France's Marcel Desailly has announced his retirement from international football at the age of 35. The Chelsea defender looked well below his best in Portugal, starting only one game as France crashed out of Euro 2004 at the quarter-final stage, and he has decided to call it a day after 116 appearances.
"The moment when it is necessary for me to stop has arrived," Desailly said on L'Equipe. "I am not as effective as I was; I can no longer do what I was able to do in the past. I compensate with experience where I can."
Although he no longer appeared able to cope with the demands of international football at Euro 2004, Desailly was a mainstay of the France side that won the 1998 World Cup and the European Championships two years later.
His defensive partnership with Laurent Blanc provided the foundation upon which those successes were built, and that France have yet to find an adequate replacement for them is partly responsible for their failure in the 2002 World Cup and then at Euro 2004.
"There were some fantastic moments, some wonderful memories and some incredible emotions," Desailly continued. "Then the matches, the sound of the crowd; all these factors made wearing the blue shirt an unforgettable experience."
Desailly made his debut for France against Sweden on August 22, 1993, in a qualifying match for the 1994 World Cup. His last appearance for the team was in their 2-2 draw with Croatia in the group stages of Euro 2004.
Filed by Johnny Proby
