Andres Guardado, the captain and all-time caps leader for Mexico’s national team, has announced his retirement after 15 years of service. The 36-year-old midfielder made the decision official on Tuesday via an Instagram post that thanked fans for their support throughout his career with El Tri.
Guardado joined the Mexican national team in 2004 at age 19 and went on to make a total of 167 appearances wearing Mexico’s jersey — more appearances than any other player in history. He is also the only Mexican player to compete in four World Cups, having first done so as part of the 2006 squad that reached the round of 16. Since then, Guardado has gone on to captain Mexico’s national team in both the 2014 and 2018 World Cups, where his leadership helped El Tri reach the round of 16 yet again.
While Guardado suffered some heartbreaking losses with Mexico, he also had some great successes — most notably leading his countrymen to victory at Copa America Centenario in 2016 as well as several CONCACAF Gold Cup titles (2009, 2011 and 2015). In addition to these titles, Guardado was named CONCACAF Player of the Year twice (in 2015 and 2019) and was selected for two All-Star teams (2011 and 2015). It was no surprise then that when he announced his retirement from international football this week, it sent ripples of sadness through fans around the world.
As much as it pains El Tri faithful to say goodbye to one of their favorite players, many are taking solace in knowing that they will still get a chance to see Andres Guardado donning Mexico’s colors one last time when Qatar 2022 rolls around. The tournament will serve as a fitting final opportunity for him to “achieve something for the Mexican national team” before officially calling time on his international career. Fans can look forward to seeing him lead out “El Tricolor” one last time with pride wearing a new Mexico 2023 jersey emblazoned with “Guardado 20” across its back.
The loss of such an inspirational leader like Andres Guardado is sure to be felt wherever football is played not just by Mexican fans but by fans everywhere who have come to love watching him gracefully maneuver across pitch every time he put on his beloved jersey. We here at FootballNations want nothing but the best for him going forward and are confident we’ll continue seeing great things from this incredible man even after his retirement from international football is complete.