After Sunday’s friendly match in front of his country’s supporters in Auckland against Australia, New Zealand captain Winston Reid announced on Monday that he would be leaving international soccer. Reid was a longtime member of West Ham United.
Winston Reid announces international retirement
One of his nation’s best players at age 34, the defender has earned 32 caps for the “All Whites,” nearly half of them as captain.
Reid, who was born in Auckland and was raised in Denmark, initially represented his country at the junior level until transferring to New Zealand prior to the 2010 World Cup, where he scored a famous goal against Slovakia.
Being so young and participating and scoring in the World Cup made it memorable for him, he said in a statement.
“I’ll always be appreciative of it and thankful for it. However, I’ve been lucky enough to have a long career, both for my club and my country, and it has been a privilege to serve as captain.
The centre back played for West Ham for 11 years before parting ways with the London club last year, despite dealing with injuries throughout his career. He made more than 200 appearances for West Ham.
It was the country’s greatest Olympic achievement in the sport when he led New Zealand to a sixth-place finish in the Tokyo Olympics last year.
Coach of the All Whites Danny Hay stated that “Winnie” had shown that New Zealanders could compete at the highest level.
Together with other legends like Ryan Nelsen, Winnie paved the way for future players by demonstrating that a Kiwi kid could compete at the highest level of the game, the man continued. Winnie is a true legend of New Zealand football, stated by them.
Prior to returning home for the second friendly in Auckland on Thursday, New Zealand plays Australia in Brisbane.
