England defender Rio Ferdinand has
announced his retirement from international football.
The Manchester United player, 34,
who won 81 caps, said he wants to concentrate on his club career.
“After a great deal of thought, I
have decided the time is right to retire from international football,” he said.
England manager Roy Hodgson said: “To
have captained his country, and to play at three World Cups, marks him out
among a very special group of players.”
As Ferdinand’s last game for
England was nearly two years ago, even if he’d carried on he would have found
it hard to maintain the fitness levels needed to play for both club and
country, so you felt this was coming.
Particularly after Ferdinand was
called up for the recent World Cup Qualifiers only to withdraw citing a recuperation
process he was on meant he couldn’t play, and then turned up in Qatar as a
pundit and criticised the team, all this despite pleading to be brought back
into the fold.
Hodgson in right Ferdinand is a
quality player with 81 caps and three World Cup campaigns to boot, but he, like a lot of others, was part of that
infamous ‘golden generation’ who promised so much yet delivered so little.
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