Reim not resting on his laurels

Estonia's Martin Reim became Europe's most capped player of all time after passing Lothar Matthäus's total of 150 international appearances on Wednesday.

Shock recall
Recalled to the national team again at 36, the FC Flora player played in all 90 minutes of Estonia's 2-1 UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifying win against Andorra to earn his 151st international appearance. "The call-up against Andorra came a bit as a surprise, so I did not even think about beating Matthäus's record," he told uefa.com. "I kept my concentration on how to beat Andorra along with the rest of the team."

'Why not?'
Reim announced his retirement from international football after making a substitute appearance in a friendly against Slovenia in February, and that 150th cap was to be his last barring any future testimonial game. However, the veteran's league form persuaded new Estonia coach Viggo Jensen to call him up again. "I have had time to rest from the national team and clear my head," said Reim. "I stayed healthy and am in pretty good shape, so I thought: 'why not?'"

Anchor role
Jensen entrusted Reim with the anchoring role in midfield and he performed very well. He may now continue to be picked for Estonia's remaining qualifiers against Croatia, F.Y.R. Macedonia, England and Andorra. "I'm not thinking too far ahead - if the call comes then I'll consider my form and decide again," Reim said. "The new coach will pick his squad depending on our opponents so perhaps he will not call me up."

Great games
Reim admitted that he would like the chance to play at Wembley, potentially adding another notable match to his list of personal favourites from his 16 years as an international. "There has been so many memorable games during these years, but of course the [2-1 friendly] home win over Russia [in March 2002] stands out as something special. Our team was in very good shape and had great spirit at that time."

Favourite goals
Reim has scored 14 goals for Estonia to date, including strikes against Italy, Croatia and Norway, but winning goals remain the 1995 Estonian Player of the Year's favourites. "The 88th-minute free-kick away against the Faroe Islands set up our 2-0 win in UEFA EURO 2000™ qualifying match and the 67th-minute penalty which gave us 1-0 home win over Andorra in a 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifying are always moments to remember," said Reim, seven times a domestic champion with Flora.