MADRID -- "Granddad" is the somewhat predictable nickname given by his Deportivo Coruna team mates to Brazilian-born central defender Donato Gama da Silva.

But the Spanish League's oldest player, who celebrated his 39th birthday on Sunday, has made it clear that he has no intention of hanging up his boots just yet.

"Physically I feel in good shape and I want to go on playing for some time to come," Donato told Spanish football weekly Don Balon in a recent interview.

"I play football because I enjoy it and the desire to continue remains very strong.

Rumour has it that an error in his passport has him down as 10 years older than he really is but Donato insists he is now unfazed when it comes to comments about his age.

"It used to bother me when people started to call me granddad," he told sports daily ***Marca***. "But now I quite like it as it is used affectionately by nearly everyone."

At a time of life when most other first class professionals are living off their investments or have joined the ranks of media pundits Donato is still managing to play some of the best football of his life with the first division high fliers.

Off-Loaded ---

Nine years ago Ddonato was off-loaded by Atletico Madrid in the belief that at 30 he was nearing the end of his career but season after season the versatile defender has turned back the clock to produce a succession of top-class performances.

This season he has once again managed to claim a regular berth in one of the most fiercely competitive squads in the Spanish League.

And with 443 first division games now under his belt, Donato has played more games than any other foreign-born player in the Spanish League. --------------------------------------------------