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Revivo quits international stage

Fenerbahçe SK's Israeli forward Haim Revivo has decided to retire from international football.

Fenerbahçe SK's Israeli forward Haim Revivo has decided to retire from international football.

Sad farewell
Revivo announced that he was quitting the Israel national team on Monday after 56 appearances and 12 goals for his country. The 29-year-old, who played in last Wednesday's 7-1 defeat against Germany in Kaiserslautern, said: "I have decided to announce my retirement from international football after contemplating the issue for months, in fact since the 1-1 draw with Austria."

World Cup failure
Israel missed out on a play-off for the 2002 FIFA World Cup finals after conceding a last-minute equaliser against Austria in their final qualifier in October. Revivo, who is understood to have had a strained relationship with other members of the Israel squad, revealed his decision in an interview with a daily newspaper, Yediot Achronot.

Tough decision
The former Maccabi Haifa and RC Celta de Vigo player said he had struggled to combine his international commitments with life in Turkey with Fenerbahçe. "This was a very tough, if not the toughest decision of my career," he said. "I made the decision after discussing the issue with my family and close friends.

'Very important for me'
"The national team was very important for me and will still be in the future. I always loved representing my country and from now on I will continue to represent Israel as an ambassador in the Turkish league. I have found it tough to combine the intensity of the Turkish league, the national team and keep on filling my role as a family man and I have just started feeling it emotionally and physically.

'Give youngsters a chance'
"I have given my share and in any case the qualification for EURO 2004™ is a long way away and in my opinion this is the time to start building a new squad and give some youngsters a chance as the new campaign belongs to a new generation. Everyone has got his own replacement and so do I. There is a bunch of talented players coming up and there is no one who will have to fill my boots as [Eyal] Berkovic and [Avi] Nimni are still there. And so is Yossi Benayoun, who in my opinion can lead the team ahead."

Surprise for Möller Nielsen
Israel coach Richard Möller Nielsen said he only learnt of Revivo's decision when he saw the newspaper headlines ahead of his departure for Cyprus where he will help decide the fixtures for Israel's EURO 2004™ qualifiers. Israel are in Group 1 along with European champions France, Slovenia, Cyprus and Malta.

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