"I was proud to represent the national team for 12 years and I will now become a fan.”
By ALLON SINAInir davidovich 88(photo credit: )
Maccabi Haifa goalkeeper Nir Davidovich announced on Monday that he is retiring from the Israel national team, less than two weeks after teammate Yaniv Katan made a similar decision.The 33-year-old, who was named in new Israel coach Luis Fernandez’s first squad last week, made his national team debut in the friendly match against Turkey in February 1998 and has 51 appearances to his name.However, in recent years he has played almost exclusively in friendly matches, losing his place in the starting lineup to Dudu Aouate since the 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign.“I have decided to retire after a very long time with the team,” said Davidovich, who has suffered with injuries throughout his career, especially with his knees. “It is time to say goodbye and thank you also because of my medical situation. I was proud to represent the national team for 12 years and I will now become a fan.”Katan retired from the national team at the age of 29, claiming he can no longer play for Israel due to a back injury.
