Striker Kazuyoshi Miura (55, Japan), who helped Japanese football break the void in the 1990s, continues his active life at UD Oliveirence in the Portuguese second division. It is the 37th year of his professional debut and his 17th team.
Miura appeared on Japan’s Fuji TV Wide Show on the 29th and expressed her determination to re-challenge on the European stage after 24 years. 메이저사이트
“There are definitely hesitations. I know it will be difficult. Even so, I just move forward (with a lot of thought),” he said.
When asked whether he would continue to play as an active player, he said, “The contract period with Oliverence is six months. It will probably end in an instant. If there is no offer (after half a year), I will have to finish my career, but if there is an offer, I want to continue.” added.
From 1990 to 2000, Miura, who scored 55 A-match goals as a member of Samurai Blue, was an icon symbolizing Japanese football at the time. In the 1994 U.S. World Cup final qualifying round, his national team scored the winning goal against the ‘natural enemy’ Korea, which showed an absolute inferiority, contributing to the team’s 1-0 victory.
He also played a significant role in helping Japan advance to the World Cup finals for the first time in history. In the 1998 World Cup qualifiers in France, Hidetoshi Nakata (46), Hiroshi Nanami (50), and Shoji Joe (47) played a big role. If Korea had Hwang Seon-hong, Japan had Miura.
Although he suffered a shocking exclusion from the final entry ahead of the World Cup, he could not experience the main stage. However, he boasted of his outstanding skills enough to be named in the ’20th Century Asian Men’s Best 11′ midfielder category by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS).
His last European career, 1999 with Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia), is considered to be the end of his prime. Since 2005, he has been playing for Yokohama FC. During this period, he experienced three loans and signed with Oliver Beirens this year, leaving only the medical test. He is by far the oldest among active Japanese professional players.
The gaze looking at ’50-year-old Miura’, who has been fixing the laces of soccer boots for nearly 40 years, is multi-layered. It’s not a compliment. Some people devalue the extension of his active career, saying it is a meaningless renewal. It is a view that the character of Yokohama, an unpopular club outside the pitch, is more of a publicity card, rather than a power that will help on the pitch.
It is said that the extension decision continued because Yokohama Issok was still in harmony with Miura’s inner mother, who still wanted a player’s time.
His skills as a player were in their twilight years. Miura only scored two goals in 18 matches last season. Even on the previous day’s broadcast, he accepted the reality, saying, “Soccer is a sport that requires results (not being able to), but it was mentally difficult. Individual performance as well as team performance were not good, so there was a more difficult side.”
If he passes his medical test, his first match at Oliverence is likely to be against Mafra on the 4th of next month. Attention is focusing on whether Miura can squeeze in a gap in the 20-man squad, which is classified as real power.