Kazuyoshi Miura, 59, Scores First Goal in Four Years

Tokyo. The world's oldest professional footballer Kazuyoshi Miura has scored his first goal in about four years at the age of 59. He achieved this success playing for Japanese third division club Fukushima United. In the Emperors Cup match on Saturday against Iwaki Furukawa, Miura scored in the 52nd minute to give a 5-0 lead. Fukushima United won that match 7-0. This is his first goal in a competitive match since scoring against FC Osaka for then Suzuka PG (now Atletico Suzuka) in November 2022. Known by the nickname 'King Kazu' in Japan, Miura is one of the most popular players there. He was a prominent figure in Japanese football when the J-League started in 1993. He started his playing career in 1986 with Brazilian club Santos. Since then, he has also played professional football for clubs in Italy, Croatia, and Australia. His loan period at Fukushima United from J2 League club Yokohama FC has been extended until June 2027. With this, his long playing career will enter its 42nd season. Miura joined Yokohama FC in 2005. However, he has not spent even a minute on the field for that club since 2020. Having scored 55 goals in 89 games for Japan, he had previously expressed his desire to continue playing football until the age of 60.