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When retirement is no retirement

I just can't quite get the situation between France and the Chelsea midfielder Claude Makelele. According to BBC Sport Claude Makelele apparently retired from international football after France's loss to Italy in the World Cup final. But the interesting thing is that France's coach Raymond Domenech has called him for international duty for the Euro 2008 qualifying matches this weekend.

I can understand that France would need Makelele especially as he is an expert in his position and there would be no ready replacement but surely if somebody says they have retired from international football then their wish should be granted. For France it looks like if you are still playing somewhere at club level then you can always be called to play for France if needed.

I actually think that nobody should retire from international football. The national team coach should just stop calling a player if he thinks there are other equally good players in their position. With so many matches now being played in European leagues you can understand why some players would rather concentrate on club football without the distraction of international football but won't be the case for Makelele at least for now.

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