Rivaldo makes his comeback to the pitch at the age of 43

Rivaldo came out of retirement to play for Brazil Serie B club Mogi Mirim

Rivaldo returned to competitive action at the ripe age of 43 to try and kickstart Mogi Mirim’s fledgeling campaign in Brazil’s second division, as the club secured their first win of the season as reported by ESPNFC.

The Brazilian striker, who announced his retirement from football in 2014, managed to last a little more than an hour on the field, as his team came from a goal down to beat Nautico 2-1 in their Serie B game on Tuesday.

After stating last month that he might be considering a comeback according a report in Guardian, Mogi Mirim Club President Rivaldo made himself available for training with a view of potentially featuring later in the season, after the Sao Paulo-based club endured a rough start to the new season, which saw them win none of their opening 10 games.

The 2002 World Cup winner decided to give himself a start in the Serie B game against Nautico and played 68 minutes of the win, which saw him not make much of an impression, as he missed a couple of good chances in the first half to give his team the lead.

He was substituted later with Mirim 1-0 down, although they equalised just two minutes later and then stole the win with the help of Serginho, who netted both goals to secure his side’s first victory of the campaign.

According to Reuters, the 1999 World Player of the year declared himself as an inspiration, and said: “After one year and three months, I started training back again and went out to play at a match after just 20 days and that inspires any younger player.”

Mogi Mirim have played 11 matches so far, registering one win and three draws. They are currently languishing at the bottom of the league, level on points with Ceará, who have six points.

Despite this, Rivaldo seems to be happy with his contribution to the team and is optimistic about the season ahead: “I helped the team get out of this predicament. We are still in a difficult situation and we are doing our best to get out of it.”

Rivaldo played one match for the Brazilian Serie B club Mogi Mirim in December 2013, following which he announced his retirement. He has been the club President since then, and recently made the controversial decision of raising the ticket prices for home matches from about $6 to $32.

This made them the most expensive tickets in the country, and garnered Rivaldo a lot of criticism and ire from the fans.