Meet 56-year-old who is world’s oldest professional football player, refusing to retire

It is generally at around 35 years of age that football players start feeling the toll of the game on their body. This is when most footballers decide to hang up their boots. Footballers like Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic are venerated for their longevity, playing at the highest level nearing 40. But have you heard of Kazuyoshi Miura, the 56-year-old Japanese star who is still playing professionally and refuses to retire?

Miura is arguably the oldest professional football player in the world. At 56, he is set to toil for another season in Portugal’s Liga 2. The striker nicknamed ‘King Kazu’ made his professional debut 37 years ago. He had a long international career with Japan, which als ended 23 years ago. But Miura is not done just yet and has signed a new loan contract with Portugal club Oliveirense.

Earlier in the year, Miura set the record for the oldest player in the Portuguese league. He has been with Oliveirense since February after joining on loan from Japan’s Yokohama FC. In his nearly 4-decade-long footballing career, Miura has played in several countries. Apart from Japan and Portugal, these include Australia, Croatia, Italy and Brazil.

At the international stage, he played 89 times for Japan and scored 55 goals. He represented the national side in the 1992 and 1996 AFC Asian Cups. He was part of the winning side in the 1992 edition. Miura is 11 years older than the next in line: 45-year-old legendary Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon who plays for Parma.

(Inputs from PTI)