‘ King Kazu’ turns 50 with J- League start

Japanese golden oldie hopes to continue playing soccer until 60

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.

Miura, the oldest Japanese to play professional soccer, 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.

Now the golden oldie, dubbed “King Kazu” by Japanese media and fans, wants to play until he’s 60.

“To be able to play for so many years I’ve been blessed with a lot of support,” said the former Dinamo Zagreb forward, who last month signed a new one- year deal with Yokohama to take his career into a 32nd season, stretching his own record.

“I really want to thank my team mates for their help. I’ll do my best to play on until I’m 60!”

Though the pinup looks have been replaced by a few telltale wrinkles and greying hair, Miura still enjoys celebrity status in Japan.

Miura’s lengthy career began with a move to Brazil at age 15 before making his name in the early 1990s as Asia’s bestknown soccer player, helping to build Japan’s soccer 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 then- 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.