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70-year-old goalkeeper named in matchday squad for Spanish side this weekend
30 Apr 2026 10:01 CDT |
5 min read
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A 70-year-old goalkeeper could become the oldest player ever to feature in an official Spanish football game this weekend.
Angel Mateos Gonzalez is a miner turned professional footballer who retired from the game at the age of 43.
However, fifth-tier Spanish outfit CD Colunga have named him in the squad for this Sunday's Tercera Federacion Group Two fixture against Praviano as a "tribute" to his service to football and to the club.
"This is neither a record nor an oddity. It is a tribute," Colunga said on Instagram, accompanied by an AI-generated photo of the man himself.
"Mateos represents exactly what we stand for at Colunga - passion, consistency, respect for football and a way of living the sport that goes beyond age.
"We are talking about a man who has been a miner, who has dedicated his life to work and football. This isn't about numbers, it's about values. If anyone focuses solely on his age, they are missing the point."
There will be an exhibition feel to the game between Colunga and Praviano as the home side are 10th in the league and cannot be promoted or relegated.
Gonzalez, who helps train the club's goalkeepers, likely won't start the match, but he says he is ready if called upon.
"I still feel agile," he told the newspaper Las Provincias.
"I've remained active, playing for the Hunosa company team, the Turon veterans' team, and I'm still playing today.
"When I started, it was almost a different sport - the balls, the pitches...
"I remember I used to keep a cauldron next to the goal so that, without the referee seeing me, I could scoop out water when the pitches got muddy, which back then was almost a daily occurrence."
In addition to Colunga, Gonzalez played with Turon, Caudal and Santiago de Aller during his journeyman career.
Age is just a number...
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