Schalke striker Edin Džeko announces Bosnia & Herzegovina retirement
Veteran Schalke striker Edin Džeko has announced he is to retire from international duty with Bosnia and & Herzegovina.
Džeko, who has scored 73 goals in 151 senior appearances for his country since making his debut as a 21-year-old in June 2007, will play his final game for Bosnia when they take on Sweden in the UEFA Nations League on 2 October.
In a social media post on Thursday, the 40-year-old said he felt “the time has come to step aside” from national team duties.
“If I made it to the age of 40 with the national team, it is because I truly gave everything I had. Every time. Everything,” continued Džeko, who has represented Bosnia at two FIFA World Cups - in Brazil in 2014 and in Canada, Mexico and the USA earlier this year.
“Playing for my country has been the most emotional opportunity football has ever given me. Qualifying for our first World Cup in 2014 remains one of the happiest moments of my life as a footballer.
“There will be time to thank everyone who has been by my side and supported me throughout this wonderful journey. For now, I just hope you will be there that night against Sweden, so we can share one more emotion.
Watch: Edin Džeko, made in the Bundesliga
“That is how I want to experience my final night representing my country: With all of you by my side, wearing the shirt I have loved since I was a boy - and the shirt I will love for the rest of my life.”
Having helped Schalke achieve promotion back to Germany’s top flight last season, Džeko became the eighth-oldest player in Bundesliga history after coming off the bench in the Royal Blues’ 3-0 defeat at Augsburg on Matchday 1.
His second-half cameo came 15 years and 255 days after his previous Bundesliga appearance - the second-longest gap between two top-flight outings in the division’s history.
