The Oldest Swinger in Town

Some people were concerned when Waterford signed Pádraig Amond last year that the forward might be “over the hill” and not have the legs to produce in the Premier Division. He proved them wrong by winning the Golden Boot and by playing almost every minute of every game. While ‘Podge’ turns 37 in a few weeks and continues to be one of the top players in our league, he’s still only a child compared to the world’s oldest professional footballer.

That record belongs to Kazuyoshi Miura, who turned 58 last month and is still playing in the Japanese fourth division. The striker, who has had an amazing career, signed a contract extension over the winter and is starting into his 40^th season as a professional footballer. ‘King Kazu’, as he’s known, was a big star in Japanese football in the ‘90s, but has travelled the world too.

 

 

He left Japan to move to Brazil as a 15-year-old, making his debut for Santos in 1986 and playing for Palmeiras too before returning to Japan in 1990. With Verdy Kawasaki, he was voted Asian Footballer of the Year in 1992 and Most Valuable Player in the inaugural J-League a year later.

Miura became the first Japanese player in Serie A when he played 21 times on loan at Genoa in the 94/95 season. He won the Croatian league with Dinamo Zagreb in 1999, had a trial with AFC Bournemouth, and a short loan spell with Sydney FC in the A-League. In all, he has played professional football in five different decades, in six countries and in four continents.

On the international front, he earned 89 caps for Japan and scored 55 goals. He last played for his country in 2000 as a mere 33-year-old – finishing up as the nation’s second highest goalscorer of all-time. He scored 14 times in the qualifying rounds for the 1998 World Cup, but was cruelly left out of the squad for the finals.

 

 

In 2017, Miura broke Stanley Matthews’ record as the oldest professional footballer in history. That landmark had stood since 1965 when Matthews lined out for Stoke City aged 50. Still, there was no stopping Kazu. At the age of 56, he went on his travels to Europe again to play eight games over two seasons for Oliveirense in the Portuguese second division.

There’s obviously been a novelty value to “the oldest footballer in the world” in recent years, but, by all accounts, he seems to be legitimately able to contribute enough for him to still have a role to play for his current club Atletico Suzuka. On signing his new contract, King Kazu said “Retiring isn’t an option.”

It's incredible to think that Miura had racked up 20 years of professional football before young Podge Amond’s career even began and is still playing. Let’s hope the kid from Carlow has no intention of hanging up his boots either for a while yet.