Football: Antar Yahia retires from Greens of Algeria

Algeria captain and FC Kaiserslautern defender Antar Yahia, 30, has decided to leave the Greens, a local sports online newspaper reported on Tuesday (May 1st).

• “At some point you have to leave and make way for a new generation,” Antar Yahia said about the end of his eight years with the Algerian national squad.

• “This is a heart-breaking decision for me, since a great love story binds me to the national team and the Algerian public, with whom I shared emotional moments throughout my international career,” he added.

• Antar Yahia, who played for the French U-16 and U-18 teams, was the first footballer to profit from the 2004 change in FIFA eligibility rules.

• In 2009, seasoned defender Antar Yahia scored the only goal in the Egypt/Algeria qualifying match in Khartoum (Sudan) that sent the Fennecs of Algeria to their first World Cup since 1986.

• He participated with the Algeria line-up in the 2010 World Cup, CAN 2004 and CAN 2010.