Andres Iniesta had never played for any club bar Barcelona before
Spain legends Andres Iniesta and Fernando Torres both lost on their J-League debuts.
Midfielder Iniesta, who won 32 trophies at Barcelona, only came on for the final 32 minutes of Vissel Kobe's 3-0 defeat by Shonan Bellmare.
Many of the 26,000 crowd waved Spain flags for the 34-year-old.
Former Chelsea and Liverpool striker Torres was also a second-half substitute as Sagan Tosu lost 1-0 at home to Vegalta Sendai.
'Iniesta more than a player for Barcelona'
Torres, also 34, left Atletico Madrid this summer after 129 goals in 404 appearances for his boyhood club over two spells.
Torres had a header saved and his new club are in the J-League relegation zone after conceding an 87th-minute goal in front of 17,500 fans.
Fernando Torres scored twice in his final game for Atletico Madrid against Eibar but was not in Spain's World Cup squad
Iniesta was playing his first official match for a team other than Barcelona - for whom he made 674 appearances - or Spain. He retired from international football after the World Cup, having won 131 caps.
His Japanese side were losing 2-0 when he came on and he could not turn it around, firing a late volley wide.
"It's a shame we lost because I don't like losing," Iniesta said. "But this is just the first step of an amazing new adventure. It was a physical game that showed the quality of the J-League."
Source: bbc.com