Three aging players are competing on their own terms

	Lazio's Paolo Di Canio is in hot water over a gesture made during a Dec. 11 match vs. Livorno, which many saw as a Fascist salute. AP
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But at my back I always hear
Time's winged chariot drawing near,
And yonder all before us lie
Deserts of vast eternity.

-- Andrew Marvell, To His Coy Mistress

When you get old in sports, one of two things usually tends to happen: You either can't handle the fact that your skills are waning, and muddle through against younger, stronger men; or you retire gracefully while still at the peak of your powers.

Or, you figure that it's best to go out with a bang. You put your rear end on the line once again, you find a way to deal with your reduced skill and make up for it in other ways. Because, simply put, you love the game.

Consider three case studies: Romario, Roy Keane and Paolo Di Canio.

Romario turns 40 next month and he found a way to be top scorer in the Brazilian league this season, netting 23 goals in 31 starts.

People joke that he couldn't lose his pace as he got older because he never had any. Maybe so, but he did have quick feet. Now that they're not as quick as they were, Romario more than makes up for it with a quick brain. Few can read the game the way he does, with his uncanny knack for being in the right place at the right time.

He built an entire career on his goal-scoring instinct, re-interpreting the striker position in an entirely new way. His critics said he was lazy and difficult to get along with. Maybe so. But in his late 30s, Romario has softened around the edges. And now that his athleticism is gone, watching him play is a treat, a throwback to an era when the game was about technique and brains rather than strength, speed and size.

At 34, Keane left Manchester United slamming the door behind him. Few expected it to end that way, but his criticism of teammates eventually led to a public breakdown with Sir Alex Ferguson. It has been several years since we last saw the "real" Roy Keane, injuries and his breakneck playing style inevitably slowed him down.

Instead of choosing an early, easy retirement, Keane went to Celtic, the club he supported as a boy. It remains to be seen how much he can contribute and whether it was worth it financially (Celtic owner Dermot Desmond had to dip into his own pocket to make the deal happen as Keane's $80,000-a-week salary would have broken the club's wage structure).

Keane's critics say he can be a loose cannon, an ego run amok who won't give teammates respect unless he thinks they deserve it (which can be a problem, since most players can't match his work ethic). Yet the fact that his peers deem him to be one of the best professionals in Europe speaks volumes about him.

Di Canio is a far more difficult figure to explain, particularly these days, after making a Roman salute (which, for those who don't know, is exactly like a Fascist salute) at Lazio's game against Livorno and earning a one-match ban and a fine.