an interim basis following the sacking of Miguel Angel Lotina at the end of June.
Atsuhiro Miura was in charge when the sides met earlier in the season, with Marinos winning 2-0 from that encounter in Yokohama and Muscat’s side being the favorites to prevail again.
The knockout stage for the East region will be played at a central center in Saitama to mitigate the threat of COVID-19, with duels being played over one leg.
Muscat said the venue did not enter into its deliberations.
“I really don’t focus on whether we’re home or whether we’re gone, I focus on what we can control,” he said.
“Right now we can’t control the result tomorrow. The only thing we can control is our preparation and the preparation will control the performance.
“We’ve had an excellent few days of preparation, now we look forward to performing in a way that we’ll make the Marinos family proud of.”