Tokyo, Feb 26 (AP) Japanese forward Kazuyoshi Miura turned 58 on Wednesday.

Happy Birthday to the player known as “King Kazu.”

Also Read | AFG vs ENG ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Jamie Overton Replaces Brydon Carse As Afghanistan Opt To Bat vs England.

But there's more to celebrate.

He's also set to start his 40th season in professional soccer, the oldest player in the Japanese Football League.

Also Read | WPL 2025: Jess Jonassen Reflects on Delhi Capitals' Win Over Gujarat Giants, Says 'The Team Ticked All Boxes and Executed Plans Well'.

Miura plays for Japanese fourth-division team Suzuka, on loan from second-division club Yokohama.

Suzuka was set to begin training this week with the season to open next month.

“ Retiring isn't an option. I want to play as many minutes as I can in games,” Miura said late last year at a news conference, quoted by Japanese news agency Kyodo.

Miura has played professionally in Brazil, Italy, Croatia, Australia and Portugal. He made his debut in 1986 with Santos in Brazil, a club made famous by Brazilian star Pelé.

In 2017 at age 50, he became the oldest player to score in a professional match. That topped the record held by highly decorated England international Stanley Matthews.

Miura was one of the first big names in Japanese soccer. He scored 55 goals in 89 appearance and was a star with Japan's national team in the 1990s. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)