United's Nemanja Vidic has announced as a shock his retirement from International football. The 29-year-old club and Serbian captain said he was no longer needed in his country's set-up, wanting youth to get a foothold in the senior side. Vidic made the comments after Serbia were eliminated from Euro Qualification...

Vidic has played for Serbia for 9 years, having made his debut in October 2002, and has since tallied 56 caps to his name, with 2 goals. He attempted to add to his goalscoring total on Tuesday night, but missed a penalty against Slovenia in qualification for Euro 2012, with the opposition ultimately running away with a 1-0 win, which saw Serbia knocked-out of the Group Stages and without a place in next year's competition in Poland and Ukraine.

Nemanja returned to football for the first time since late August midweek, after suffering from a severe calf injury. It was a positive note for United to begin with, but his penalty miss, loss and retirement soured the evening. It will provide Vida with more time to focus on The Red Devils, but after being captain of Serbia for decent period and at 29 years of age, one would feel that the defender could have played on for his country for another couple of seasons. 
 
He was quoted as saying to Serbian media on Tuesday night: "If you want me to say that (was my last game for Serbia), then I can say it - yes - this was my last game. It’s time for a change of generations, and for some older players to say goodbye to Serbian kit." He added, vaguely: "I'm aware of the consequences of a poorly executed penalty. If I had scored, the game would have taken an entirely different course.''
 
Dejan Stankovic and Vladimir Petrovic both indicated they would do likewise, and retire from Serbia.