Steven Gerrard, English Captain, Retires From International Football Team
The legendary English captain, Steven Gerrard has announced his retirement from international competition, following the disappointing performance of his football team in the 2014 World Cup. Gerrard, joins Germany’s captain, Philipp Lahm, who also announced he will not return to play for the national football team.
Steven Gerrard is the most capped player in the history of English football, with 114 appearances for the national football team during a career that spanned 14-years. The 34-year-old Liverpool midfielder played his last game against Costa Rica, in a surprising 0-0 draw.
At the time England was eliminated from the 2014 World Cup, after losing to Uruguay and Italy in addition to the Costa Rica match, there was no talk of Steven Gerrard retirement. However, because of his age, many believed that Brazil would be his last World Cup.
In the announcement about his retirement Gerrard spoke fondly of his time as the leader of the English football team:
“I have enjoyed every minute of representing my country and it is a sad day for me knowing that I won’t pull on the England shirt again,” said the 34-year-old, who will take up a role as an FA ambassador.”
“However, I do look forward to continuing my strong relationship with the FA and helping out in any way I can going forward.”
“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 managers I’ve played under to the staff at the FA and, of course, all the players I’ve been fortunate to play alongside.”
Steven Gerrard is not only the English football team captain, but his club, Liverpool’s as well. The retiring player made his first appearance for England in 2000, against Ukraine and was made captain for the opening of the Euro 2012 qualifiers. Roy Hodgson named him permanent captain, prior to the tournament’s finals.
In his statement Gerrard thanked Hodgson specifically for the honor:
“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.”
“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.”
Steven Gerrard captained the English team a total of 38 times and earned two England Player of the Year Award, before announcing his retirement. He scored 21 goals during his time with The Three Lions.
[Image via Twitter]
