In an interview, Jermain Defoe revealed that his unexpected retirement during Sunderland’s League One promotion campaign did not turn out to be as successful as first anticipated.
Shortly after Lee Johnson’s exit, on the January window’s deadline, Defoe had made a heartfelt comeback to the team. He only made two starts in his seven club appearances before deciding to end his career during the March international break.
Defoe said in an interview with the BBC’s Defoe & Deeney Football Firsts podcast that his comeback did not go as planned and that a string of bothersome injuries finally took their toll.
He recalled that day when he made the decision to retire.
It was almost like a farewell dance when I returned to Sunderland after leaving Rangers.Everything I would done there, my relationship with Bradley and the fans, everything. When I visited, Lee Johnson had left, and Alex Neil had taken over as manager. While I was inside the building, a few of the guys were encouraging me to apply for the job. My entire concentration was on trying to assist the boys in moving up to the Championship, which was still my goal. Despite not having played for two or three months, I wanted to support the team and the younger players.
“Giovan van Bronckhorst arrived after Stevie [Gerrard] left, and during our meeting, he inquired about my role as player-coach. He asked if I wanted to play or coach, and my preference was to play. I went to Sunderland and saw Alex Neil, and to tell the truth, I never got the chance to experience what I was promised. I believe the manager simply disregarded all of the information I had been told by those upstairs. I was thinking about the boys’ Saturday game when we arrived for a 5-v-5 game on Monday. My body was feeling a little off, so I guess I was thinking about it. Training alone, apart from competition, demands more effort than it does for members of the team. Mentally, I was having a hard time; I had strained my hamstring and was growing impatient with all the aches and pains, including my achilles. Since I was already restricted, I was just unsure of my ability to complete the task at hand. Several other youthful forwards were present in the building, and I could not help but feel that, given my name, I should be obstructing their path if I felt this way. This is not right, I realized. After training, I went in, called my mother, and said, “That is me done.” Many of my fans were at that time dissatisfied with me.”
In the play-off final at Wembley against Wycombe Wanderers at the end of the season, Sunderland went on to win promotion.