The attacker transferred to top side Vissel Kobe in February but is yet to make a competitive appearance for the new team as movement into and out of the Asian country has been prohibited following a fresh wave of positive coronavirus cases.
“I remember talking to Olunga while on national team duty and he was like ‘if you really want to go to Japan and want a good team it’s Vissel Kobe, it’s one of the best teams in everything, with the players, in facilities’ so I just had a good feeling about the club,” explained Timbe in an interview with the club’s media channel.
“When I was back in China, I remember watching Champions League games, there was a game that you guys (Kobe) played and since then I thought Vissel Kobe was a good team and then you guys had ((football stars Andreas) Iniesta, (Lukas) Podolski, and David Villa, there was that feeling that this is a good club,” explained Masika.
The 28-year-old winger is still waiting to make his debut for the Ushi (cows) as he is still in the J1 League bubble following his arrival into the country from Belgium late last month.
The transfer to Vissel Kobe saw Timbe become the second active Kenyan to grace the J1 league after Ismael Salim Dunga completed his move to Sagan Tosu in January 2021 from Albanian based club Vllaznia Shkodër.
The two players might get a chance to go against each other when their clubs meet for their league game scheduled to be played on May 30 2021 at the Misaki Park Stadium.
Olunga has been one of the most productive players in Japan’s top-flight in the past three seasons. His 55 goals in two separate seasons enabled him finish as the top scorer in both the second tier and the top-flight, before completing a high profile transfer to Qatar’s Al Duhail SC
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