Japan's 'King Kazu' turns 50 with J-League start

Former Japan striker Kazuyoshi Miura of the J-League second-tier club Yokohama FC poses for photographers as he holds a bouquet of flowers presented by journalists to celebrate his 50th birthday during a press conference after the opening match of 2017 season against Matsumoto Yamaga in Yokohama, suburb of Tokyo, on February 26, 2017. 

Photo credit: File | AFP

What you need to know:

  • Twinkle-toed former Japan striker Kazuyoshi Miura celebrated his 50th birthday by starting a J-League game for Yokohama FC on Sunday, marking yet another landmark in a storied career.
  • The oldest Japanese to play professional football, Miura lasted 65 minutes in a 1-0 home win over second division rivals Matsumoto Yamaga as he became the first quinquagenarian to grace the J-League.
  • Dubbed "King Kazu" by Japanese media and fans, the former Dinamo Zagreb forward last month renewed his contract with Yokohama, signing a one-year deal to take his career into a remarkable 32nd season and stretch his own record.

YOKOHAMA

Twinkle-toed former Japan striker Kazuyoshi Miura celebrated his 50th birthday by starting a J-League game for Yokohama FC on Sunday, marking yet another landmark in a storied career.

The oldest Japanese to play professional football, Miura lasted 65 minutes in a 1-0 home win over second division rivals Matsumoto Yamaga as he became the first quinquagenarian to grace the J-League.

Dubbed "King Kazu" by Japanese media and fans, the former Dinamo Zagreb forward last month renewed his contract with Yokohama, signing a one-year deal to take his career into a remarkable 32nd season and stretch his own record.

"I want to thank the fans, players and staff for giving me this victory as a present," Miura told reporters after being serenaded by fans.

"It gave me a lot of motivation to be able to play in such a great atmosphere.

"I want to continue to play in front of crowds like this," he added. "Hopefully I can keep moving forward with the rest of the team to maintain this sort of motivation level."

Though the pin-up looks have been replaced by a few tell-tale wrinkles and greying hair, golden oldie Miura still attracts public adoration in Japan.

Miura, who also broke his own mark as the J-League's oldest goalscorer at 49 last year, received a rousing ovation from a sellout crowd of 13,000 when he was withdrawn after an industrious shift in Yokohama's season-opener.

He made 20 league appearances last season, scoring twice, but he betrayed signs of rust Sunday when he mis-kicked with his only real sight of goal.

Miura's lengthy career began with a move to Brazil at age 15 before making his name in the early 1990s as Asia's best-known footballer, helping to build Japan's football culture after the professional J-League was launched in 1993.

He blazed a trail for Japanese players when he joined Italy's Genoa in 1994, although a broken nose on his debut took some of the gloss off his trumpeted arrival.

Miura scored 55 goals in 89 games for Japan but when he was axed from the Blue Samurai squad by former coach Takeshi Okada before the country's first World Cup appearance in 1998, it triggered a national debate.

Unperturbed, Miura defiantly offered his services for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa — with no apparent hint of irony — at the ripe old age of 43. Okada, in his second spell as coach, politely declined.

Miura finally got his dream to play for Japan in a World Cup at 45 — albeit in the futsal version in Thailand.