Former Wellington Phoenix captain Andrew Durante is unsure what sort of reception he will receive from the crowd when he steps out onto the pitch at Sky Stadium for the final time.
The record holder for most A-League appearances (356) announced on Wednesday, ahead of Western United’s clash with the Phoenix on Saturday, that he will retire at the end of the season, bringing the curtain down on an esteemed 20-year professional football career that is older than striker Ben Waine.
Durante was booed by sections of the crowd when he returned in opposition colours at the start of last season but was given a standing ovation at fulltime. He is hoping for a less hostile reception on Saturday.
“I think everyone understands my contribution to the football club and to football in that country. I gave everything. I genuinely gave everything. My family gave everything,” he said.
“I can walk out of the stadium on Saturday night with my head held high because I know what I gave to the football club. You don’t play 270-odd games and play 11 years for one club if you don’t care about the club, and I really do. But it was more a decision for me and my family to move away.
“Look, the fans will recognise me how they want to recognise me, but I think everyone realises how much I gave to that football club in some of the darkest times that club has had. I was front and centre and never shirked my responsibilities to do that.”
Durante believed his controversial switch to Western ahead of the 2019-20 season prolonged his lengthy football career, playing a further two years before deciding it was time to finally hang up the boots at 39.
He spoke briefly with incoming Phoenix coach Ufuk Talay about the prospect of staying in Wellington for a 12th season before electing to take his young family back to Australia and to join Mark Rudan at Western.
“Looking at how everything has panned out, I do believe that [the move prolonged my career].
“My initial talks with Ufuk Talay were good, but I knew he wanted to play a back four system, and I wasn’t sure if I really suited going to that. I knew at Western their back three suited me a lot more.
“There’s hindsight, but maybe I wouldn’t have played as much and that would’ve been my last year at Wellington if I stayed there last year.
“I was going to retire last year to be honest, but I had a really strong season and I felt really good, and Mark and the CEO sat me down and said look ‘we want you to go around again’. I was really enjoying it, so I thought you know what, I’ll do it. But this year was the year where I really thought, I’m ready to stop now.”
Durante believed it was the perfect time to announce his retirement this week, with Western’s must-win game against the Phoenix coinciding with the first A-League fixture in Wellington in more than 400 days.
It is set to be an emotional occasion for the Australian-born former New Zealand international, who made a club record 273 appearances for the Phoenix and 24 for the All Whites.
“I knew it was going to be this year that I was going to retire, but I never knew the right moment or when to do it. Then Wellington getting a one-off home game and it being against us, I thought it was the perfect moment and a fitting moment to say that I was going to retire,” he said.
Although Durante felt he could still contribute on the field at 39, he said wanted to finish on his own terms.
He has been in and out of the starting XI after missing most of Western’s pre-season with an ankle injury.
“I didn’t want to finish my career as a bit part player and come on here and there,” Durante said.
“I’ve had so many team-mates finish with an injury or haven’t got contracts and when you speak to them it’s probably the one thing that they felt let down with in their career; that they never got a proper sendoff.”
Looking back on his esteemed career, which was highlighted by a National Soccer League title with Sydney Olympic in 2002 and an A-League championship with Newcastle Jets in 2008, Durante said some of his fondest memories occurred during his 11-year stint in New Zealand.
“Those packed out stadiums at Westpac Stadium [now Sky Stadium] in 2010 for the semifinal series, we didn’t win anything but man that was such an incredible feeling and football was just at its peak there in Wellington at the time. Those are really, really fond memories for me.
“And obviously on the international scene, the Confederations Cup against [Cristiano] Ronaldo and playing in big occasions against Mexico in the Intercontinental playoff and the Peru game. I’m so honoured and I feel so connected still to New Zealand. Being able to represent the country was amazing.”
Durante plans to take a complete break from football next year, wanting to take his wife and their three daughters on a six-month trip across Australia before making any decisions about his post-playing career.
