Japanese forward ‘King Kazu’ turns 58 and prepares for his 40th season in professional soccer

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese forward Kazuyoshi Miura turned 58 on Wednesday.

Happy Birthday to the player known as “King Kazu.”

But there’s more to celebrate.

He’s also set to start his 40th season in professional soccer, the oldest player in the Japanese Football League.

Miura plays for Japanese fourth-division team Suzuka, on loan from second-division club Yokohama.

Suzuka was set to begin training this week with the season to open next month.

“ Retiring isn’t an option. I want to play as many minutes as I can in games,” Miura said late last year at a news conference, quoted by Japanese news agency Kyodo.

Miura has played professionally in Brazil, Italy, Croatia, Australia and Portugal. He made his debut in 1986 with Santos in Brazil, a club made famous by Brazilian star Pelé.

In 2017 at age 50, he became the oldest player to score in a professional match. That topped the record held by highly decorated England international Stanley Matthews.

Miura was one of the first big names in Japanese soccer. He scored 55 goals in 89 appearance and was a star with Japan’s national team in the 1990s.

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