Longstanding Trinidad and Tobago goalkeeper Marvin Phillip has announced his retirement from international duty with the men's football team, 16 years after making his debut versus Panama at the Estadio Rommel Fernandez Gutierrez in Panama City.
Phillip, 39, took to Instagram early on Thursday to relay the news, saying:"It comes with a heavy heart and sadness that I announce I'm hanging up my gloves with immediate effect from the national stage."
Best known for his shot-stopping ability and his cat-like reflexes between the sticks, Phillip made 92 appearances for the Soca Warriors and also served as team captain on several occasions.
Under current senior team coach Angus Eve, Phillip led the team as skipper in two matches at the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup and also captained the team at the beginning of the 2022/23 Concacaf Nations League campaign. Phillip played the solitary match for TT at the 2023 Gold Cup tournament - a thumping 6-0 loss to the US in July. That was his last match for the Soca Warriors.
TT will lock horns once more with the US in the 2023 Concacaf Nations League A quarter-finals this month, but Eve will not be able to rely on the "role model" figure of Phillip. The TT team finished second behind Panama in their Nations League A group, with Phillip left out of the squad for those matches.
Eve commended Phillip's leadership over the years and thanked him for his influence on TT's current crop of goalkeepers: Christopher Biggette (27), Nicklas Frenderup (30), Denzil Smith (24) and Jabari St Hillaire (23).
"Marvin would have been tremendous in allowing Frenderup to settle in and be a part of the process as he was a foreign-based player," Eve told Newsday.
"Marvin has been there mentoring (Denzil) and working with him day in, day out. He has been a role model to these guys in the way he has carried about himself. He would just let them know what to expect at this level because he has seen it all.
"I can't (over-)emphasise how important he was from a leadership and mentorship standpoint with the group."
Before his senior team debut versus Panama in 2007, Phillip showed promise at both the Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) and national youth level. In September 2001, he was TT's starting goalkeeper for the Fifa under-17 World Cup which was played in TT.
Phillip reflected on his memories of wearing the red, white and black.
"I must say this is an extremely difficult moment for me right now," Phillip said in his Instagram post. "As I'm reflecting about my career as a national player from when I represented us as an under-17 player competing in a youth World Cup in 2001, to being on the senior team throughout until 2023, I'm very glad and grateful for everything I've accomplished at the national level."
Eve also spoke to Phillip's longevity.
"To say Phillip's retirement was a surprise or a sudden departure, I probably might say no. Marvin has been a fantastic servant to the country," Eve said. "He and the guys did really well in the youth World Cup (in 2001) and from t
