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 TT's men's football team on Friday, bidding his goodbye to local supporters.
Molino, 33, who is TT's joint-second highest scorer with 23 goals in 59 appearances, 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 TT team at the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup. Molino started the first fixture vs St Kitts and Nevis as TT 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 TT'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 TT 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
