KCan you still play first-class football at 40? Of course. Makoto Hasebe is the best example of how you can still be in demand as a model professional well into your fifth decade. There will be a celebration this Thursday. The great football player Hasebe is 40 years old – and is still part of Eintracht's Bundesliga squad. Even if the Japanese has recently only followed his first-class teammates' encounters from a distance, he is one of the outstanding cornerstones for Frankfurt football teacher Dino Toppmöller.
“Working with Makoto is a lot of fun. In my career there were few players who had this will at this top level in terms of professionalism,” says the Eintracht coach. “That's why we're happy to have this example in the cabin every day. Makoto has an incredibly high value for us.” For Toppmöller there is no question: the defensive veteran is “an identification figure, an absolute role model, a model professional.”
Carte blanche from Krösche
Almost a year ago, when Eintracht was on a PR tour in Hasebe's homeland, there was a press conference with him in the Far East. 60 journalists and several camera teams were on site – and Hasebe was surprised: “Some friends said it was a resignation press conference,” said the oldest playing Bundesliga professional at the time, at 39 years old.
The opposite was the case. Hasebe's contract extension until mid-2024 has been announced. That won't be the end of his time at Eintracht. A follow-up contract has been agreed with those responsible for the club until mid-2027. Probably as a club ambassador, maybe also in the coaching area. Or even as a player? Sports director Markus Krösche gave Hasebe carte blanche. “Makoto is the only professional who can decide for himself whether to extend his contract.”
When Hasebe received carte blanche in the spring of 2023, he was still part of the permanent staff of then coach Oliver Glasner's team. The Japanese made 18 appearances in 25 competitive games in the first half of the year. That has changed. Toppmöller used Hasebe three times in the first half of the Bundesliga for a total of just 34 minutes. There are also three appearances in the DFB Cup against third and fourth division clubs. Although Hasebe is only in demand sporadically, “you never notice it for a second,” says Toppmöller.
faithful soul
Hasebe is a loyal soul. He only changed clubs a few times. He won his first title with the Urawa Red Diamonds, where he began his professional career in 2002. In the uniform of VfL Wolfsburg, for whom Hasebe was on the ball for five years, he even became German champion in 2009. The relegation with 1. FC Nürnberg did not set him back. On the contrary.
When he joined Eintracht in the summer of 2014, Hasebe was later one of the guarantors of the 2018 DFB Cup victory against FC Bayern Munich and the 2022 Europa League coup against Glasgow Rangers. Hasebe certainly has a record: he is the oldest Eintracht player to play in the Bundesliga.
The model professional from the land of the rising sun has long since surpassed Uli Stein's previous record of 39 years and 168 days. But Hasebe will probably no longer be able to match the oldest Bundesliga player. Former Schalke player Klaus Fichtel was still in top form at the age of 43 years and 184 days.
The fact that Hasebe has at least made it to 40 is also thanks to his disciplined lifestyle. “You know,” he always said. “Drink a lot of tea and always take a bath in the evening.” Certainly on his birthday too.
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