Kapten Timnas Australia Pensiun

Kapten timnas Australia, Mile Jedinak, memutuskan untuk pensiun.

Beberapa bulan sebelum pagelaran Piala Asia 2019 Januari nanti, timnas Australia menerima kabar mengejutkan.

Kapten timnas Australia, Mile Jedinak, memutuskan pensiun dari tugas nasional.

Hal ini ia sampaikan melalui media sosial Instagram pribadinya, Senin (1/10/2018).

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"Saya dapat mengonfirmasi bahwa setelah pertimbangan panjang saya membuat keputusan untuk pensiun dari sepak bola Internasional," tulis pria berusia 34 tahun tersebut.

"Diberi kesempatan menggapai mimpi berseragam timnas sebanyak 79 kali, sebagian besar sebagai kapten, membuat saya sangat bangga dan bersyukur," tutur Jedinak.

Memulai debut di timnas berjuluk Socceroos pada 2008, Jedinak mulai menjabat sebagai kapten pada 2014.

Selama 79 laga tersebut, pemain yang berposisi sebagai gelandang ini mencetak 20 gol.

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Sebagai kapten, ia berhasil membawa Australia memenangi gelar Piala Asia pada edisi 2015 lalu.

Selain itu, Jedinak juga bermain di Piala Dunia 2010, 2014, dan 2018.

"Saya ingin berterima kasih kepada fan yang selalu percaya dan memberikan dukungan kepada saya," ujar Jedinak.

"Saya kini tak sabar jadi pendukung timnas Australia untuk masa depan," kata pria berjenggot tebal itu menutup.

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Di level klub, Jedinak masih bermain untuk Aston Villa di kasta kedua Liga Inggris.

Bergabung sejak 2016, ia berharap bisa membawa Aston Villa untuk promosi ke Premier League musim ini.

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I can confirm that after much deliberation I have made the decision to retire from playing international football. As a young boy growing up it was my dream to play for Australia and to pull on the famous green and gold shirt to represent my country. To have been given the opportunity to not only fulfil that dream, but to have done it 79 times, and many of which as captain, makes me incredibly proud and thankful. The countless unbelievable moments that I have experienced will stay with me forever, and I can honestly say that looking back I’ve had some of the best times of my life on the pitch playing for the Socceroos. It is an enormous privilege to represent your country and one I did not take lightly. Words will never be able to do justice the feeling of immense pride I felt when representing Australia. I gave everything I had in every single game I played to try and achieve success for our nation. However, after a huge amount of time reflecting and discussing with those closest with me, I feel that it is the right time to move aside in order to focus on my club football and prolonging that journey. Looking back, I feel blessed to be able to leave with memories that will last a lifetime. The feeling of captaining our country to Asian Cup glory in 2015, and to have been able to contribute to achieving success for Australia, will stay with me forever. Additionally being able to captain the team, and score, in two World Cups is something I could only have dreamed about as a boy. There are just too many highlights to mention them all. I would like to thank all of those who helped make it all possible. Thank you to everyone at the FFA, the team management and all of my teammates throughout the years. It’s been an incredible journey alongside you all. Thank you to my family for your unwavering love and support throughout my international career. And finally I have to say a special thank you to the Australian fans for believing in me and supporting me through thick and thin. I’ve tried to do you all proud every time I’ve stepped out on to the pitch. We have an exciting generation of players coming through and I now can’t wait to support the team in the future

A post shared by Mile Jedinak (@milejedinak15) on Sep 30, 2018 at 11:57pm PDT