On Thursday, 35-year-old Santos striker Ricardo Oliveira celebrated 15 years as a professional footballer, and was also called up by Dunga to the Brazil squad as a replacement for the injured Liverpool attacker Firmino.
Although at 35, the player doesn’t think about retirement and hopes to play at a high level for Santos for more seasons. He was quoted in Globo Esporte: “I did not expect to reach the age of 35 with this much liveliness. This experience can contribute to my game and also for having a beautiful history with the club. I hope to continue scoring goals and helping Santos for a long time, if the injuries respect me. I do not like to put a date to end the career. I think when you talk about a date, you get to take your foot off the accelerator, and there’s no more your best.”
On September 24 in 2000, a 20-year-old Ricardo Oliveira debuted for Portuguesa-SP in the second-half of the Copa João Havelange fixture against Sport, and scored the winning goal in a 1-0 victory. He added: “That’s where it all started, my professional debut, the first goal, and then, I could build a beautiful history; with a few missteps and many achievements. It is a special day, I’m glad about this anniversary.”
On Thursday, 35-year-old Santos striker Ricardo Oliveira celebrated 15 years as a professional footballer, and was also called up by Dunga to the Brazil squad as a replacement for the injured Liverpool attacker Firmino.
Although at 35, the player doesn’t think about retirement and hopes to play at a high level for Santos for more seasons. He was quoted in Globo Esporte: “I did not expect to reach the age of 35 with this much liveliness. This experience can contribute to my game and also for having a beautiful history with the club. I hope to continue scoring goals and helping Santos for a long time, if the injuries respect me. I do not like to put a date to end the career. I think when you talk about a date, you get to take your foot off the accelerator, and there’s no more your best.”
On September 24 in 2000, a 20-year-old Ricardo Oliveira debuted for Portuguesa-SP in the second-half of the Copa João Havelange fixture against Sport, and scored the winning goal in a 1-0 victory. He added: “That’s where it all started, my professional debut, the first goal, and then, I could build a beautiful history; with a few missteps and many achievements. It is a special day, I’m glad about this anniversary.”
