PASTON RETIRES

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The former Wellington Phoenix goalie, Mark Paston, has announced his retirement from international football.

Paston had quit club football in March this year. At that time, he had said that he might continue playing international football. But, after assessing his condition in the last few months, he decided to quit football completely.

Talking to the reporters while announcing his retirement, Paston said, “I have enjoyed my time away from football in the last few months and I think this is the right time for me to hang the boots.”

“I am excited about my future life. I will be doing something new and I want to have my focus on that.”

“I want to thank my fans for giving me tremendous support over the years. I also want to wish my teammates best of luck for the remaining World Cup qualifying matches. We have a very good chance to make it to the World Cup finals for the second time in a row.”

Meanwhile, the manager of the New Zealand team Ricki Herbert has hailed Paston for being a great servant of New Zealand football.

Herbert said, “Mark was one of the most passionate footballers I have ever worked with. He was a manager’s delight.”

“His contribution in the 2010 World Cup campaign was immense. The saves that he had made in both the qualifying games against Bahrain were fantastic.”

“Obviously, losing him at this point of time is a big blow for us. He was one of the most experienced guys in the team and we needed him for the rest of our qualifying campaign. But, he thought that the time had come for him to move on and we should respect his decision.”

Paston made a total of 36 appearances for the New Zealand team.

NELSEN SETTLES IN

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Ryan Nelsen has slowly begun to settle down at Toronto FC. The former New Zealand international was appointed as the head coach of Toronto FC in January this year. The club officials had huge expectations from him, but, Nelsen couldn’t live up to those expectations in the first few matches.

Toronto FC managed to secure just one victory in its first 12 MLS matches this season. Nelsen had to face a lot of criticism for that and there were talks about his sacking.

But, in the last 3 weeks or so, Toronto FC has shown improvement in its performance. The team has secured 5 points in the last 3 games with a win over DC United and has moved up one position in the Eastern Conference Points table. They are still at no. 9 though.

When asked about his team’s performance in the season so far, Nelsen said, “We were not up to the mark in the first few games, but, in the last couple of weeks, we have had some positive results and that has raised the confidence level of the team.”

“I don’t think we have played that badly. If you see the results, we have lost most of the matches just by one goal. No team has really been able to thrash us, but, it’s the points which matter and we haven’t got enough of them.”

Nelsen also admitted that the arrival of Steven Caldwell from Birmingham City on loan has strengthened the defense of his team.

Nelsen said, “Steven is highly experienced and his arrival has certainly made our defense strong. He has so far shown good form and we are hoping that he will continue in the same manner in the rest of the season as well.”

NELSEN STARTS MANAGERIAL ROLE

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The Toronto FC manager Ryan Nelsen will have to do without the services of the German midfielder Tortsen Frings after the veteran announced his retirement. The 36-year-old is currently the star player within the Toronto FC squad, while he is also the highest earner as well. Since joining the club in 2011, he has been one of the influential members over the last few years. However, he has announced his retirement just as Nelsen arrives at the club. The former QPR defender recently took over his first managerial job of his career. He lost in his first friendly match as the Toronto FC manager.

Nelsen will be taking charge of his first game in the MLS when Toronto FC take on Vancouver Whitecaps during the weekend. Even though the departure of Frings means that Nelsen will have a significant wage budget available for him to spend on a high profile player, the departure of one of the established players within the team is certainly a cause for concern. The 36-year-old Frings has been suffering from a number of injury problems in recent years. He has revealed in a statement that he has taken this decision with the best for the team in mind. He has paid tribute to his time with the MLS team.

“I always want to do what’s best for the team and that is why I have decided to step away. I really enjoyed my time in Toronto and playing for Toronto FC. I wish the club all the best this season and hopefully they can continue to embrace the winning spirit that I brought to the team,” said the midfielder. Over the years, he had represented top German clubs like Werder Bremen, Bayern Munich, and Borussia Dortmund. He has also played 79 matches for the national team as well.