Robert Carmona is the oldest football player on earth. FIFA and Guinness World Record have acknowledged him twice as the oldest professional footballer alive. Carmona was born in Uruguay 55 years ago and he has made a living out of football for four decades. He trains every day, controls his weight and love the game of football. “I plan to be around for a while more”, says to Digital Football Community. He has played professionally in Uruguay, the United States and Spain, where he is currently playing for Ibiza in a local league.
Training + diet + never give up
As fans, we usually say when a player should quit from football. This world is prone to doubt about any player in his middle thirties. So when you are talking on the phone to the oldest professional player on earth the first question is as predictable as compulsory.
What’s your secret?
“Football is my life. I’ve been a professional every single day in my life. I’ve worked out every day and I’ve been 35 years controlling my weight. I also think that God pick me. I feel that I am his chosen one for this”.
In a 40 year career, adapting has been a key factor for Carmona. “My experience allows me to get where my body doesn’t. I don’t get involved in tackles. If we’re running a counter-attack I stay in our field watching our back”. Carmona has always played as an offensive midfielder. “Many days I can’t play ninety minutes”. The clubs that hire him have to adapt to his characteristics and they allow him to do specific exercises and workouts. The intensity is lower too. “But I always practice”, points out Carmona.
“I arrived in New York with a dollar in my pocket”
Carmona comes from a poor background and his journey has been amazing. He made a few gambles that helped him to accomplish his goals. In the mid 80s, when he was 23, he had the opportunity of moving to the US. “I arrived in New York with a dollar in my pocket. I didn’t speak English at the moment either”. Carmona played for several clubs in his American career, but at the very beginning it was a long shot. “I had to sell my house furniture to buy the plane tickets” These difficulties have boosted Carmona through his career. “I never had a personal trainer or similar stuff. I used to train with homemade weights”.
Would you still be playing if you had made big money?
“My career would have been easier but I wouldn’t have retired.
The oldest player on earth
Guinness World Record has acknowledged him twice as the oldest professional player in the world. And the third one is coming after his season with the Canadian, a club from Uruguay. His season in Ibiza will eventually lead him to his fourth record. And he wants to become the oldest player ever to request an international transfer. “Out of 7.000 million people I am the only one that has achieved this. There is a Japanese competitor and people who quitted few years ago are coming back because my example has proved them that you can play professionally in your mid fifties.
The Foundation ‘Give a Goal to Life’
Carmona is not only a football player. He is not only the oldest professional player on earth. And talking to him is not only talking about football. Fair play, sportsmanship or values are words Carmona uses fluently. “I try to transmit the kids core values such as fair play, integration, no alcohol and no drugs…” His Foundation, ‘Give a Goal to Life’ has been working in Uruguay for seven years in schools, football academies, social institutions and even jails. “I think that it’s very important to keep playing because it is the example that if you train and eat clean you can have a long career”. Carmona already has many offers for the next season. “I think they don’t only sign the football player. They sign a player that will play when the coach considers it, but they also add a human being able to transmit values to the teammates and the opponents.
