NBA Hall of Famer Robert Parish played until he was 43-years old. He’s one of the first people you think of when it comes to old professional athletes. But Japanese soccer player Kazuyoshi Miura, better known as “King Kazu,” is still playing at the age of 50, with no signs of stopping.
The 50-year-old pro soccer player nicknamed ‘King Kazu’ has no plans to retire
The oldest player in the world is still looking to make a difference.
Photo by Masashi Hara/Getty Images
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
Miura, a forward for Yokohama F.C. told reporters over the weekend that he has no intentions of retiring. The soccer icon went so far as to joke that he’ll stop “the day I die,” according to the Japan Times.
Photo by Masashi Hara/Getty Images
It’s not just that Miura has been playing professional soccer since 1986, but it’s how he’s doing it. He hasn’t slowly descended in play and become relegated to a third or fourth division team living off his former glory. He’s still flourishing for Yokohama and playing in the J-League, Japan’s second division. Earlier this year he became the oldest professional player to score a goal, and he says there’s more left for him to achieve:
“I’m not satisfied at all,” Miura said two days before Yokohama’s 3-1 loss to Avispa, in which he was an unused substitute. “I want to play in more games and score more goals.”
Miura’s playing time may be lacking these days, but he’s still hungry to get on the pitch and make a difference. He wants to see Yokohama return to the J1 league, which it hasn’t since 2007.
It’s difficult to quantify what Miura has meant to soccer in Japan. The flamboyant superstar was known for his penchant for bright red suits, his exuberance on the pitch, and his celebration that gained cult status, the “Kazu Dance.”
Miura was an iconoclast when it came to the development of soccer in Japan in the early 1990s. It modeled itself after the strict and efficient German style, which ran counter to how Miura played — which was free-flowing, flashy and honed during his time playing in Brazil. The country was left with a player who broke convention with his dribbling skills, tricks, and crotch-grabbing dances, all while cementing himself as a soccer legend.
In the lead up to the 1998 World Cup, Miura scored 18 goals in 19 games to lead Japan to a World Cup berth. Though Japan failed to win a game in France while locked in a brutal Group H that included Argentina and Croatia, making it to the World Cup cemented Miura’s legend that continues today:
“I would never have imagined it,” he said. “When I was in my 20s, I never would have thought I would still be playing when I was 50. I wouldn’t even have thought I would be still playing in my 40s. It would have been inconceivable.
The future is unclear for Miura. His desire to continue playing will run head-first into the possibility he doesn’t have a contract offer for the 2018 season. But for now he’s trying to make an impact, continue working and hope he can keep playing the game he not only loves, but helped champion in Japan.
He’s just taking it one game at a time and hoping his number gets called.
