When Buffon, 45, was still playing on the pitch, the football veterans proved what a nod is not old. As far away as South American football, Paraguayan striker Oscar Cardoso, who once played for Portuguese super giant Benfica, is still playing football, and he can still play super performance at the age of 40, ranking first in the scorer list with 12 goals in 12 games!
At present, just after the 13th round of Paraguayan First Division in 2023, Asunció n ranks first with 10 wins, 2 draws, 1 loss and 32 points. The most incredible thing is the strong performance of veteran striker Oscar Cardoso, who is still the top scorer in the team even though he is 39 years old!
On April 18th, in the 13th round, Asunció n scored twice in the 10th minute and 43rd minute, respectively, and scored a direct free kick that surprised the opposing goalkeeper, helping the team win a 4-0 victory.
At this point, Oscar Cardoso played 12 rounds for the team this season, scored 9 goals and 3 assists, and firmly ranked first in the league’s top scorer list. Who can believe that this is actually a 39-year-old veteran striker?
It is worth mentioning that, in the 63rd minute of the second half, 41-year-old Santa Cruz, a former popular football guy, replaced Oscar Cardoso, and there were 40-year-old Paraguayan midfielder Riveros and 40-year-old Uruguayan goalkeeper Martin Silva in the team, so many unsuspecting veterans were gone.
Born in 1983, Oscar Cardoso will successfully celebrate his 40th birthday on May 20th this year. In July 2017, he left Olympiacos to join Asunció n without a visa. After nearly 11 years, he returned to Paraguay and surprised domestic football. In the 2018 season, he played a super role in 49 games with 28 goals, and the number of goals has been in double digits for six consecutive seasons!
In July, 2007, Benfica, a famous Portuguese black shop teased by fans, bought goods from Argentina and signed Oscar Cardoso, then 24, from old boys, Newell for a transfer fee of 11.7 million euros. In 7 years, he played 436 games for Benfica, and scored 266 goals and 60 assists. His personal strength attracted the attention of the top five leagues, and he was one of the famous Portuguese superstars in the past.
Not only the club level has left a deep footprint in European football, as a Paraguayan international, Oscar Cardoso scored 12 goals in 57 games for the national team, and he is a very good striker in the history of Paraguayan football.
In fact, in addition to the above-mentioned players, there are quite a few players over 40 in today’s football: Ibrahimovic, Quagliarella, Reina, Diego Lopez, marchetti, Molina, Pepe, Caballero and Pegolo …
Veterans don’t die, they just fade away!