Japanese forward Kazuyoshi Miura, better known to the football world as “King Kazu,” has once again made fans smile and rethink what age means. The legendary player has signed a contract with third-division club Fukushima United and is preparing to play his 41st season in professional football, on the eve of his 59th birthday.
His career began in 1986. At the time, the 15-year-old Japanese teenager took a bold step and moved to Brazil to become a footballer. He made his professional debut there with the legendary Santos. What followed was a journey across almost the entire football world: Italy’s Genoa, Croatia’s Dinamo Zagreb, Australia’s Sydney and Portugal’s Olivense. In Japan, he became a true star in the early 1990s, when the professional J-League had just been launched. For Japanese football, he became something like a symbol of a new era. Miura made 89 appearances for Japan and scored 55 goals.
In recent years, the forward has played in more modest leagues. He did not score in the previous season, but as the club noted, his role was different: experience, leadership and simply the presence of a person who has seen almost everything in football.
Such careers are rare in world football. Even the most enduring legends usually stop earlier. Goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon retired at 45. Zlatan Ibrahimović played until 41. And the Premier League record belongs to John Burridge, who played until the age of 43. Against that backdrop, Miura’s story seems almost unbelievable: a forward who keeps playing when most people his age have long since moved from the pitch to discussing football from an armchair in front of the television.
