Yahoo Eurosport Pitchside Europe 2014: Year of the football legend as Thierry Henry, Ryan Giggs, Clarence Seedorf and other big names retire Find out more about some of the biggest names in football who have retired this year. Pitchside Europe By Eurosport 10 hours ago New Teeth Whitener Takes Country By Storm Perfect Health Sponsor .2014: Year of the Legend As another year comes to an end what better way is there to than paying tribute to a selection of established names in football who have retired from the sport in 2014. And theres quite a few of them. From Thierry Henry to Javier Zanetti, it seems that 2014 was the Year of the Football Legend with a host of respected names in the game calling time on their illustrious careers. Here they are: Javier Zanetti: Inter Milan legend Zanetti announced his retirement from football at the end of last season, having played 862 times for the Italian giants since his 1995 move from Banfield in Argentina. Argentinas most capped player (145 apps) won five Serie A titles at Inter and the 2010 Champions League as part of a treble under Jose Mourinho Carles Puyol: Regarded by many as one of the best central defenders in recent times, Puyol finished on 100 caps for the Spanish national team and spent 10 years as the captain of Catalan giants Barcelona. The 36-year-olds honours list includes six La Liga titles, three Champions Leagues, two Copa del Reys among many others. Switch to a Tesco Bank Current Account Tesco Bank Sponsor Gabriel Heinze: Although many of you will question Heinzes inclusion on a football legends list, his CV is impressive with notable spells at PSG, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Marseille and Roma. Capped 72 times by Argentina, Gringo won three major titles with United and Real Madrid making a career appearance total of 404 games. Mauro Camoranesi: Argentine-born Italian winger Camoranesi played in South America but will be best remembered for his time at Juventus where he became a household name One of the only Juve players who stayed at the club despite their relegation to Serie B, the 2006 World Cup winner made 55 appearances for Italy. Clarence Seedorf: The Dutch midfield maestro is the only man to have won the Champions League with three different clubs - Ajax, Real Madrid and AC Milan. Seedorf spent 10 successful seasons at the San Siro with Milan before joining Botafago for two years. Ryan Giggs: The honours say it all: 12 Premier League titles, four FA Cups, three League Cups, nine Community Shields, two Champions Leagues, a European Super Cup, an Intercontinental Cup, a Club World Cup. Former Manchester United winger Giggs is the most successful British footballer ever and called time on his career last season after playing over a decade at the highest level. See you in Dubai Emirates Sponsor Juan Sebastian Veron: Manchester United (£28.5m) and Chelsea (£15m) fans will remember Veron for all the wrong reasons after his unsuccessful spells with them in the Premier League. However, at the turn of the millenium he was considered one of the finest midfielders in Europe and helped Lazio win a treble in 2000. Rivaldo: Brazil star Rivaldo continued playing up until the age of 41 and has played in a number of leagues since leaving AC Milan in 2004. Hell best be remembered for pretending to be hit in the face in the 2002 World Cup, an incident which tainted a series of magnificent performances from the playmaker on Brazils road to victory. Thierry Henry: Arsenals record goalscorer ended his 20-year playing career on Monday. The Frenchman started out with Monaco before joining Juventus, Arsenal, Barcelona and New York Red Bulls. Henrys career will mostly be associated with Arsenal, though, where he scored 228 goals in 377 games across two different spells. Juninho: Type in Juninho on YouTube and a long list of stupendous, unbelievable and astonishing free-kicks will come up. The 39-year-olds time at Lyon is what hell most be remembered for, winning seven consecutive Ligue 1 Championships before moving to the MLS and more recently Qatar. Eric Abidal: Former Barcelona defender Abidal was diagnosed with liver cancer in 2011, but still managed to remarkably continue his career into his mid-thirties Abidal amassed 445 appearances as well as winning seven league titles and two Champions League trophies. He announced his retirement in a press conference for Olympiakos on Friday £739 - Thailand Holiday w/Flights, Was £1019 Travelzoo UK Sponsor
Posted on: Fri, 19 Dec 2014 23:02:49 +0000
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