One of the most revered names in Japanese football, Kazuyoshi Miura has signed a professional contract, which will get him into his 36th year in professional football. The footballer signed up with Japanese fourth tier club Suzuka Point Getters and is keen on continuing a few more years as a professional footballer.
Miura, also hailed as “King Kazu” by the Japanese fans, was with Yokohama until last season and decided to quit the club after they were relegated into the second division. Suzuka will be the 15th football club Miura will be signing up for, having previously played football across Brazil, Italy, Croatia and Australia. He represented some renowned clubs from all over the world like Santos, Palmeiras, Genoa and Dinamo Zagreb in his career.
The striker will be turning 55 next month but seems nowhere close to being done with his love for the game. He made his professional debut in 1986 in Brazil for Santos and went on to represent the national side multiple times since making his first appearance in 1990.
He is the second-highest goal-scorer in Japanese national team history, scoring a whopping 55 times in just 89 appearances, also winning the Asia Cup in 1992.
He has been a poster boy of the J-League since it was launched in 1993, where he led Verdy Kawasaki to two back-to-back titles. He became the oldest player to score in the Japanese League, having scored in the second division against Thespakusatsu Gunma in March, 2017.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to play here and will do my best to contribute to the club on the pitch,”
Miura said in a statement.
Interestingly, plenty of football clubs across Europe who have made a great name for themselves were not in existence when Miura was born. Paris Saint-Germain, for instance, came into existence three years after the footballer was born.
He has shown remarkable fitness and athleticism for his age despite facing many hurdles, and continues to be a great source of joy for the Japanese football fans. He will be featuring for his new club very soon.
