Kazuyoshi Miura

Kazuyoshi Miura
三浦 知良
Miura in 2012
Personal information
Full name Kazuyoshi Miura
Date of birth (1967-02-26) February 26, 1967
Place of birth Shizuoka, Shizuoka, Japan
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)
Playing position Forward
Club information
Current team
 Yokohama FC
Number 11
Youth career
1973–1979 Jonai FC
1979–1982 Jonai Jr. HS
1982 Shizuoka Gakuen School
1982–1986 Juventus
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1986 Santos 2 (0)
1986 Palmeiras 25 (2)
1986 Matsubara 5 (1)
1987 CRB 4 (0)
1987–1988 XV de Jaú 25 (2)
1988–1989 Coritiba 21 (2)
1990 Santos 11 (3)
1990–1998 Verdy Kawasaki 192 (100)
1993–1994 → Genoa (loan) 21 (1)
1999 Croatia Zagreb 12 (0)
1999–2000 Kyoto Purple Sanga 41 (21)
2001–2005 Vissel Kobe 103 (24)
2005– Yokohama FC 261 (27)
2005 → Sydney FC (loan) 4 (2)
National team
1990–2000 Japan 89 (55)
2012 Japan Futsal 6 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 27 January 2018

Kazuyoshi Miura (三浦 知良, Miura Kazuyoshi, born 26 February 1967),[1] often known simply as Kazu (nicknamed as King Kazu[2]), is a Japanese footballer who plays as a forward for Yokohama FC in the J2 League.[3][4] He played for the Japanese national team from 1990 to 2000, and was the first Japanese recipient of the Asian Player of the Year award in 1993,[5] an award presented annually by the Asian Football Confederation.[6] Miura, whose rise to fame in Japan coincided with the launch of the J. League in 1993,[7] was arguably Japan's first superstar in football. He is also known for his trademark "Kazu Feint" and his famous "Kazu dance", when he scores great goals or produces great plays.

Miura holds the records for being the oldest footballer and oldest goalscorer in worldwide professional leagues at the age of 50.[8] His elder brother Yasutoshi was also a professional footballer.[9]

Club career

In 1982, Miura left the Shizuoka Gakuen School after less than a year, and travelled alone to Brazil at the age of fifteen to become a professional footballer there.[5] He signed with Clube Atlético Juventus, a youth club in São Paulo, and in 1986, Miura signed his first professional contract with Santos. He played for several other Brazilian clubs including Palmeiras and Coritiba, until his return to Japan in 1990.[5]

His time in Brazil elevated him to star status and on his return to Japan, he joined the Japan Soccer League (JSL) side Yomiuri SC, which later spun off from its parent company Yomiuri Shinbun and became Verdy Kawasaki with the launch of the J1 League in 1993.[1][7] With Yomiuri/Kawasaki, Miura won four consecutive league titles playing alongside fellow Japanese national team regulars Ruy Ramos and Tsuyoshi Kitazawa. Yomiuri won the last two JSL titles in 1991 and 1992, and Verdy Kawasaki won the first two J1 League titles in 1993 and 1994. He was named the first J.League Most Valuable Player in 1993 and the last unofficial Asian Footballer of the Year in 1993.[5][6]

Miura then became the first Japanese footballer to play in Italy, joining Genoa in the 1994–95 Serie A season.[5] In his Italian stint, he played 21 times and scored one goal, during the Genoa derby against Sampdoria.[10] On 15 January 1994, Miura assisted Antonio Manicone's match-winning goal against Padova.[11] He returned to Verdy Kawasaki for the 1995 season and played with them until the end of the 1998 season.[5] Miura made another attempt at playing in Europe with Croatia Zagreb in 1999. He returned to Japan, however, following a brief trial with Bournemouth, in the same year, and played with Kyoto Purple Sanga and Vissel Kobe, before eventually signing for Yokohama FC in 2005.

In 2007, Miura was selected for the 2007 J.League All-Star Soccer for J-East and played exceptionally well.[12]

In November 2015, Miura signed a new one-year contract with Yokohama FC at the age of 48.[13] In January 2017, Miura signed another new one-year contract with Yokohama, taking his professional career into his fifties.[14][15]

On 5 March 2017, Miura became the oldest ever player to feature in a professional match when he started in Yokohama's 1–1 draw against V-Varen Nagasaki. With 50 years and seven days, he surpassed the previous record held by Stanley Matthews from 1965 by two days.[16] Seven days later, he broke Matthews' record for oldest goalscorer in professional football when he struck the only goal of a 1–0 win over Thespakusatsu Gunma.[17]

In January 2018, he signed a new contract.[18]

National team career

Football

In September 1990, Miura was named as part of the Japan squad for 1990 Asian Games. At this competition, on September 26, he debuted against Bangladesh. After his debut, he played as a forward until 1997. In 1992, he played at the 1992 Asian Cup, which Japan went on to win. In 1993, in the 1994 World Cup qualification, he played thirteen games and scored thirteen goals. However, Japan failed to qualify for the 1994 World Cup. He also played at the 1994 Asian Games, the 1995 King Fahd Cup and the 1996 Asian Cup.

In 1997, Miura scored fourteen times for Japan during qualification for the 1998 World Cup, leading the Samurai Blue to their first ever World Cup finals.[19] Despite this, Miura was controversially left out of the squad.

In February 2000, Miura played for Japan for the first time in two years. He played his last national team match later that year, and finished with the second-most career goals in Japanese national team history with 55 goals in 89 matches.[20]

Futsal

In 2012, and at the age of 45, Miura made his debut for the Japan futsal team in a 3–3 draw against Brazil. He came off the bench and was involved in build up for the second goal scored by Nobuya Osodo.[21] In his second appearance with the futsal team, he scored the third goal in a 3–1 win over Ukraine.[22] In the 2012 FIFA Futsal World Cup, Miura appeared in all four matches for Japan, but failed to score as the Japanese were knocked out by Ukraine in the round of 16.

Club statistics

Updated to 22 February 2018.[23][24]

Club Season League Emperor's Cup J.League Cup Other1 Total
AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals
Yokohama FC 2005 12200––122
2006 39600––396
2007 2432040–303
2008 30120––321
2009 30100––301
2010 10300––103
2011 30010––311
2012 14100––141
2013 18200––182
2014 2000––20
2015 16300––163
2016 20200––202
2017 12100––121
2018 4000––40
Career total 261265040–27026

1Includes Japanese Super Cup.

National team statistics

[20] [25]

Japan national team
YearAppsGoals
199030
199120
1992112
19931616
199485
1995126
1996126
19971918
199810
199900
200052
Total8955

National team goals

[20]

#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.August 26, 1992Beijing, China North Korea4–1Won1992 Dynasty Cup
2.November 3, 1992Hiroshima, Japan Iran1–0Won1992 AFC Asian Cup Group Stage
3.March 14, 1993Tokyo, Japan United States3–1WonFriendly
4.
5.April 8, 1993Kobe, Japan Thailand1–0Won1994 FIFA World Cup Qualification
6.April 11, 1993Tokyo, Japan Bangladesh8–0Won1994 FIFA World Cup Qualification
7.
8.
9.
10.April 15, 1993Tokyo, Japan Sri Lanka5–0Won1994 FIFA World Cup Qualification
11.
12.April 30, 1993Dubai, United Arab Emirates Bangladesh4–1Won1994 FIFA World Cup Qualification
13.May 5, 1993Dubai, United Arab Emirates Sri Lanka6–0Won1994 FIFA World Cup Qualification
14.October 4, 1993Tokyo, Japan Ivory Coast1–0WonAfro-Asian Cup of Nations
15.October 21, 1993Doha, Qatar North Korea3–0Won1994 FIFA World Cup Qualification
16.
17.October 25, 1993Doha, Qatar South Korea1–0Won1994 FIFA World Cup Qualification
18.October 28, 1993Doha, Qatar Iraq2–2Drew1994 FIFA World Cup Qualification
19.July 8, 1994Nagoya, Japan Ghana3–2WonFriendly
20.
21.
22.October 3, 1994Hiroshima, Japan United Arab Emirates1–1Drew1994 Asian Games Group Stage
23.October 11, 1994Hiroshima, Japan South Korea2–3Lost1994 Asian Games Quarter-Finals
24.January 8, 1995Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Argentina1–5Lost1995 King Fahd Cup Group Stage
25.May 28, 1995Tokyo, Japan Ecuador3–0WonFriendly
26.
27.September 20, 1995Tokyo, Japan Paraguay1–2LostFriendly
28.October 24, 1995Tokyo, Japan Saudi Arabia2–1WonFriendly
29.
30.February 19, 1996Hong Kong, China Poland5–0WonFriendly
31.May 26, 1996Tokyo, Japan Yugoslavia1–0WonFriendly
32.May 29, 1996Fukuoka, Japan Mexico3–2WonFriendly
33.August 25, 1996Osaka, Japan Uruguay5–3WonFriendly
34.
35.December 9, 1996Al Ain, United Arab Emirates Uzbekistan4–0Won1996 AFC Asian Cup Group Stage
36.March 15, 1997Bangkok, Thailand Thailand1–3LostFriendly
37.March 15, 1997Muscat, Oman Macau10–0Won1998 FIFA World Cup Qualification
38.
39.May 21, 1997Tokyo, Japan South Korea1–1DrewFriendly
40.June 8, 1997Tokyo, Japan Croatia4–3WonFriendly
41.
42.June 22, 1997Tokyo, Japan Macau10–0Won1998 FIFA World Cup Qualification
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.June 25, 1997Tokyo, Japan   Nepal3–0Won1998 FIFA World Cup Qualification
49.
50.September 7, 1997Tokyo, Japan Uzbekistan6–3Won1998 FIFA World Cup Qualification
51.
52.
53.
54.February 16, 2000Macau, China Brunei9–0Won2000 AFC Asian Cup Qualification
55.June 6, 2000Casablanca, Morocco Jamaica4–0WonFriendly

Honours

Club

CRB[26]
Coritiba[26]
Tokyo Verdy[26]
Dinamo Zagreb[26]
Yokohama[26]

International

Japan[26]

References

  1. 1 2 "Boa Sorte Kazu! – Museum – Profile – Personal Data". Archived from the original on 2008-03-15.
  2. ↑ "'King Kazu' rewrites record". The Japan Times. 19 June 2016. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
  3. ↑ "Yokohama FC: Team Roster for 2017". jsoccer.com. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  4. ↑ Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Yokohama FC (2007)". www.national-football-teams.com.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Boa Sorte Kazu! – Museum – Profile – Biodata". Archived from the original on 2007-09-27.
  6. 1 2 "Asian Player of the Year". www.footballdatabase.com. Archived from the original on 3 April 2007.
  7. 1 2 "Mission". J.League. Archived from the original on 2007-08-09.
  8. ↑ スカパー！Jリーグ[公式] (2016-08-07). 【ゴール動画】横浜FC 三浦知良選手がJリーグ最年長得点記録を49歳5ヶ月12日に更新！. Archived from the original on 2016-08-12. Retrieved 2016-08-08.
  9. ↑ "Kobe offer for Kazu". The World Game. SBS. 25 December 2000.
  10. ↑ 『Dear Kazu 僕を育てた55通の手紙』（2011年、文藝春秋） ISBN 9784163747309 P.60-62
  11. ↑ 週刊サッカーダイジェスト　1995．2.15　P.13
  12. ↑ "Ｊリーグ公式サイト：2007 JOMO ALLSTAR SOCCER：フォトギャラリー". Archived from the original on 2008-03-31.
  13. ↑ "Kazuyoshi Miura: Japan legend signs new Yokohama deal at 48". BBC Sport. 11 November 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
  14. ↑ "2017シーズン契約更新のお知らせ". Yokohama FC. 11 January 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  15. ↑ "Kazuyoshi Miura: Yokohama striker signs contract to play into his 50s". BBC Sport. 11 January 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  16. ↑ "Japan striker breaks Stan Matthews' record but pleads: Don't compare us!". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  17. ↑ "Kazuyoshi Miura scores at 50 to beat Sir Stanley Matthews' record". The Guardian. 13 March 2017.
  18. ↑ "Kazuyoshi Miura: Japanese striker signs new deal at 50". BBC Sport. 11 January 2018.
  19. ↑ "Kazuyoshi Miura, King of Asian Football". FIFA. 24 April 1998. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  20. 1 2 3 Japan National Football Team Database
  21. ↑ "Soccer: King Kazu Debuts For Japan Futsal Team In Draw With Brazil". Japan Bullet. 25 October 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  22. ↑ "Kazu marks first futsal goal in win over Ukraine". Japan Bullet. 28 October 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  23. ↑ Nippon Sports Kikaku Publishing inc./日本スポーツ企画出版社, "J1&J2&J3選手名鑑ハンディ版 2018 (NSK MOOK)", 7 February 2018, Japan, ISBN 978-4905411529 (p. 191 out of 289)
  24. ↑ Nippon Sports Kikaku Publishing inc./日本スポーツ企画出版社, "2016J1&J2&J3選手名鑑", 10 February 2016, Japan, ISBN 978-4905411338. p. 215
  25. ↑ "Kazuyoshi "Kazu" Miura – Goals in International Matches". www.rsssf.com.
  26. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Kazu Miura – Honours". thefinalball. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
Preceded by
Takanohana Kōji		 Japan Professional Sports Grand Prize Winner
1993		 Succeeded by
Ichiro Suzuki
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