Kazuyoshi Miura, the inspiration for the character Oliver Atom from the anime 'Captain Tsubasa', will continue playing in the Japanese First Division. The forward has renewed his contract with Yokohama FC at 52 years old.
"He has been playing football for almost the same time that Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have been born. Since his debut, more than 10 UEFA countries have achieved their independence," ESPN Data posted to compare the Japanese player's long career.
Miura has played for clubs like Santos and Coritiba in Brazil, Genoa in Italy, Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia, and Sydney FC in Australia. He has also been with Yokohama FC since 2005 and has stayed with the club from 2006 until the present.
Kazuyoshi Miura was also the player that Yōichi Takahashi took as inspiration to create 'Captain Tsubasa'. After his time at Santos in Brazil, Miura became one of the great promises of Japanese football, which led to him being imagined as Oliver Atom in the popular anime.