French striker David Trezeguet has announced his retirement from international football following news that Raymond Domenech is to stay on as national coach, the Gazzetta dello sport reported on their website Wednesday.
“The bad Euro situation and the confirmation of coach have forced me to make this irreversible decision,” the Juventus striker said at the club's training ground.
Trezeguet had a successful international career, winning the 1998 World Cup and the 2000 European Championships, where he scored a spectacular golden goal to secure a dramatic late win over Italy.
But Trezeguet and the national coach have had strained relations, with the player recently claiming that Domenech had no confidence in his abilities.
The striker – who scored 20 goals for Juventus last season – was outraged recently when he failed to make the 30-man preliminary squad for last month's Euro 2008 after Domenech dropped him.
“What's happened to me is unacceptable and inexcusable,” Trezeguet said in May. “On the pitch I've shown that I deserve my place. The choices made are incomprehensible, I deserve to go to the Euros.”
The 30-year-old had earmarked the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa as his last chance to feature for his country in a big tournament, saying: “I hope that for my last opportunity – the World Cup in South Africa – something will change.”
Despite France's poor showing at Euro 2008, Domenech last week got the backing of the French Football Federation, effectively ending Trezeguet's hopes of making an international come-back.
