By: Gil Moriones
MANILA - One of the attacking gems of the PMNFT, Patrick Reichelt, officially called his international stint playing for the Philippines a career as he announced on his official Instagram and Facebook posts, earlier today.
"With a heavy heart, I'm leaving the camp today after our successful semi-final qualification. This is a decision I discussed with the management and coaching staff beforehand, and I'm grateful for their support", he wrote.
A winger and forward born in Berlin already served for the national team with 93 appearances and tallied 16 international goals wearing Philippine kit.
Reichelt cited his focus of being a father as his pregnant wife, Cheyser Pedregosa, nearly to give birth on their first child in the few days.
"My wife and I are expecting our first child in just a few days, and it's time for me to fly home and give my undivided attention to our growing family. As this beautiful new chapter begins in our lives, another comes to an end."
"Yesterday's game marked my last match wearing the Philippine football jersey. This decision was never going to be easy, but I always knew the day would come. For nearly 13 years, this team has been my family. I owe so much of my life to this experience."
His recent appearance to replace Uriel Dalapo in the 90+4 minutes in their intense game vs. Indonesia last night will be his last cap for the national team.
"We've shared Christmases, birthdays, and even quarantines together. I've literally grown up with this national team, and you've been a huge part of shaping me into the man I am today."
The former and current teammates of the national teams, who used to be an Azkals before, sent their appreciation comments like the former striker Phil Younghusband, Stephan Shrock, Misagh Bahadoran, Roland Muller, Sandro Reyes, Zico Bailey, Bienvenido Marañon, Bjorn Kristensen, and other players who shared his presence in the national team and his career in the professional leagues.
"Representing the Philippines as a national team player has been the greatest honor of my professional career. I hope, along the way, I was able to inspire fans, friends, and especially my teammates to understand what it truly means to represent this amazing and the people of our country. I will treasure this journey and its memories forever."
The current forward of Kuala Lumpur was also created his memorable career in the local professional league during United Football League (UFL) days and for the Philippine Football League (PFL) including his colorful career being with Ceres-Negros FC from 2014-2019, amassing 52 goals on his 82 caps.
Wearing his Ceres kit before, Reichelt also served the pro-football club several time in the AFC Champions League and AFC Cup before its reformatted to ACL Two.
"Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone I've worked with over the years - my teammates, coaches, and staff. Thank you for letting me be part of his incredible family. I'll see you around Philippines football", he finished.
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