54-year-old Kayozushi Miura extends contract for one more season

Kazuyoshi Miura, Japanese footballer for Yokohama FC. [Internet]

Kazuyoshi Miura, the oldest scorer in Japanese professional football, is set to play on at the age of 54 after extending his contract with Yokohama FC for another season, the club said yesterday.

Miura, dubbed ‘King Kazu’ in Japan, turns 54 on February 26, a day before the 2021 J.League campaign kicks off. It will be his 17th season with the club he joined in 2005.

The former Japan striker last scored against Thespakusatsu Gunma in 2017 in Japan’s second division, becoming the oldest player to score in a Japanese professional league game at 50 years and 14 days. The 2021 season will be Miura’s 36th as a professional after starting his career with Santos in Brazil in 1986.

Kazuyoshi Miura, Japanese footballer for Yokohama FC. [Internet]

The striker is one of the most revered sportsmen in Japan and was at the forefront of the country’s football boom in the early 1990s when he was the poster boy of the newly launched league in 1993.

He led Verdy Kawasaki to the title in 1993 and 1994 before moving to Italy, where he spent a season in Serie A with Genoa. He has also had stints in Croatia and Australia as well as at other Japanese sides. [Reuters]