International Career
Gabbidon had made 17 appearances for the Welsh Under-21 team, when an unexpected call up for the Welsh senior squad in the World Cup qualifier against Belarus in October 2001 prevented him from making his final appearance for the under 21 side. He was an unused substitute in that match and was again called into the senior squad for a friendly game against Argentina in February 2002 but it was not until the next month that he made his debut in a 0–0 home draw against the Czech Republic on 27 March 2002. He became a regular in the team despite a back problem that caused him to miss a large part of the 2002–03 season, and was part of the squad that narrowly missed out on a place at Euro 2004, losing to Russia in the play-offs, and the squad that did not qualify for the 2006 World Cup. Roy Evans, the Wales assistant coach, tipped Gabbidon to be a future captain of the national side, saying, "I see him as potential captain material even if it is not my decision. But he has all the qualities. You do not always have to be vocal, you need to lead by example." Gabbidon captained the side in place of the injured Ryan Giggs in 1–0 away defeat against Cyprus in November 2005 and again in place of Craig Bellamy in a 1–0 win against Bulgaria in August 2007.
In October 2010 Gabbidon announced his retirement from international football. However on January 6, 2011, it was revealed that new Wales manager Gary Speed had asked Gabbidon to rethink his decision to retire from international football "He is the type of player I would like to see change his mind, I have left a couple of messages for Danny and I'm sure he'll get back to me in due course" said Speed. Wales & Celtic midfielder Joe Ledley who is also a close friend of Gabbidon, has also called for the West Ham man to return to the international fold. Ledley told his Twitter site: "I think my best mate in football Danny Gabbidon should come out of retirement and play for Wales. We need him." He was subsequently named in the squad to face the Republic of Ireland in February 2011.
Read more about this topic: Danny Gabbidon
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