Former Japan striker Masashi Nakayama is set to re-sign with Azul Claro Numazu in J. League's third division next year when he will turn 50 years old come September, a soccer source said Saturday.
Nakayama, who joined Numazu in September last year following a three-year absence from the game, will thus make a comeback to the J. League for the first time in five years after once retiring due to injuries in 2012 when he played for Consadole Sapporo.
Azul Claro were promoted to J3 after finishing third in the fourth-tier Japan Football League this year.
The two-time World Cup striker did not play in any JFL matches over the past two seasons with Numazu, but his knee condition has apparently improved due to continued training and rehab.
Nakayama joined Jubilo Iwata's forerunner, Yamaha, in 1990 and was part of a golden era in which the Shizuoka-based club won the J. League title three times. He left Jubilo in 2009 and joined Consadole in 2010.
He won the J. League Player of the Year in 1998, was the league's top scorer twice and was named on its Best Eleven team four times.