Ryan Giggs will retire from international football after Saturday's UEFA
EURO 2008 qualifier against Czech Republic, the Wales and Manchester United
winger said on Wednesday.
Giggs, 33, announced his decision at a news conference near Cardiff.
"I felt it was the right time for me and for Wales, they'll have
plenty of time to pick another captain and prepare for next season,"
he said.
"I don't feel I have been performing so well for Wales, maybe it's
the amount of football I've played. Hopefully I'll be fresher and enjoy
the last one or two years of my career...I think it's right for all three
parties." Giggs will sign off at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium with
64 caps, 16 years after winning his first as a 17-year-old, at the time
making him Wales's youngest international.
"It's been a privilege to have him as captain," said John Toshack,
who gave Giggs the armband when he took over the manager's role from Mark
Hughes in 2004.
"We are talking about a very special person here, not just anybody
who's decided to retire."
Giggs has been part of a Wales team who have consistently failed to qualify
for major tournaments and said the disappointments of 1993 and 2003 were
the low points.
Wales were heartbreakingly close to making the 1994 FIFA World Cup when
they needed to beat Romania in Cardiff in their final qualifier but missed
a penalty and lost 2-1 to the eventual quarter-finalists.
Ten years later they lost to Russia in a playoff for the UEFA EURO 2004
after earlier looking well-placed to win their group and reach their first
finals since the 1958 FIFA World Cup.
"I've said it over and over again that I wanted to play against the
best players and in the best tournaments," said Giggs.
"It's disappointing not to have done that but I've been fortunate
to have had such a successful club career so I won't grumble."
Although the talented winger has been one of his country's few world class
players, his relationship with the national team has been far from harmonious
as he limited his appearances to competitive matches.
His first appearance in a friendly came nine years after his debut while
the only capped away friendly he ever appeared in was against Brazil in
London last September.
