Netherlands gift North Macedonia great Goran Pandev customised jersey before final game

After leading his team to their first-ever international competition, Goran Pandev played his last game for North Macedonia on Monday against the Netherlands in the ongoing Euro 2020. Goran Pandev's retirement was announced ahead of their Group C clash against the Dutch team which would be their final game of the tournament. Pandev was honoured by the opponents before the match as Netherlands gifted him a jersey that had 122, which is the number of times he has represented the team, and his name engraved at the back of a Dutch jersey which was presented to him by captain Gini Wijnaldum in a great show of respect to the North Macedonian legend.

Pandev also received a guard of honour by the North Macedonia team as he was subbed off in the 69th minute and all the players congratulated him on his great career for the national team. While speaking to BBC Sport, Pandev's North Macedonian teammate Kirke Ristevski said, "Pandev is like a king for what he does. I cannot even explain what an amazing guy he is. I think there is no one like him in  North Macedonia, as a player, and also privately. He is a communicative guy and wants to talk with everyone."

Goran Pandev Career

Pandev was signed by Inter Milan at the age of 18 but was sent out on loan and had spells with multiple Italian teams before making his comeback to Milan in 2010, which was a career year for him as he was an integral part of the Nerazzurri, who won the Champions League that year. His recent stint at Genoa has been truly impressive and he also scored his 100th goal in club football, which made him the only North Macedonian player to do so. Pandev made his international debut for then-called Macedonia in 2001 against Turkey. Initially, he had decided to retire from international football in 2015 but manager Igor Angelovski forced him to stay and since then he has led his team in international competitions.

Goran Pandev retirement

Goran Pandev is one of the most influential players in Macedonian football. It was his goal in the qualifiers that helped the nation to its first-ever international competition. The 37-year-old has had an illustrious career and has even won many trophies including the Champions League in 2010 with Inter Milan.

Pandev is North Macedonia's highest goal scorer with 38 goals. He was also part of the country's biggest ever win against an elite team like  Germany, where they beat the 2014 World Champions 2-1 in the World Cup qualification. His goal against Austria in Euro 2020 made him the second oldest goal scorer in the competition and despite the nation's early exit from the tournament, the future looks really bright for the team that has shown glimpses of what its players are capable of in this competition.

Image Credits: Ons Oranje/Twitter