Kazuyoshi Miura

Kazuyoshi Miura (三浦 知良), often known simply as Kazu (nicknamed "King Kazu" ), is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Liga Portugal 2 club Oliveirense, on loan from J1 League club Yokohama FC.

He is the oldest professional footballer in history and the oldest player to score in a professional match.

With 50 years and seven days, he surpassed the previous record held by Stanley Matthews from 1965 by two days.

Seven days later, he broke Matthews' record for oldest goalscorer in professional football when he struck the only goal of a 1–0 win over Thespakusatsu Gunma.

He also holds the unique distinction of having played professional football in five separate decades (1980s–2020s).

His elder brother Yasutoshi is a former professional footballer.

In 1982, Miura left the Shizuoka Gakuen High School after less than a year, and travelled alone to Brazil at the age of fifteen to become a professional footballer there.

He signed with the youth squad of São Paulo side Juventus, and in 1986, Miura signed his first professional contract with Santos.

He played for the Japan national team from 1990 to 2000, and was the first Japanese recipient of the IFFHS Asia's Footballer of the Year award.

He played for several other Brazilian clubs, including Palmeiras and Coritiba, until his return to Japan in 1990.

Yomiuri won the last two JSL titles in 1991 and 1992, and Verdy Kawasaki won the first two J1 League titles in 1993 and 1994.

Miura, whose rise to fame in Japan coincided with the launch of the J.League in 1993, was arguably Japan's first superstar in football.

He is also known for his trademark "Kazu Feint" and his famous "Kazu dance", when he scores notable goals or produces such plays.

Miura holds the records for being the oldest goalscorer in the J-League, the footballer with the world's longest professional career, and, as of 2024, is the oldest professional footballer in the world at 57.

His time in Brazil elevated him to star status and on his return to Japan, he joined the Japan Soccer League (JSL) side Yomiuri SC, which later spun off from its parent company Yomiuri Shimbun and became Verdy Kawasaki with the launch of the J1 League in 1993.

With Yomiuri/Kawasaki, Miura won four consecutive league titles playing alongside fellow Japanese national team regulars Ruy Ramos and Tsuyoshi Kitazawa.

He was named the first J.League Most Valuable Player in 1993.

Miura became the first East Asian footballer to play in Serie A, joining the Italian club Genoa in the 1994–95 Serie A season.

In his Italian stint, he made 21 appearances for the club and scored one goal, during the Genoa derby against Sampdoria.

On 15 January 1994, Miura assisted Antonio Manicone's match-winning goal against Padova.

He returned to Verdy Kawasaki for the 1995 season and played with them until the end of the 1998 season.

Miura made another attempt at playing in Europe with Croatia Zagreb in 1999.

He returned to Japan, however, following a brief trial with AFC Bournemouth, in the same year, and played with Kyoto Purple Sanga and Vissel Kobe.

In 2005, Miura signed for Yokohama FC.

They would be promoted to the J1 League two years later.

In 2007, Miura was selected for the 2007 J.League All-Star Soccer for J-East and played exceptionally well.

In November 2015, Miura signed a new one-year contract with Yokohama FC at the age of 48.

In January 2017, Miura signed another new one-year contract with Yokohama, taking his professional career into his fifties.

On 5 March 2017, Miura became the oldest ever player to feature in a professional match when he started in Yokohama's 1–1 draw against V-Varen Nagasaki.

By doing so, he surpassed the previous record of 42 years, 10 months set in 2017 by Yukio Tsuchiya.

In January 2018, he signed a new contract, and renewed it again in January 2019, January 2020, and January 2021.

On 5 August 2020, he started in a J.League Cup match against Sagan Tosu, becoming the oldest player to take to the pitch in Japan's league cup competition, at the age of 53 years, 5 months and 10 days.

On 23 September 2020, he started in the J1 League match against Kawasaki Frontale and in doing so became the oldest player to take to the pitch in a J1 League match and the oldest player ever in a football match in the highest national division worldwide.

Miura played 57 minutes in this match.

In January 2021 he agreed to extend his contract at the age of 53 for his 36th season.

On 30 December 2021, it was reported that Miura had reached an agreement to join the Suzuka Point Getters in the Japan Football League (JFL), the fourth tier of Japanese football.

On 13 March 2022, Miura, at the age of 55, made his debut for the Point Getters in the first round of the Japan Football League with 4,620 spectators watching his debut, which is the highest attendance at a Suzuka home match, breaking their previous record of 1,308 spectators in 2019.

His debut also meant that he broke the record of the oldest player to have ever featured in a JFL match at 55 years old, with a 12-year gap to the previous record holder.

His presence at the club brought many curious spectators to see him in action, leading to the Point Getters having featured in nine of the ten matches with the highest attendance numbers throughout the 2022 season.

This includes a 1–0 win against Criacao Shinjuku on 9 October 2022, which gathered a crowd of 16,218 spectators at the Japan National Stadium, becoming the highest-attended JFL match of all time.