Veteran All Whites defender Winston Reid has announced he is retiring from international football after a storied career that spanned almost two decades.
Reid said this afternoon he will hang up his All Whites boots after the team’s homecoming game against Australia at Eden Park this Sunday, 4pm.
“It is great to have the opportunity to play my final international game in Auckland. It's going to be nice to come home to the city I grew up in where I first started playing football," Reid said.
“There's so many memories that it’s hard to single one out. The World Cup was special for me because I was very young and playing and scoring in it was amazing. It’s something I'll always be thankful for and grateful for. But I’ve been fortunate enough to have a long career, for both club and country, and captaining the national team has been an honour."
Reid has been a proud and constant member of the All Whites after changing allegiance from Denmark in 2010.
That year, Reid made himself available for New Zealand's 2010 FIFA World Cup selection and was soon included in their squad despite then-coach Ricki Herbert having not seen him play before.
That soon changed with his debut two weeks later in a friendly against Australia ahead of their 1-0 upset win over Serbia in his second international appearance which left Herbert was "suitably impressed" with the defender's performance.
Reid's rise in the Kiwi ranks continued with his first international goal being a famous stoppage-time equaliser against Slovakia in the All Whites' opening game at the World Cup, thus securing New Zealand's first point at a World Cup.
Reid became captain after Ryan Nelsen's retirement in 2013 although he would be ruled out of the team's World Cup playoff against Mexico later that year.
Reid's appearances for New Zealand would come in patches from then on, finishing his career with 32 appearances and just the one goal from his debut season.
Away from international play, Reid started his football career with his local club Takapuna before he signed a youth contract with Danish club SUB Sonderborg in 2004, having moved to Europe with his mother and step-father when he was 10.
From there, he joined the academy of FC Midtjylland on a three-year youth contract and represented age-grade Denmark teams.
Reid began his pro career in 2005 when he signed a contract with FC Midtjylland and went on to make his senior debut that same month.
The Tainui and Te Rarawa descendent would go on to make 84 appearances for the Danish Superliga club over five years before he made the jump to the English Premier League, signing with West Ham United before making his EPL debut less than two weeks later on August 14.
Reid remained a constant for West Ham over the next 11 years, piling up an impressive 194 league appearances for the Hammers - the third most for a non-UK player in the club's history.
Towards the end of his stay at Upton Park and later London Stadium, injuries began to hamper Reid's career and he missed the entire 2018-19 season with a knee injury.
A short return the next season was then derailed by another knee injury and despite trying to make his way back to the senior side through the reserve team and loans to Sporting Kansas City and Brentford, Reid and the club mutually agreed in September last year to split.
Reid is currently unattached to a club since his stint at Brentford ended last year.
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