For a professional football player 32-33 years old - this is already an advanced age by sports standards, in which it is customary to hang boots on a nail. Today we’ll tell you more about the 10 oldest footballers in the world.
List
- 10. Didier Drogba, played until the age of 40
- 9. Rivaldo, played until 42 years old
- 8. Gianluigi Buffon, 42, still plays
- 7. Anatoly Davydov, played until the age of 43
- 6. Farid Mondragon, played until the age of 43
- 5. Roger Milla, played until 44 years old
- 4. Alexander Filimonov, played until 44 years old
- 3. Peter Shilton, played until 47 years old
- 2. Stanley Matthews, played until the age of 50
- 1. Kazuyoshi Miura, 52, still plays
10. Didier Drogba, played until the age of 40
In the 2012 Champions League final, he scored Chelsea's only goal and a penalty shoot-out in extra time, leading Chelsea in the match against Bayern Munich to victory and capturing the main European club trophy.
In the next offseason, Drogba signed a contract with the Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua, but he played only 11 matches with the team before returning to European football as part of Istanbul's Galatasaray in January 2013. He helped the new team win the Turkish championship in the first season, and in July 2014 returned to Chelsea with a one-year contract in the status of a legend. The following year, he signed with the Montreal Premier League football club in North America. In 2017, he joined Phoenix Rising in the United States as a player and co-owner, but the next season ended his career at age 40.
9. Rivaldo, played until 42 years old
18 years ago, Rivaldo probably survived the peak of his career. His 5 goals, which he scored for the national team at the World Cup, helped the team win the World Cup. This victory, by the way, was already the 5th record for Brazil. After the mundial, the center forward moved to Milan, where he continued to score and collect trophies: the Champions League and the Italian Cup.
On this his career could end, but Rivaldo so much wanted to play football, that he did not care where to play. If his rent to the Brazilian Cruzeiro and the subsequent transfer to the Greek Olympiacos can still be understood, the transfer to the Uzbek Bunyodkor shocked the football community. Former Golden Ball winner in the league of Uzbekistan? It’s hard to believe. Although the Brazilian played well: in 53 matches, he scored 33 goals.
After that, he returned to Brazil to play for São Paulo, and then he was brought to the Angolan club Cabuscorp. He has already exceeded 40, but still has not played enough, and therefore signed a one-year agreement with the Brazilian club Mogi-Mirin, and only after that ended his career at 42. Rivaldo is considered one of the main "travelers", since even now few people will go to play in Angola or Uzbekistan. Now such a legend would probably be bought by a club from China, but then they did not start going to China to earn money.
8. Gianluigi Buffon, 42, still plays
Buffon made his professional debut at the age of 17 on November 19, 1995, keeping the goal “dry” in the match against Milan, reflecting the blows of players such as Roberto Baggio and George Weah. Even then, it was obvious that this player had a bright future in football, but hardly anyone could have imagined that Buffon would become a living legend and continue to perform at the top level even at 42.
7. Anatoly Davydov, played until the age of 43
Anatoly Davydov is the champion of St. Petersburg "Zenith" in the number of games. Starting to play back in the 70s, he played his last match in 1997 at the age of 43 years and 295 days, thereby setting another record. It is noteworthy that he spent the last matches in his career on the field with his son, who also played for Zenit.
6. Farid Mondragon, played until the age of 43
Farid Camilo Mondragon Ali is a former Colombian footballer of Lebanese descent on the maternal side. The goalkeeper was part of the Colombian national team, which played in qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup. At the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, he set a record as the oldest player in the final stage of the World Cup. He also holds the record for the longest break between two world championships - 16 years. Before the tournament in Brazil, he played at the World Cup in France in 1998.
5. Roger Milla, played until 44 years old
Cameroonian football player, known for his impeccable technique and grace. Forward, he starred in the Cameroon team, which became the first African team to qualify for the quarterfinals of the World Cup. He was twice named African Player of the Year (1976, 1990). Having entered the field at the 1994 World Cup, Milla, then 42 years old, became the oldest player to score a goal in the World Cup finals.
4. Alexander Filimonov, played until 44 years old
This Russian goalkeeper made his debut in big sports in 1990 and played until 2018, and in 2011 he started playing beach football in parallel. Position, of course, he chose goalkeeper. He is currently coaching the Rodina Moscow football club, speaking at the PFL. He is the oldest goalkeeper in the history of football.
3. Peter Shilton, played until 47 years old
Peter Shilton was born on September 18, 1949 in Leicester. During his football career, he entered the field 1390 times for eleven clubs, starting with Leicester in 1966-74, ending his career in 1997.
He also played in the national team for a long time: he played his first match against East Germany on November 25, 1970, and the last match - about 20 years later - against Italy on July 7, 1990.
2. Stanley Matthews, played until the age of 50
In 1965, he became the first British knighted footballer. The son of a professional boxer, Matthews began his professional career with the Stoke City team in 1932. Thanks to his precise control of the ball and his balance, he became known as the “Wizard”. By 1938, he represented England at international matches, and eventually played 54 matches for the national team.
Named the best European footballer of 1941, Matthews was sold to Blackpool in 1946. With this team, he participated in the final of the 1953 Football Association Cup, which is considered his most famous game. Matthews scored the last three goals of Blackpool and helped defeat the Bolton Wanderers in the so-called Mathews final. In 1961, he returned to the Stoke City team, but four years later, at the age of 50, he hung his boots on a nail.
1. Kazuyoshi Miura, 52 years old, still plays
Miura was born in February 1967, seven months after England won the 1966 World Cup. Miura is a unique player: 35 seasons in professional football. He has been playing for 35 years, just think about it! On January 11, he signed a new contract with the Yokohama club, which is valid until January 31, 2021. It is unlikely that anyone would be surprised if after that he decides to play another season or even two.
“My passion for football has not changed since I became a professional at the age of 18,” he told reporters who attended the ceremony at the Yokohama training center in late February. "I even feel that it is growing."
Having made a professional debut in the Brazilian Santos team in 1986. From the perspective of football contemporaries, his career is a bridge from Michel Platini, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Kenny Dalglish to Kilian Mbappa, Jadan Sancho and Vinicius Junior. While we admire the sporting longevity of Zlatan Ibrahimovic or the same Buffon, Kazuyoshi Miura looks down on them.