Peter Pans
Nick Bidwell selects half-a-dozen veterans still going strong
1 JOAQUIN REAL BETIS
The more arduous the route, the greater the satisfaction at journey’s end. Just ask the Betis winger and captain who, at the age of 38, struck his first hat-trick; a quick-fire treble in the opening 20 minutes of a 3-2 victory over Athletic Bilbao.
The green-and-white-striped veteran is now the oldest player to have notched three goals in a Liga fixture, breaking a record set in 1964 by Real Madrid maestro Alfredo Di Stefano.
For a beaming Joaquin, capped 51 times for Spain, it was certainly worth the wait – 553 Spanish league games in fact.
“I don’t know how I did it,” he said afterwards. “I’m not a goleador.
I don’t think I’ll manage it again.”
The reaction of the Betis board to his exploits? A new contract which will take him through until the summer of 2021.
2 KLAAS-JAN HUNTELAAR AJAX
The Dutch striker may like to tend his cottage garden in his spare time, but that does not mean the former Holland international, with 76 caps to his name, is gently winding down his career.
Although usually deployed as an impact sub these days, the 36year-old still plays with a spring in his step and a burning desire to be decisive where it matters.
Since rejoining Ajax in the summer of 2017 after a seven-year sojourn in Germany with Schalke, his goal counter has continued to whir, putting away no fewer than 45 chances over the last two-anda-half seasons.
Once described by Louis Van Gaal as “the best striker in the world inside the penalty area”, he remains the master poacher and claims he has no intention of retiring just yet.
“I’m in my mid-30s, have four children, but still have the feeling that I’m busy doing the youth thing,” he says.
“My grown-up life will only start when I quit the game.”
3 Vitorino HILTON MONTPELLIER
Stylish on the ball, strong in the air and an anticipation king, the 42year-old Brazilian centre-back is the French league’s never-ending story. The years pass, the hair lightens and the facial wrinkles deepen, yet he is still a first choice for Montpellier.
No non-French player has made more Ligue 1 appearances – 474 by early January – but those that matter at Montpellier are split on what to do with a player who is in his ninth season with the club.
Club president Laurent Nicollin wants him to call it a day at the end of the season and join the coaching staff, while first-team boss Michel Der Zakarian argues that he is far from a spent force on the pitch.
Hilton attributes his longevity to no smoking, no alcohol, no fast food, no night clubs, no late nights. He does, though, like a coffee.
“It’s my vitamin shot,” he laughs.
4 Daniel BAIER AUGSBURG
There are generally three types of player: the attacking/creative gamechanger, the grafter, and the sort of footballer whom by word and deed makes those around him better. The 35-year-old Augsburg midfield holder and skipper is a fine example of the latter category.
Once of Munich 1860 and Wolsfburg, he is now in his 12th season with Augsburg yet boasts neither a high profile or the services of a pundit lobby.
More often than not he is only truly appreciated in his absence, when his intelligence is missed.
“He brings a calmness to our game,” says Augsburg general manager Stefan Reuter. “He doesn’t give the ball away and always is looking to receive it. He keeps the pressure off us.”
5 Goran PANDEV GENOA
After 17 seasons in Italy, with six different clubs, the Macedonian is as relevant as ever. Still as passionate and enthusiastic about the game as he was at the dawn of his career, the 36-year-old is the beating heart of Genoa, always energised and never short of technical magic.
Able to slip into in a variety of roles – either as a second striker, on the wing or as an attacking midfielder – he has two specialities: locating pockets of space between the lines and spectacular goals, the latest of which was a 40-metre special delivery in a 2-2 draw at Lecce in December, an audaciously executed effort, controlling a clearance from opposition keeper Gabriel and immediately firing into the unguarded net.
He is his own nation’s mostcapped player and their all-time leading marksman, although he also became an Italian citizen last year.
6 Rafael DEFENDI FAMALICAO
They say that goalkeepers improve with age and that adage certainly applies to the 36-year-old Brazilian who has provided the platform for Famalicao’s transformation from Portuguese top-flight new boys into Champions League hopefuls.
Prior to joining Famalicao from Pacos Ferrerira on a free transfer in the summer of 2018 he was regarded by many as being damaged goods, spending much of his final season on the bench.
He was 30 when he moved to Europe, leaving the Bragantino club in his homeland for Pacos. He had, however, spent the 2007-08 season on loan at Portuguese side Aves.
And he has shown great powers of recovery after suffering a fractured skull while playing for Famalicao last term.