The end of a journey and the end of a dream.
Veteran Soca Warriors playmaker Kevin "Nash" Molino took to social media to announce his retirement from T&T's men's football team on Friday, bidding his goodbye to local supporters.
Molino, 33, who has 59 caps for T&T, chronicled his football journey in national colours.
"It has always been about passion and pride – from my first days with the under-15 team, to being part of a special group in the Under-17 World Cup and Under-20 World Cup," Molino said via an Instagram post.
"I've been able to make lifelong friends, face fierce rivals and lead the nation as a captain of the senior team. Now, that dream has come to an end. It's time to say goodbye for now," Molino said.
Molino, who has battled several injuries during the course of his career, captained the T&T team at the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup. Molino started the first fixture vs St Kitts and Nevis as T&T got their lone win in the group stage. He then featured from off the bench in a 4-1 defeat against Jamaica, before returning to the starting lineup for T&T's 6-0 defeat to the United States.
The Carenage-born attacker currently plays in the Major League Soccer for Columbus Crew.
Molino is known to be lethal in the box, possesses quick feet, and has the ability to find space between the lines to receive the ball.
In an immediate reaction to Molino's announcement, former national players Hutson "Baba" Charles and Densill Theobald both expressed shock at the playmaker's retirement, suggesting that he had still something to offer to the senior setup.
Theobald said, "He served his country with his heart. He served his country well and he will be sorely missed for his creativity, composure, experience and just being able to have that impact and influence on proceedings."
Theobald, who played a handful of games with Molino at senior level, added, "He's someone I enjoyed watching play and watching develop into an impactful player. It's just unfortunate that he suffered injuries that kinda curtailed his career. But at the same time, he is someone I would've paid money to watch play."
Charles, who served as head coach of the T&T team from 2012 to 2013, before operating as an assistant coach to Stephen Hart until 2016, also commented on Molino's injury struggles.
"Because of injuries over the years, I don't think we saw the best of him, or he didn't get to play consistently," Charles said. "His career was kind of stop-start throughout, even from his days with Orlando (City). He had some injuries and every time he came back into his own he kept breaking down. I think we would've been in a better position if we had him fully fit for all those years because of that creative mind he had."
Having represented his country admirably at the Under-17 and Under-20 World Cups in 2007 and 2009 respectively, Molino would go on to make his senior team debut at age 20 under coach Russell Latapy.
For the better part of a decade, Molino served as the "number ten" in the T&T setup, and he enjoyed a particularly good understanding with former powerhouse striker Kenwyne Jones, who also ended his career with 23 goals at the international level for T&T.
The first of Molino's 23 international items came in a World Cup qualifier away to Bermuda in a 2-1 loss for T&T. Molino would go on to be a key member of the T&T squad which got to the finals of the 2012 and 2014 Caribbean Cups, losing to Cuba and Jamaica respectively.
Molino also played a role in T&T's quarterfinal run at the 2013 Gold Cup, but he would miss the quarterfinal run at the subsequent 2015 Gold Cup due to the first of three ACL injuries.
Despite his injury struggles, Molino was always seen as T&T's chief playmaker once fit.
He seemed to have a particular liking for the Dominican Republic during his career, twice netting hat-tricks versus that opposition in Caribbean Cup play in 2014 and 2016 respectively.
His national career was not without hiccups, breaking camp twice under former coach Stephen Hart in 2016 before a World Cup qualifier and Caribbean Cup qualifier. The first infraction, for attending a boat ride, incurred a fine, but the second incident resulted in him being dropped from the squad.
On Wednesday, Molino was one of 40 players listed in coach Angus Eve's provisional squad for the upcoming Concacaf Nations League matches vs Curacao (September 7) and El Salvador (September 10).
SOURCE: T&T Newsday