Brett Holman, who participated in the 2010 South Africa World Cup scoring once against Serbia and another one versus Ghana for Australia, decided to drop his career with the national team weeks prior to this year’s World Cup.
Tim Cahill from the New York Red Bulls and now former teammate of Holman said he was caught off guard with the announcement.
“It surprised me massively, purely because of his age and I’m disappointed because I’m very close with him and having played with him I know the type of quality player he is,’’ Cahill said according to the Herald Sun.
And he continued: “If you look at the World Cup and the 2015 Asian Cup, I know Brett Holman can score goals for the national team and he’s proved it himself.”
Holman’s justification for dropping from the national team with a few days left to the 2014 World Cup involves his family and current club the Al-Nasr in Dubai, where he has played 23 games and scored three goals since arriving in 2013 from Aston Villa.
“Over the past six months, circumstances have led me to rethink my international career and I have made the difficult decision to step aside from my role with the Socceroos. My priorities lie with my young family, and my focus from now on will be with my club Al Nasr. I’ve enjoyed a lengthy and challenging season in the Middle East, and the league over here continues to go from strength to strength,” Holman, 30, said in an statement from the Inspire Sports Management via The Australian.
The attacking midfielder first international debut for Socceroo dates back to 2006 against Bahrain. Overall, Holman played 63 times for Australia and scored nine goals.
This week Holman talked about what it meant to him representing the Socceroo. “It has been a great honour and privilege to play for Australia, and to represent one’s country is every footballer’s dream. I am proud of my achievements and I take with me many happy memories of my time with the national team.”
Australia has made to its third World Cup and will face off Chile, Netherlands and Spain on Group B starting on the second day of the tournament on June 13.