The Japanese striker Kazuyoshi Miura, one of the oldest active footballers in the world, has renewed his contract for another season with his team, Yokohama FC, just over a month before turning 51 years old.
The veteran footballer, nicknamed 'King Kazu', expressed his satisfaction at being able to extend his contract "without any problems" and convinced that he can continue to give his best "no matter the moment and keep growing" in this sport, in a message released on the occasion of the milestone that will take him to the 33rd season of his career.
Miura joined Yokohama FC in the Japanese Second Division in 2005 and became in March of last year the oldest professional to appear in a professional match at the age of 50 years and seven days, surpassing the record of the British Stanley Matthews.
The Japanese forward, who will turn 51 on February 26, has not yet been able to match the Guinness Record of Uruguayan midfielder Robert Carmona, who, at the age of 55, plays for the Italian club Audax Orione.
'King Kazu' resume
Originally from the Shizuoka prefecture (central Japan), Miura began his career in the 1980s in Brazil (played for Santos, Palmeiras, and Coritiba), where he traveled at the age of 15 to become a professional.
Upon returning to Japan, Miura became the top national scorer in the newly established J.League with Verdy Kawasaki, a team where he scored 100 goals over eight seasons.
'King Kazu' was the first Japanese player to play in Italy (he played for Genoa) and also played a season in Australian club Sydney and another in Croatian club Dinamo Zagreb.
He was also the star player of the Japanese national team in the 1990s, although at the age of 31 he was excluded at the last minute from the list of players selected for the 1998 World Cup, the first one Japan participated in their history. (EFE)