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Only one active outfield footballer from FIFA '96 remains

It's incredible that this footballer is still going

Only one active outfield footballer from FIFA '96 remains

By Tom Victor

27 September 2018

You’re about to feel old. On the other hand, that next-gen console you just bought yourself is about to feel very young indeed.

Following the retirement of Brazil’s former national team goalkeeper Rogerio Ceni earlier this week, Twitter soon erupted in debate over which current players were still left who also featured on FIFA ‘96, that most classic of video games.

Gianluigi Buffon was one (and thanks to Twitter for telling us so), but there remains an outfield player who you might not have guessed:

There were a handful of outfielders to fit the bill when Ceni hung up his gloves in 2015, but Francesco Totti’s retirement and Jamie Cureton’s move into semi-pro football (the former Norwich striker hasn’t entirely stepped away from the game) mean just one remains.

The sole outfield survivor is Japanese striker Kazuyoshi Miura. However, while you might have assumed he was a teenager when FIFA 96 came out, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

In fact, the striker was already an established Japanese international by that stage, having scored more than 20 goals for his country by the mid-90s, and was 29 years old when FIFA 96 came out.

And, just like Buffon (whose involvement in FIFA 96 seems to differ depending on who you ask), he features in the new FIFA 19 game too.

Dubbed ‘King Kazu’, Miura played his last game for Japan way back in 2000.

However, that has not stopped him from continuing to play professionally into his sixth decade.

Now 51, the forward has spend the last decade back at home with Yokohama FC - a playable club in FIFA 19 - having had spells with European and South American clubs during his prime.

With a much bigger database of clubs, we may well see more players from FIFA 19 still on the game more than two decades on. Still, it’s unlikely any of the current crop will still be going strong in their 50s.

(Images: EA/Getty)