Lyon and France stalwart Bompastor bows out

Former French international Sonia Bompastor will retire from football after captaining Olympique Lyonnais on her 33rd birthday in Saturday's French Women's Cup final against AS Saint-Étienne in Clermont-Ferrand.

The defender, winner of eight French titles and two UEFA Women's Champions Leagues, made the announcement on Friday having been considered one of the top women's players in the world for a decade. "I asked many questions this winter and over the months I figured it was a good time [to stop]," she said.

Bompastor began her career with La Roche ESOF before a 2002 switch to Montpellier Hérault SC . She helped them to the title in 2003/04 and 2004/05, the next season winning the French Cup and reaching the UEFA Women's Cup semi-finals.

She moved to Lyon in 2006, aiding them to three titles in a row and a double in 2007/08, before a 2009 move to Washington Freedom. In both her seasons in the United States she made the league's all-star team either side of a winter loan to Paris Saint-Germain FC.

Back at Lyon in 2010/11 under her former Montpellier coach Patrice Lair, Bompastor has added three more French titles and lifted the UEFA Women's Champions League trophy in 2011 and 2012, beaten in last month's final by VfL Wolfsburg. A win tomorrow would complete her third domestic double at Lyon after 2007/08 and 2011/12.

At international level, Bompastor won 156 caps between 2000 and last year, scoring 18 goals. She played at three UEFA European Women's Championships and two FIFA Women's World Cups, voted into the all-star team in 2011 when France finished fourth.

"In terms of career and track record, I've won all that I could win, and I also had the chance to experience two years in the United States, which brought me a lot," Bompastor said. "As a woman, I have other goals such as starting a family."