End of an Era: James Younghusband announces retirement from football

One of the legends in Philippine football has hanged up his boots, with the era that defined their tenure had called full-time.

Midfielder James Younghusband had announced Thursday morning that he will retire from his playing career at age 33, seven months after his younger brother Phil walked off into the sunset.

It brought the curtains down to an era where the brothers became an icon of the sport in the country which was long dominated by basketball, when they debuted in the Southeast Asian Games in Bacolod 15 years ago.

"Time to say goodbye," said the Chelsea alumnus on Instagram, in which the inseparable bond between the siblings became well-known already before they played for the original iteration of the Azkals because of an unknown gamer spotted their lineage to the game of Football Manager.

It was with the Azkals where he made his biggest mark, playing 101 times and scored a dozen goals for the country while scaring the opposition with his height in the middle of the park.

He was with the national team that made its debut semifinal appearance in the 2010 AFF Championship, where he played a huge role in a 2-0 upset over Vietnam.

"Thank you for the amazing memories. I have loved playing this game," he added.

In his career since leaving Cobham, James has been a fixture in the domestic scene, as he was mostly known from his spell at Meralco Manila (formerly Loyola) where he and Phil had played for almost six years, winning the UFL Cup and the PFF Nationals trophy.

He then played for Davao and then Ceres-Negros, where he finally won his first league title last season as part of the Busmen's Invincible Double.

Apart from his playing exploits, James has also ventured into coaching and grassroots development by putting up The Younghusband Football Academy alongside Phil.

Photo: Jan Vincent Dayrit/Philippines Football League (file)