Italian midfielder Andrea Pirlo has said he will play his last International games in the 2014 World Cup. The 33-year-old Juventus playmaker has said he will retire from international football after the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
"In 2014 I will stop playing for the national team, and I think that the World Cup will be my last appointment with the blue shirt of Italy - space needs to be given to younger players," said the Italian in Turin.
Pirlo made his debut in the Azzuri jersey in 1998 for the Under 21 championship, and got his first cap for the first team in 2002 and has been a staple for the Italian squad ever since.
Playing for Italy in Euro Cups, World Cups, Olympics and soon a Confederation Cup, Pirlo has been part of every major Italian squad since the early 2000's. Making 97 appearances and scoring 27 goals in the Italy shirt, Pirlo was a major part of Italy's World Cup winning campaign.
Pirlo said he is ready to continue playing at club level, adding "at club level I will continue playing as long as I feel the desire, passion and the sense I am still important to the team, otherwise I'll be the first to step back."
He will be 35 at the end of the World Cup.
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