Monday, July 21, 2014
England Captain Gerrad announces international retirement.
England's
captain Steven Gerrad has announced his international retirement
after making 114 appearances in his 14 year career. The 34-year-old
who captained the national side in the 2014 World Cup which they
crashed out after two matches admits that his decision to leave the
national team is a “a very difficult decision”
Speaking in an
interview with FATV the Liverpool midfielder and captain said: “This has been
a very difficult decision, one of the toughest I've had to make in my
career. I have agonized over this since coming back from Brazil and
have spoken to family, friends and people close to me in the game
before coming to this point.
“Most
importantly, Brendan ( Rodgers, his manager at Liverpool) has been
fantastic and obviously I have to look after my body as much as
possible to ensure I can give everything when I take to the field.
“To
ensure I can keep playing to a high level and giving everything to
Liverpool FC I believe this is the right decision, and having
Champions League football back at Anfield is another big factor in my
decision
Gerrad
made his debut appearance in 2000 in a 2-0 win over Ukraine at
Wembley and went on to play in 6 major tournaments for England
scoring 21 goals over the course of his career. He has captained the
national team 38 time and he retired as the third most capped England
player of all time behind Peter Shilton (125) and David Beckham
(115).
Appreciation:
“I'd like to firstly thank my family and friends for all their
support throughout my England journey. I'd also like to thank
everyone who has been part of my international career, from the
England mangers I've played under to the staff at the FA and, of
course, all the players I've been fortunate to play alongside. In
particular, the supporters have been amazing, not least in Brazil
when they got behind the team despite the disappointing results.”
He
also added: “ I'd especially like to thank Roy (Hodgson), firstly
for giving me the captaincy permanently when he took the job, making
me the proudest man in the country and allowing me to fulfill my
childhood dream. He has been very understanding over the past few
weeks and is a man I will always hold in the highest regard”
Source: FIFA.COM
Source: FIFA.COM
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