▲ Kazuyoshi Miura
Kazuyoshi Miura, the world's oldest professional football player at 59 years old (Fukushima United), who is nearing the age of sixty, has scored in an official match for the first time in about four years.
Miura, playing for Fukushima United in Japan's J3 League (third tier), made an appearance and scored in an Emperor's Cup match against Iwaki Furukawa held last weekend.
He found the back of the net in the 7th minute of the second half when his team was already leading comfortably 4-0, making it 5-0, and his club Fukushima ultimately secured a 7-0 landslide victory.
This marks Miura's first taste of a goal in an official match in approximately four years, since November 2022.
Born in February 1967, Miura is a symbolic figure in Japanese football and a renowned sports star affectionately known as "King Kazu."
After dropping out of high school at the age of 15 in 1982 to study football in Brazil, he debuted professionally with the powerhouse club Santos in 1986, continuing his playing career into its 40th year this season.
He has left a massive legacy, having acted as the league's flagship star since the launch of the J.League in 1993, and netting 55 goals in 89 international A-matches while wearing the Japanese national team jersey.
Over the years, he has also experienced various overseas leagues, including in Italy, Croatia, and Australia.
The J.League operates under an autumn-to-spring schedule starting in the fall of the 2026-2027 season and ending in the spring of the following year, meaning he will celebrate his 60th birthday next February as an active professional player.
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
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