David Moyes Returns as Manager of Struggling Everton

 Football - Premier League - West Ham United v Luton Town - London Stadium, London, Britain - May 11, 2024 West Ham United manager David Moyes celebrates after his last home match as West Ham United manager. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - West Ham United v Luton Town - London Stadium, London, Britain - May 11, 2024 West Ham United manager David Moyes celebrates after his last home match as West Ham United manager. (Reuters)
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David Moyes Returns as Manager of Struggling Everton

 Football - Premier League - West Ham United v Luton Town - London Stadium, London, Britain - May 11, 2024 West Ham United manager David Moyes celebrates after his last home match as West Ham United manager. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - West Ham United v Luton Town - London Stadium, London, Britain - May 11, 2024 West Ham United manager David Moyes celebrates after his last home match as West Ham United manager. (Reuters)

Everton has hired David Moyes for a second stint as manager at the Premier League club.

The move was announced Saturday, two days after the club under its new American owners fired manager Sean Dyche.

Moyes, who managed Everton from 2002-13, takes over a team that is one point above the relegation zone.

“It’s great to be back,” the 61-year-old Moyes said. “I enjoyed 11 wonderful and successful years at Everton and didn’t hesitate when I was offered the opportunity to rejoin this great club.”

The first game of his second spell in charge will be at home against Aston Villa on Wednesday.

“We are pleased that David is joining us at this pivotal time in Everton’s history,” club executive chairman Marc Watts said in the team's statement. “With over a decade of experience at the club, he is the right leader to propel us through our final season at Goodison Park and into our new stadium. We look forward to working with David to build the foundation of a new era for Everton.”



Japan’s King Kazu Wants More After First Appearance of 40th Season 

Paris St Germain's Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe talk with Kazuyoshi Miura, Japanese soccer legend and Japan Football League club Suzuka Point Getters player, during a news conference upon their team's arrival in Tokyo for their team's tour of Japan in Tokyo, Japan July 17, 2022. (Reuters)
Paris St Germain's Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe talk with Kazuyoshi Miura, Japanese soccer legend and Japan Football League club Suzuka Point Getters player, during a news conference upon their team's arrival in Tokyo for their team's tour of Japan in Tokyo, Japan July 17, 2022. (Reuters)
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Japan’s King Kazu Wants More After First Appearance of 40th Season 

Paris St Germain's Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe talk with Kazuyoshi Miura, Japanese soccer legend and Japan Football League club Suzuka Point Getters player, during a news conference upon their team's arrival in Tokyo for their team's tour of Japan in Tokyo, Japan July 17, 2022. (Reuters)
Paris St Germain's Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe talk with Kazuyoshi Miura, Japanese soccer legend and Japan Football League club Suzuka Point Getters player, during a news conference upon their team's arrival in Tokyo for their team's tour of Japan in Tokyo, Japan July 17, 2022. (Reuters)

Japan's Kazuyoshi "King Kazu" Miura made his first appearance of his 40th season as a professional footballer at the weekend and shows no sign of wanting to hang up his boots any time soon.

The former international forward, who turned 58 in February, came on as a late substitute in Atletico Suzuka's 2-1 win over YSCC Yokohama in the fourth tier of the Japanese pyramid on Sunday.

The popular striker signed an 18-month loan deal with Suzuka last June but a leg injury sustained in January had kept him on the sidelines from the start of this Japan Football League season.

"I hope to play again showing my character," Miura told Kyodo news agency after the match.

"I managed to play thanks to the support from everyone. I'm looking to stepping up a gear from here."

Miura made his first two appearances for Santos in the 1986 Brazilian Championship, having headed alone to South America to pursue his football dream as a 15-year-old.

He returned to Japan as an established international to join Verdy Kawasaki and helped them win the first two J.League titles in 1993 and 1994. He scored 55 goals in 89 appearances for Japan, the last of which came in 2000.

Miura, whose long club career has also included spells in Italy, Croatia, Australia and Portugal, still has a way to go to match Egyptian Ezzeldin Bahader's record of turning out for a professional team at the age of 74.

Given his commitment to the game, however, it might be foolish to write him off.

"When I was around 35 or 40, I did start saying to myself, 'I can't keep playing this way'," he told FIFA.com in April.

"Rather than giving any thought to quitting, it was more about pushing myself to give more. It's not so much that the word 'retire' isn't in my vocabulary, but more that I've never felt any desire to do it."