Kazuyoshi Miura rewrote his own record as Japan's oldest professional soccer player on Sunday, coming off the bench to play his first game at the rebuilt National Stadium for fourth-tier Suzuka Point Getters.
Miura, at 55 years and 225 days old, came on in the 76th minute as Suzuka held on for a 1-0 win over Criacao Shinjuku in front of a Japan Football League-record crowd of 16,218.
"I'm grateful to have played in the best atmosphere possible, and feel proud," said Miura, who last played at the old National Stadium on Oct. 2, 2011, while at Yokohama FC in J2.
The man known as "King Kazu" received the biggest cheer on the day as he entered the pitch before playing his part in a late counterattack that did not eventuate in a shot for the veteran striker.
Miura played in the J-League opener in 1993 for Verdy Kawasaki, now Tokyo Verdy, against Yokohama Marinos at the old National Stadium and bagged plenty of goals both for his clubs and country at the ground throughout his career.
"I wanted this game to be a part of the history I'm making," Miura said of the venue that was reconstructed ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.
Miura moved from Yokohama FC to Suzuka on loan at the start of the year ahead of his 37th season as a player. Suzuka won for the first time in five games and have six games left this term, although they have no chance of winning promotion to J3.
"Having got the chance to play at a place like this, I'll be staying humble and keep going without forgetting the hunger," said Miura, who was capped 89 times for Japan.
The Shizuoka Prefecture native made his professional debut in Brazil with Santos in 1986 before embarking on a lengthy career that included stints at Genoa in Italy, Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia and Sydney FC in Australia, as well as Kyoto Sanga and Vissel Kobe in the J-League.
He is seventh on the all-time J1 scorers list with 139 goals.
