At an age when many veteran footballers might prefer to be regaling grandchildren, friends and assorted barflies with slightly embroidered tales of their former sporting prowess, 70-year-old Ángel Mateos González is heading back on to the pitch.
The Spaniard, who retired from competitive football 27 years ago, is due to play in goal for the Asturian team CD Colunga in a fifth-tier match this Sunday. If all goes to plan and he pulls on his gloves, he will reportedly become the oldest player to take part in an official match in Spain.
Mateos, who has been helping out Colunga’s keepers during this season’s Tercera Federación group two campaign, said he did not know whether he would play the full game.
“I’m going to train with the team this week but I still don’t know if I’ll play the entire 90 minutes or just the first half,” he told the local newspaper El Comercio.
In a post on Facebook, the northern Spanish team said they had decided to play Mateos in their match against regional rivals CD Praviano to celebrate the goalie and his lifelong dedication to work and to football.
The side denied the move was a stunt, adding that the decision was about recognising a man who represented its values.
“Mateos perfectly embodies what we stand for at CD Colunga: passion; consistency; respect for football, and a way of experiencing the sport that transcends age,” the statement said.
“Age is secondary. What matters is attitude, dedication and commitment to the sport. We’re talking about a man who was a miner, who has dedicated his life to work and football, and who has helped our goalkeepers all season long.”
The club added: “Mateos isn’t playing because he’s 70 years old. He’s playing because he’s earned it.”
The former miner told El Comercio that while he had always kept himself active, football had changed a little over the years.
“When I started out, it was almost a different sport,” said Mateos. “The balls; the pitches … I remember I used to keep a bucket next to the goalpost so I could bail out water when the pitch got muddy, which was almost an everyday occurrence back then.”
Mateos told Cope radio he had been playing football since he was 10 and was still the same weight – 68 or 69kg – that he was at the age of 18. He also said he was fiercely competitive, hated losing any kind of game, and had always loved different sports.
“A lot of the guys I worked with in the mines didn’t like sports and just wanted to go to the bar,” he said on Wednesday. “I never got that. You have to keep active and do sport or go for a walk.”
CD Colunga said Sunday’s match was about much more than one man’s advancing years.
“If anyone’s focusing solely on his age, then they’re missing what’s important,” it said. “This is about getting back to the essence of football, recognising the people who make it great and showing that there’s another way of doing things.”
Reuters contributed reporting