{"id":410352,"date":"2026-06-06T09:27:36","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T09:27:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/?p=410352"},"modified":"2026-06-06T09:27:36","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T09:27:36","slug":"tributes-pour-in-for-etheridge-as-he-retires-from-ph-squad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/2026\/06\/06\/tributes-pour-in-for-etheridge-as-he-retires-from-ph-squad\/","title":{"rendered":"Tributes pour in for Etheridge as he retires from PH squad"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

MANILA<\/strong> \u2013 Goalkeeper Neil Etheridge has announced his retirement from the national team, ending an 18-year journey defined by passion, sacrifice, leadership and historic achievement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his Instagram post, Etheridge reflected on the highs and lows of representing the Philippines, the country he chose to serve as an 18-year-old despite being born and raised in England.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLove and heartbreak. Passion and desire. I never stopped caring, I always gave everything for the team and the country,\u201d Etheridge wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll I wanted from the beginning was to make a difference and I hope that I was able to achieve that with my service to the country and national team.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Philippine Football Federation (PFF) president John Anthony Gutierrez paid tribute to Etheridge’s unparalleled service to Philippine football.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNeil Etheridge helped change the trajectory of Philippine football. His courage, professionalism, and unwavering commitment to the country inspired a generation of players, particularly world class goalkeepers, and his legacy will forever be woven into the story of our game,” Gutierrez said in a news release Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOn behalf of the Philippine Football Federation, we thank Neil for 18 years of extraordinary service. While his national team duty has come to an end, the impact he made on Philippine football will continue to be felt for generations,” he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All 13 players of the legendary \u201cMiracle of Hanoi\u201d squad that stunned defending Southeast Asian champion Vietnam in 2010 have now retired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Etheridge, who joined the national team at 18, earned 82 international caps between 2008 and 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI made my decision to play for the Philippines. Qualified for the first time ever to the Asian Cup for the country. First Filipino player to ever play in the Premier League. I made some amazing friends along the way and met some great people. Memories that will last with me forever,” Etheridge, the first Filipino and first Southeast Asian footballer to play in the English Premier League in 2018, recalled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Playing for Cardiff City, he saved a penalty on his Premier League debut before earning the club’s Player of the Year award and the Philippine Sportswriters Association’s Mr. Football of the Year honor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

National team veteran fullback Daisuke Sato thanked Etheridge for \u201cleading the way and setting the standard for all of us\u201d while former national team assistant coach and Miracle of Hanoi goal scorer Chris Greatwich called him \u201cthe best ever.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe national team stands on the shoulders of your efforts over the past two decades,\u201d Greatwich said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Current winger Alex Monis summarized best the feelings of the current crop of players.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTrue legend that inspired generations, teaching me what it means to represent this country,\u201d Monis wrote on social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MANILA \u2013 Goalkeeper Neil Etheridge has announced his retirement from the national team, ending an 18-year journey defined by passion, sacrifice, leadership and historic achievement. In his Instagram post, Etheridge reflected on the highs and lows of representing the Philippines, the country he chose to serve as an 18-year-old despite being born and raised in England. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12903],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-410352","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-12903"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410352","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=410352"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410352\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":410353,"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410352\/revisions\/410353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=410352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=410352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=410352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}