Former Hoops midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura looks set to become one of Japan’s oldest outfield players.
It’s not often you see footballers playing on into their late thirties/early forties, especially in English football, but abroad the lifespan of a professional footballer appears to be a lot longer.
Last year, Japanese striker Kazuyoshi Miura, the world’s oldest professional footballer, broke the record for the oldest goalscorer in Japanese football…at the ripe old age of 49!
Kazuyoshi Miura in 2005
In English football, we have often seen goalkeepers go into their late thirties and early forties, with famous names such as Mark Schwarzer, Brad Friedel and Shay Given all playing on to this stage, but very seldom outfield players.
Scottish football has been much the same, as the intensity of the outfield game often becomes too much for players pushing their later years, but one former Celtic legend has proved that age is just a number.
General view of Celtic Park
Former Celtic midfielder, Shunsuke Nakamura, who currently plays J1 league side Jubilo Iwata, is still going strong to this day. The free-kick master, who is now approaching the age of 39, is still one of the top performing players the the Japanese first division, and still donning the number 10 shirt for his team.
Nakamura, who joined Celtic in 2005 from Reggina, made over 128 appearances for the Bhoys, scoring 29 goals. The playmaker, whose free-kicks resembled that of Italian Andrea Pirlo, was a fan favourite amongst Bhoys fans, and many were sad to see him go in 2009 as the Japanese international departed for Spanish side Espanyol.
Former Celtic player Shunsuke Nakamura in the stands
After scoring 35 goals in 189 appearances for his former team, Yokohama Marinos, Shunsuke Nakamura has still got the goods, becoming one of the oldest outfield players in both the Japanese league, and the world.
Could the former Celtic man return to Celtic Park one day? As a player, surely not, but Nakamura could certainly show some of the Hoops players of today a few things when it comes to set pieces!
Shunsuke Nakamura playing for Celtic
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