With the first International break since the World Cup now upon us, we are looking back at some former players who played for their country.
We are lucky to have a number of our past players who have gone on to play football for their country after moving on from Macclesfield.
Five players who used to play for Macclesfield Town have since gone on to play football internationally for their country.
TONY WAITERS – ENGLAND
Our first instance of former Silkmen playing for their country is goalkeeper Anthony (Tony) Waiters, who played for the Silkmen in the late 1950’s.
Waiters took up goalkeeping during his time with the RAF, as he was originally a defender during his schoolboy days.
After beginning his career as an amateur with Bishop Auckland, he joined the Silkmen in 1958 and made 11 appearances under Player-Manager Peter Robinson.
The young goalkeeper caught the attention of Blackpool and was signed by the Lancastrian Club where he went on to make over 250 appearances for the Tangerines.
Waiters’ International story begins in 1964 as he started in a friendly against the Republic of Ireland where England won 3-1 in Dublin.
He went onto make five caps for the Three Lions, the last of which came against The Netherlands in a 1-1 draw in Amsterdam way back in December 1964.
The Southport born goalkeeper was also part of Alf Ramsey’s initial 40 man squad for the 1966 FIFA World Cup, however was not selected for the final 22 man squad which ultimately went on to do rather well.
Not only does Waiters provide an International playing past, he also has a managerial one as well with him managing the Canadian National side on two spells during the 1980’s.
During his tenure with the Canadian’s, Waiters oversaw a run to the Quarter Finals of the Olympics, plus managing Canada on their World Cup debut at Mexico 1986.
Waiters pictured in 1964 during his time with Blackpool.
GEORGE ABBEY – NIGERIA
The next former Silkman to go onto play Internationally is defender George Abbey who played for the Silkmen in the late 1990’s / early 2000’s.
Abbey was signed by Sammy McIlroy in 1999, and spent five years with the Silkmen predominantly playing in the Third Division.
The full-back made 100 appearances during his time at the Moss Rose before playing for other local sides in the form of Port Vale and Crewe Alexandra.
Abbey’s International debut for the ‘Super Eagles’ came in 2003, and would be called up to the African Cup of Nations squad the following year.
At the 2004 tournament, they secured a third place finish defeating Mali in the Third Place game as Abbey was an ever present during the competition.
He went onto to secure 18 caps for the Nigerian National side between 2003 and 2007.
George Abbey made 100 appearances for the Silkmen during his five years spell.
EFE SODJE – NIGERIA
Our third case of former Silkmen players going on to to star on the International stage sees us take a further look at defender Efe Sodje.
Sodje signed for the Silkmen following their promotion to the Football League in 1997 after he joined the club from Stevenage Borough.
The centre-back played 83 times for the Silkmen and was a fan’s favourite during his spell at the Moss Rose and played a major part in some of the club’s most successful years.
He is also famous for scoring the Silkmen’s first Football League goal heading home Colin Rose’s free kick against Torquay United.
Sodje had two spells with the Silkmen, returning in 2013 as player / assistant manager to John Askey.
He had the opportunity to represent the Nigerian National Team at two major tournaments. The 2000 African Cup of Nations and the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
In the 2002 World Cup, he featured in games against both Argentina and England as the Super Eagles exited in the Group Stage in what was a difficult group.
Sodje made 12 International caps for Nigeria and highlights another strong example of a former Silkmen player making it on the International stage.
Sodje in his second spell with Macclesfield Town.
RICKIE LAMBERT – ENGLAND
Another successful case of a former Silkmen player going to feature on the International stage is striker Rickie Lambert who joined late in the 2000/01 season and stayed with the Club during the 2001/02 season.
Lambert made 44 appearances for the Silkmen in all competitions scoring eight times for the club that season.
The striker was drawn away from the Moss Rose the following season as he was sold for a club record fee to Second Division side Stockport County.
It was Lambert’s spell with the Silkmen which provided a catalyst to becoming a successful Premier League striker as he had a great career at the highest level of English football.
His spells with Southampton and Liverpool are ones where Lambert was known the most, and it was these where he caught the eye of the National selectors.
He made 11 caps for the Three Lions between 2013 & 2014 and was called up to Roy Hodgson’s squad for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. He also scored on his England debut with his very first touch in and International Friendly against Scotland.
Rickie Lambert’s headshot from his one full season with the Silkmen in 2001/02.
ASMIR BEGOVIC – BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA
We have another goalkeeper as our final example of a former Silkmen player going on to play for his country and that is Asmir Begovic who played just three times for the Silkmen.
The Bosnian joined the Silkmen on loan from Premier League side Portsmouth during the 2006/07 season.
Begovic made his Football League debut in a 1-1 draw with Stockport County where he was brought on as a substitute for goalkeeper Jonny Brain.
His loan spell at Moss Rose was cut due to injury, as he only featured three times for us.
He would have a successful Premier League career further down the line as he has 236 Premier League appearances to his name.
The keeper also has an impressive International career to his name as he has represented Bosnia and Herzegovina 63 times spanning 11 years between 2009 and 2020.
Begovic pictured for Macclesfield Town in a 2-1 victory over Notts County at Meadow Lane.
