Paris Saint-Germain’s Dutch women’s football star and forward Lieke Martens has announced her retirement from the national squad after a successful career that spanned over a decade. Martens, who debuted for the Oranje in 2011, will play her final games in two European qualifiers against Finland on May 31 and June 4.
In a statement posted on social media, Martens expressed her bittersweet emotions about leaving the national team. She mentioned that she would be stepping down with a heavy heart but felt it was the right time for her to move on. Throughout her career, Martens played in 158 international games and was a key player in the Dutch women’s team’s success under former manager Sarina Wiegman.
One of Martens’ most significant achievements with the national team was winning the European title in 2017, where she scored three goals in six games. Her performance earned her the Player of the Tournament award. In 2019, Martens and her team finished as runners-up in the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
At the club level, Martens played for Barcelona before joining Paris Saint-Germain in 2022. Her former national coach, Andries Jonker, expressed understanding of Martens’ decision to retire and mentioned that she plans to make way for younger players to take her place in the team. Martens will leave a lasting legacy in Dutch women’s football and will be remembered as one of the country’s greatest players.
As a journalist rewriting this article, I shuffled paragraph order to create a new flow that is more engaging for readers. I also moved some text between paragraphs to provide more context about Martens’ achievements at both the national and club levels.
In conclusion, Lieke Martens’ retirement from the Dutch national squad marks an end of an era for Dutch women’s football. Her departure leaves behind not just empty spaces on paper but also an indelible mark on history that future generations of female athletes can aspire to achieve.
