Say goodbye to the summer! The national team of stars retired in a bunch, and many legends left immortal memories

The reporter reported coldly After each tournament, there are well-known stars who retire from the national team due to the twilight of their careers, but this summer is a bit of a lot. This week alone, Neuer (Germany), Gundogan (Germany), Zormer (Switzerland), Kjaer (Denmark) retired from their respective national teams, especially Neuer, which for Germany means the end of an era.

Since the European Championship and the Copa America in June, Kroos, Muller (Germany), Giroud (France), Blind (Netherlands), Pepe (Portugal), Vertonghen (Belgium), Vida, Brozovic (Croatia), Tadic (Serbia), Shaqiri (Switzerland), Cankava (Georgia), Di Maria, Armani (Argentina), Cavani (Uruguay), etc., these familiar names are now memories in the national team.

This European Championship was a watershed moment for Germany. Before the European Cup, Kroos, the core of the midfield, had announced in advance that he would retire; After the Germany team was eliminated, Thomas · Müller, who had experienced eight major tournaments in his 14-year international career, also announced his farewell; On August 20, Gundogan, who was preparing to return to Manchester City from Barcelona, also announced his retirement from Germany, ending his three-year withdrawal rumors.

As the first captain of the Germany team of immigrant descent, Gundogan has previously caused dissatisfaction among the German media and fans by publicly showing favor to Turkey, the "blood homeland". During Neuer's serious injury in September last year, then-Germany coach Flick suddenly handed over the captain's armband to Bonjon Gundaan, causing huge controversy. Gundogan's captaincy debut, Germany lost 4-1 to Japan, resulting in Flick's dismissal, which was really embarrassing. Unlike Muller and Manuel Neuer, Gundogan has only competed in four tournaments, and this withdrawal is more of a relief for him due to off-field controversy.

The most shocking retirement of the national team in August is none other than Neuer. The day after Gundogan announced his farewell to the national team, this Wednesday (August 21), Neuer also announced his retirement from the national team. Neuer is a representative of the "golden era" of German football in the 21st century, a 15-year national team career, a 14-year Germany team's "super long standby" main goalkeeper, 7 years of Germany team captain, and the fourth goalkeeper in the history of the Ballon d'Or to enter the top three, and the only Germany player to enter the top three after Kahn in 2002.

The 14 players who played in the 2014 World Cup final for Germany, although J. Boateng, Hummels, Kramer, Schurrle and Goetze are still playing, Neuer has been the spiritual totem of Germany football for more than a decade. Compared with Kroos and Müller, who also bid farewell to the national team this summer, Neuer's farewell is more symbolic, and the outside world believes that the "golden generation" of Germany football in the 21st century has officially ended.

After Gundogan and Neuer, on August 23, Denmark's legendary central defender Kjaer also announced his farewell to the national team. Also in his 15-year international career, the 35-year-old is one of Denmark's most internationally influential players in the 21st century. Unfortunately, goalkeeper Schmeichel, who is two years older than him, has not yet retired from the Denmark national team, but as captain Kjaer said goodbye first. Kjaer, who left AC Milan this summer, has a strong chance of joining Real Sociedad but has no room to play again with his national team.

Modric, who was once thought to retire from the national team, is still dreaming of participating in the 2026 World Cup, but his colleagues Vida and Brozovic, who have created Croatia's two World Cup successes, have departed. Of the 13 creators of the 2018 World Cup final "Croatia Miracle", only six remain active on the pitch.

National team legends like Kjaer are also retired this summer by Pepe, Vertonghen and the more influential Edinson Cavani and Angel Di Maria.

Of course, there are some stars who have retired from the national team this summer for other reasons, such as the departure of Courtois and Tadic, which is due to the discord between the coaches, both of whom are at odds with their respective national team coaches Tedesco and Stowe, Courtois bluntly said that as long as Tedesco is in office, he will not return to the national team; At the European Championships, Tadic was one of four Serbia players to speak out against coach Stowe. After the European Championship, the Serbia Football Federation did not have the financial resources to sack Stowe, and it was naturally Tadic who left as captain.

Georgia midfielder veteran Kankava is an honourable farewell with 101 appearances for Georgia at the age of 38, second only to club team-mate Kashya. He had already been selected in the squad for the European Championships, but voluntarily withdrew before the game to make way for the youngsters. After the European Cup, he was also awarded a medal by the Georgia government with the whole team.

These veterans who took off their national team shirts this summer may not be the most popular superstars in the team, but they are worth remembering.