Golden oldie King Kazu Miura leads Japanese soccer s veterans japantimes.co.jp - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from japantimes.co.jp Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Tokyo (AFP) – Japan’s Peter Pan striker Kazuyoshi Miura is preparing to play another season despite turning 54 this week, but he is far from his country’s only footballing golden oldie.
Miura, better known as King Kazu, will be looking to extend his record as the oldest J-League first-division starter when his club Yokohama FC kick off their season on Saturday.
But he won’t be the only veteran rolling back the years, with nine players over the age of 40 currently lining up for teams across the league’s three divisions.
“I think Japanese culture might have something to do with it,” 40-year-old Keiji Tamada, a striker with second-division V-Varen Nagasaki, told AFP.