When Shûichi Tamura met Kazuyoshi Miura, the oldest professional footballer in history | OneFootball

In January 2019 on Guam, Shûichi Tamura finally gained rare access to Kazuyoshi Miura, known as Kazu, during the striker’s annual personal camp before Yokohama FC’s season in Japan’s second tier. According to L'Équipe, the meeting followed years of attempts to interview the game’s oldest professional.

Before dawn on the Pacific island, three and a half hours from Tokyo, Tamura searched for a hotel pitch as Kazu’s first session began at six. The veteran arrived at a jog, smiling, and trained three times a day. His agent had indicated it was the right moment to meet him.

After each workout, as he iced knees and ankles, Kazu granted 25 to 30 minutes, once stretching to an hour. With no other reporters present, the conversation flowed, adding up to more than four hours.

He spoke about childhood, teenage years in Brazil, Japan’s 1998 World Cup qualification then being dropped a week before it, European spells with Genoa and in Zagreb, ties to France, friends such as Roberto Baggio and thoughts on retirement. He wanted to continue until he was spent, even saying he aimed to play until his death, which led Tamura to keep asking about his motivation.

Today Kazu is still playing in Japan’s third tier with Fukushima United, after Atletico Suzuka in the fourth and UD Oliveirense in Portugal’s second division. He has three matches this season, two starts. On 19 April, after 21 minutes against FC Gifu, he extended his record to 59 years and 52 days, seven years on from Guam, still an enigma.

Source: L'Équipe