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.
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