Across Europe's greatest leagues this weekend, there were 15 players aged 31 and over who scored a goal in Italy, Germany, France and England league action. That's 45 matches in which players of a certain age -- headed by the amazing Fabio Quagliarella, who'll be 38 in January -- pushed back the barriers of time, defying the assumption that age wearies and rusts.
The stat is remarkably different in Spain. In La Liga, there were 12 footballers in the same age range who hit the net in just 10 games -- 120% compared to exactly a third (33%, or 15 out of 45) everywhere else.