PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC):

FIFA vice-president Jack Warner has called for a book to be written on Trinidad and Tobago's most accomplished footballer Dwight Yorke, after the veteran announced his retirement from the international game.

Yorke, 35, announced this past week he is quitting international football, and Warner, special adviser to the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (TTFF), believes a fitting written and documented tribute should be done.

Much more to come

"I hope (his exploits) will one day soon be committed to print or equally lasting biographical format," Warner stated in a message to Yorke.

"The many and various awards and accolades bestowed on you, naming of the stadium at Bacolet in eternal tribute to your work and continuing nationwide appreciation of your intervention in local football (not to mention 64 goals in 151 games for the legendary Manchester United team), do not tell even half the story," Warner said.

Yorke, who has been playing international football for almost 20 years, declared last Wednesday that he is retiring from international football to focus on helping his English League Championship club Sunderland earn promotion to the Premiership.

Decision supported

Sunderland are currently fourth in the Championship table, six points behind leaders Derby.

Warner said Yorke's decision will be "respected and supported".

"As you are aware, I have keenly followed your prowess and progress from the early days at Signal Hill Senior Comprehensive School, through engagements with Aston Villa, Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Birmingham City, Sydney FC and now at Sunderland," Warner said in a message to Yorke.

Yorke launched his professional career as an 18-year-old in England when he signed for Aston Villa in 1989, fresh from Trinidad and Tobago's narrow miss at qualifying for the 1990 World Cup Finals in Italy.

He left Villa for Manchester United in a ?12.6 million transfer deal in 1998, and also played for Blackburn and Birmingham before leaving for a championship-winning season with Sydney FC in the Australia A-League.