Australian veteran goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer has announced his retirement from international football with immediate effect after a superb twenty year career at international level filled with both personal, and team achievement’s with the socceroos shot stopper appearing in two World Cup finals, in 2006 and 2010.
Schwarzer is Australia’s most-capped player with 109 appearances for the Socceroos since his debut in 1993. His retirement further opens the door to a bunch of talented keepers who are all wanting to make a name for themselves,by following in Schwarzer’s footstep’s and making a name for themselves in the european leagues.
Mitch Langerak, Eugene Galekovic and youngster Mathew Ryan will all be fighting it out to become Schwarzer’s replacement and get on that plane to Brazil.The final’s were set to be Schwarzer’s last hurrah but the big Aussie has called time on his career.
The Sydney born man,who has enjoyed a superb career in England…..beginning at Bradford City,however the keeper made his name at Middlesbrough,where he helped the Teeside club to their first domestic trophy in their history after a 2-1 victory over Bolton Wanderers in the 2004 League Cup Final at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium.Schwarzer then signed for Fulham in 2008,and put in some superb performances during his spell at Craven Cottege,which included a successful European campaign as Fulham reached the UEFA Cup final in 2010.
However Schwarzer left the cottege this summer,and moved to Chelsea this summer to become Petr Cech’s understudy for a season or so,which ended his realistic chances of first team selection.Schwarzer was on the end of Australia’s 6-0 drubbing by Brazil in his last match for the national team in September. However he has managed to keep two clean sheets in as many matches for Chelsea in the League Cup.
Former Everton midfielder and international team mate of Schwarzer paid tribute to the Aussie stopper…..
Mark Schwarzer a true professional and is one of the all time greats for our game to ever wear a Socceroos jersey,” Cahill wrote on Twitter minutes after the news broke.
By Ben Reardon
@BenReardon1
