Paulo Ferreira retires from international football
Portugal defender joins Simao in withdrawing from the Seleccao
 Paulo Ferreira has retired from international football. The Chelsea player donned a Portugal shirt 62 times and made his final appearance in the South Africa World Cup match against Ivory Coast on 15 June.
The news follows hot on the heels of the announcement last week by Simao that he was also hanging up his international boots.
The recent retirements of Deco, Simao and now Ferreira are just the most recent developments of a process that has seen the Seleccao renew itself radically over the past four years. Of the 14 players Portugal used in the 2006 World Cup semi-final, only Ricardo Carvalho and Cristiano Ronaldo remain in the national team set-up.
Steady rise to the top
Ferreira began his career at Estoril-Praia before moving to top-flight Vitoria Setubal. His big break came when Jose Mourinho made him one of his first signings after taking over at FC Porto. The full-back won the Uefa Cup and Champions League in successive years for the Dragons, as well as cleaning up the domestic trophies.
When Mourinho left for Chelsea he took Ferreira with him, and the defender enjoyed a tremendous start to his career in England as a regular starter during two successive Premier League triumphs. However, since then injuries and tough competition for places at one of the world’s richest clubs has seen Ferreira get limited playing time at Stamford Bridge.
Model professional
Viewed as a model professional, Mourinho once said of Ferreira: “He’s the sort of player who is never going to be man of the match but will always score 7/10 for his individual performance.”
The 31-year-old had his critics when playing for Portugal but the number of caps he earned shows he was trusted by Luiz Felipe Scolari and Carlos Queiroz. Although ostensibly a right-back, Ferreira often filled in at left-back, traditionally a problem position for Portugal, especially between the time spanning Nuno Valente’s retirement and the recent emergence of Fabio Coentrao.
According to reports, Ferreira informed Carlos Queiroz of his decision to quit international football some weeks ago and stuck to his decision despite attempts by the Portugal coach to change his mind.
Paulo Ferreira fact file:
Name: Paulo Renato Rebocho Ferreira
Date of birth: 18 January 1979 (31 years old)
Place of birth: Cascais, Portugal
Clubs: Estoril (1997), Vitoria de Setubal (2000-2002), FC Porto (2002-2004), Chelsea (since 2004)
International caps: 62
Major trophies: Champions League (2004), Uefa Cup (2003), Portuguese championship (2003 & 2004), Portuguese Cup (2003), Premier League championship (2005, 2006, 2010), FA Cup (2007 & 2009), English League Cup (2005 & 2007)
by Tom Kundert
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Obrigado Ferreira we will miss you.
Best of luck at Chelsea!
Ferreira has played many times at international level and has been a strong member of chelseas teanm infact he has been used alot this year by ancoletti.
Goodluck with the rest of your career, im not happy to see you go.
Now Liedson to retire!