Tony Popovic to retire

Veteran defender and captain of Sydney FC, Tony Popovic, will retire from football. After nearly 20 years as a professional footballer, Sydney FC defender Tony Popovic is set to announce his retirement from the game at a media conference at the Sydney Football Stadium later today.

The 35-year old, who has been captain of the club since he was signed by ex-coach Branko Culina prior to the 2007-08 campaign, has struggled with injuries during the past month despite a solid start to the year.

After missing a fortnight with a hamstring strain sustained during the 2-1 loss against Perth Glory, Sydney FC coach John Kosmina conceded Popovic was not fully fit for last Friday night's match against Wellington Phoenix, where he gave away a penalty for handball in the final minutes. After telling the chairman and coaching staff of his decision yesterday, Popovic informed the playing group this morning of his decision to stop playing.

However, he will stay involved with the club for at least the rest of the season as one of Kosmina's assistant coaches. He is likely to concentrate on mentoring Sydney's burgeoning junior defensive talent, which includes Matt Jurman, Anthony Golec and Beau Busch.

Popovic made his debut in 1989 as a 16-year old for Sydney United, where he rose through the youth ranks and spent seven years in the first team, making 162 appearances before moving to Japanese club Sanfrecce Hiroshima in 1997. Arguably his best football was to come when he joined English Championship side Crystal Palace in 2001, where he spent five years and played more than 120 matches - including 21 during Palace's most recent season in the Premier League in 2004-05.

In July 2006, Popovic was free to find a new home and he spent a season with Qatari club Al-Arabi before making the move to Sydney FC.

But Popovic will be equally remembered for his distinguished career as a Socceroo, playing 59 games and scoring nine goals - the most famous of which came when he nodded home the opener in Australia's famous 3-1 victory over England in 2003. In his final international game, Popovic scored in the closing minutes with another header in a 1-1 draw against Paraguay in Brisbane. He was also a member of the Socceroos' 2006 World Cup squad, where he started in the 2-0 loss against Brazil before suffering a calf injury that kept him out for the rest of the tournament.