Monday, June 13, 2011

"Nixon" Modeste announces retirement from international football


NEW JERSEY, USA, June 13, 2011 - One of the game’s longest serving national senior captains has announced his retirement from international football.
Anthony “Nixon” Modeste told teammates and coaching staff that Monday’s game against Guatemala in the CONCACAF Gold Cup will be his final appearance in national colours, pending his team’s advancing to the quarter-final round.
Both Grenada and Guatemala are facing elimination from Group B but a victory for either team could put them in position for one of the two third placed qualifying berths in the group of eight.
Modeste, 35, has had more than 100 international caps during a 20-year career. He had been team captain for the past 12 years.
The Grenada captain has had trial with Dublin’s Longford FC. However, change of management was a key factor in Modeste not signing a two-year contract.
He also played semi-professional football in Jamaica and Antigua. Modeste joined Portmore United, then Hazzard United, in 2002. He was captain for six (6) of the eight (8) years he played with the team which copped multiple championships in Jamaica and the Caribbean.
Among the many awards he received, the Tony Burrows Player Personality of the Year Award in Jamaica and was the first recipient of the Jason Roberts Foundation Award.
In Antigua, he successfully captained ASOT ARCADE PARHAM for one season in 2010-11, while in the local championships he led GBSS FC and Queen’s Park Rangers FC.
Modeste described his most memorable moments during his football tenure as carrying the national team to its first ever berths in the Gold Cup as a player/coach in the 2008 Digicel Caribbean Cup and which ensured Grenada’s highest ever FIFA Coca-Cola rankings.
As for his future, Modeste plans to coach possibly at the national level.
The tall lanky figure was also a competitive quarter-miler who competed for his High School.
“I am happy to have served my country over the years and special thanks to the people who have assisted me along the way,” he said.

No comments: