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Japan’s Hasebe remains the ‘grandpa’ of German club Eintracht Frankfurt

"I'm really happy and proud to be able to play in the Bundesliga next year at the age of 38 -- that's just amazing," Hasebe told reporters recently. (AFP/file)
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12 Mar 2021 09:03:18 GMT9
12 Mar 2021 09:03:18 GMT9

Clareto Monsorate

Former Japan captain Makoto Hasebe seems to have received a new lease of life, so to speak, in his footballing career.

At 37, Makoto had decided to hang up his boots at the end of this season, but his German club Eintracht Frankurt had other plans. They extended his career by another year which will take the Japanese through the 2021-22 German top-flight season.

“I’m really happy and proud to be able to play in the Bundesliga next year at the age of 38 — that’s just amazing,” Hasebe told reporters recently. “A year ago, I was 99.9 percent sure that I would quit this summer.”

“I’m so thrilled that when Frankfurt offered me an extra year, I just jumped at the chance and didn’t even negotiate my salary,” Hasebe said.

Nicknamed ‘Grandpa’ by his teammates at the German club, Hasebe now dreams of playing in the Champions League.

More than a decade after playing in the Champions League group stage with former club Wolfsburg in 2009/10, he wants another crack with Eintracht.

“It’s a huge dream to play in the Champions League again,” Hasebe said. “That’s a realistic goal, but we have to stay humble.”

Hasebe says next season will probably “be my last” before hanging up his boots.

Hasebe turns 38 next January, but he has no plans to emulate friend Kazuyoshi Miura, who still plays for J-League side FC Yokohama — at the age of 54.

“We meet in Japan every summer and go out to dinner. He’s amazing,” said Hasebe. He is my role model, even if it’s not my goal to play that long. I couldn’t do that.”

Hasebe’s teammates regularly remind him that his 40s are approaching.

“They made up a lot of nicknames: ‘Legend’, ‘Grandpa’, ‘Old man,'” he joked. “In Japan, people just call me ‘captain’ because I was the captain of the national team for eight years.”

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