Inaugural captain Michael Beauchamp has announced his retirement.
Beauchamp called it a day following the final match of the 2018 NPL NSW season with Marconi Stallions, who ended their comeback year in the state’s top flight with a 3-0 loss to Wollongong Wolves.
It comes 17 years after the central defender made his senior footballing debut for the Stallions at the age of 20.
Beauchamp would go on to play in Germany, where he won the DFB-Pokal (the German Cup) in 2007 with FC Nurnberg, and also featured in Denmark, UAE and Thailand in a career spanning nearly two decades.
The Sydney-born defender has also left a sizeable mark on the Hyundai A-League and has established himself as one of the competition’s premier defenders.
He led Western Sydney Wanderers to a remarkable Premiership victory in their inaugural 2012/13 season alongside stints with Central Coast Mariners, Sydney FC and Melbourne Heart.
International acclaim
Beauchamp also made 22 appearances for the Caltex Socceroos and made his international debut off the bench in Australia’ 9-0 victory over Papua New Guinea in 2004.
The defender featured for Australia at two FIFA World Cups.
He was a part of the 2006 squad which progressed the Round of 16 under Guus Hiddink, though he was an unused substitute in the four matches in Germany.
Beauchamp made his World Cup debut in 2010 and played 90 minutes as Australia defeated Serbia 2-1 in their final group match in South Africa.
The former Wanderers skipper scored his first – and only – Socceroos goal against Thailand at the 2007 Asian Cup, a strike which proved the catalyst for a 4-0 win and helped propel Australia into the Quarter-Finals.
