AT 47 YEARS of age most professional footballers would be well retired and making a handy living doing some media work, turning up at charity events and playing golf, not Kazuyoshi Miura, however.
The former Japan international has today signed a contract extension at Japan Second Division side Yokohama FC, that will see him play beyond his 48th birthday.
Miura has made four appearances for the team this season and has been acknowledged for some time as the world’s oldest active professional player.
He began his career in Brazil in 1986 with Santos before becoming the first Japanese player ever to appear in Serie A when he spent a season on loan at Genoa.
Known as ‘King Kazu’ in Japan he retired from international football 14 years ago having made 89 appearances for his country, scoring 55 goals including a double hat-trick in a 10-0 win over Macau in 1997.
The striker has played for clubs on four different continents, including alongside former Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke at Sydney FC.
Tottenham goalkeeper Brad Friedel, 43, is the oldest player currently on the books of any professional clubs in England, with John Burridge’s appearance for Manchester City in 1995 at the age of 43 years and 162 days still the Premier League record.
All of those records pale into insignificance however when compared to Salvador Reyes. The former Mexico player made a brief appearance for Chivas in 2008 at the grand old age of 71.
