70-Year-Old Goalkeeper Set for Spanish Fifth Tier
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- CD Colunga named 70-year-old goalkeeper Angel Mateos Gonzalez in their matchday squad for Sunday's Tercera Federacion Group Two fixture against visitors Praviano, a match of no consequence with Colunga sitting 10th in the 18-team league and out of both promotion and relegation contention.
- Mateos, a former miner who stands 5ft 8in, is set to become the oldest player to appear in an official match in Spain, having originally retired from competitive football at age 43 after playing for Turon, Caudal and Santiago de Aller at a similar level.
- Colunga framed the selection explicitly as a 'tribute' rather than a record or oddity, saying Mateos 'represents exactly what we stand for' — passion, consistency, and respect for football — and that anyone focusing 'solely on his age' was 'missing the point.'
- Mateos has spent the current season helping Colunga's goalkeepers behind the scenes with guidance and support, and told Las Provincias he is unsure whether he will play the full match but insisted, 'I still feel agile.'
- Mateos has stayed active throughout retirement with the Hunosa company team and the Turon veterans' side, and recalled the mud-plagued pitches of his early career, when he kept a cauldron by his goal to secretly bail water.
Why it matters: Colunga deliberately used a dead-rubber league fixture to honor a club stalwart who has mentored their keepers all season, reframing the occasion from spectacle to tribute — a choice that foregrounds Mateos's lifetime of mine work and grassroots football over the novelty of his age.
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