Having retired from the Wellington Phoenix at the end of last season Paston had left the door open for the All Whites. Having taken a few months off and evaluated the situation he has decided to officially retire from international football.
“Since retiring from the Phoenix I haven’t really missed playing football and that was a pretty good sign that it was time to move on,” Paston says.
“I’ve been given an opportunity in a new career doing something that I enjoy and my energy is focused in that direction at the moment.”
“A World Cup campaign takes a huge amount of time and energy and I feel if I can’t give it the commitment it deserves then it’s time to step aside.”
Paston retires with the All Whites set to play the intercontinental playoff against the fourth-best team from North and Central America, with the winner advancing to FIFA World Cup Brazil in 2014.
“I think they have a fantastic chance to qualify again”, said Paston on the All Whites’ chances for a second successive World Cup appearance.
“Its 180 minutes and who knows what can happen. The first leg is going to be very important, as it was against Bahrain. Get a good result away from home and they will always have a chance at home.”
“The game against Bahrain was probably one of my favourite memories of playing in an All Whites shirt, along with the entire 2010 World Cup campaign. There’s no one single moment that I would pick out, but that was a pretty special time in my career.”
Paston retires with 35 ‘A’ International caps for the All Whites after making his debut in September 1997 against Indonesia.
“I would like to say thank you to the fans and everyone that I have worked with over the years. It hasn’t always gone well for me with injuries but I wouldn’t have changed anything so it’s great to be able to say thank you very much.”
Story courtesy of New Zealand Football
For more on New Zealand Football visit www.nzfootball.co.nz

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