Football
Associated Press 7y

Kazuyoshi Miura surpasses Stanley Matthews' oldest player record

TOKYO -- Veteran striker Kazuyoshi Miura has reached another milestone in his professional career.

Miura, who plays for J League second division club Yokohama, appeared in a professional match at the age of 50 years and seven days to beat former England international Stanley Matthews' longevity record.

He told FIFA.com in comments published on Tuesday: "I don't actually feel like I've gone past a legend. I may have surpassed him in longevity but I won't ever be able to match his statistics and the career he had."

Miura played 54 minutes in Sunday's 1-1 draw with V-Varen Nagasaki, enough to move past the record Matthews -- the winner of the inaugural Ballon d'Or in 1956 -- set when he played for Stoke City against Fulham at the age of 50 years and five days in 1965.

Miura played for Brazilian club Santos and in Italy with Genoa earlier in his career, and represented Japan's national team 89 times, scoring 55 goals, but never played at the World Cup.

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