France adieu for Desailly
Sunday, July 4, 2004
Article summary
France captain Marcel Desailly has announced his decision to retire from international football at the age of 35.
Article body
Decision confirmed
The most-capped player in the history of the French national team with 116 appearances, the Chelsea FC man had been expected to retire after UEFA EURO 2004™ but did not confirm his decision until interviewed on French television this morning.
'Time up'
"The time has come for me to stop," he told TF1. "I am not playing as well because I cannot get up and down the pitch as much as I used to." Desailly's decision means that his only appearance of EURO 2004™, in the 2-2 draw against Croatia, was his last for France.
Great achievements
The central defender, who will turn 36 in September, was a regular fixture in the national side for eleven years. His greatest achievements were winning the FIFA World Cup on home soil in 1998 and UEFA EURO 2000™ in Belgium and the Netherlands.