James Younghusband won’t be waiting for the football season to restart.
Instead, he will just say goodbye to his teammates, his coaches and his team and retire for good.
The 33-year-old Younghusband said he made up his mind to just hang his jersey after spending a lot of time with her sister while in home quarantine for the last three months.
“Life is just too short. You just want to do as much as you can,” said Younghusband in a podcast.
He said his plans to retire took shape last year when Ceres FC won its second of three crowns in the Philippine Football League with him around.
When the coronavirus pandemic hit and the Busmen’s games in the Asian Football Confederation 2020 Cup got short, that was when Younghusband finally made up his mind.
“I decided to stay on for one more year. But with the pandemic, they had to adjust and wait until football will be allowed to play. I’m turning 34 in a couple of months and I see the end of my playing career,” said Younghusband.
The Busmen’s last game saw them beat Bali United FC, 4-0, at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium on March 11.
“Then, the pandemic hit. We were keeping fit at the start. And then it got longer than we thought. It kind of brought our levels down and we were then working out four to five times a week,” added Younghusband, whose career in the Philippine football spanned 14 years.
It began when he and his brother Phil joined the U-23 national team for the 2005 Southeast Asian Games.
James and Phil were part of the Philippines Azkals andtogether, they saw the rise of Philippine football.
Their most memorable games were during the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup campaign of the senior national squad, when they reached the semifinals.
“Time to say goodbye. Thank you for the amazing memories. I have loved playing this game. Thank you to my family, bosses, managers, coaches, team mates, opponents and all my supporters who have been part of my professional career. I feel lucky to have experienced wonderful memories and thankful for every moment of my time with my clubs and country,” said Younghusband on Instagram.
Younghusband said he now plans to become a coach and will pursue his goals when “the new normal” times come.
His brother Phil retired last November after marrying his girlfriend Margaret.