Israel stalwart Benado forced to retire
Reuters - Sunday 19 June 2011, 20:10
JERUSALEM - Maccabi Haifa defender
Arik Benado, Israel's most capped international, was forced
on medical advice to announce his retirement on Sunday, his club
said.
Benado had planned to quit at the end of Haifa's European
campaign next season but was forced to bring that forward after
he was found to be suffering from a heart problem, media reports
said.
Benado, 37, played 94 times for Israel and made his last
international appearance against England in 2007. He also holds
the record for Israeli top-flight league matches, with 565 in a
career spanning three decades.
"This is a difficult day for me. After almost 30 years of
football everything has come to a halt suddenly. I have been
forced to retire on doctors' orders. It is not the way I wanted
to end my career but my consolation is that I have managed to do
it at the club where I grew up and which has been one of my
life's loves," Benado said in a statement.
Benado played for Haifa and Beitar Jerusalem and won nine
league championships and three State Cups.