Werder Bremen's Zlatko Junuzovic retires from international football with Austria

Werder Bremen captain Zlatko Junuzovic will have more time to dedicate to the Bundesliga club after announcing his retirement from international football on Friday.

The 30-year-old cited a desire to spend more time with his family and focus on club football as the chief reason behind his decision.

"I've asked the Austrian Football Association no longer to consider me for national team matches," Junuzovic said in a statement. "After over 10 years in the team, I feel this is now the right time to end this chapter.

"With the demands of club and international football, I've often had very little time for my small family in the past, and it is precisely with this in mind that I would now like to focus fully and wholly on my club career."

Watch: Junuzovic - the free-kick specialist

Junuzovic, who joined Bremen from Austria Vienna in 2012, was capped 55 times by his country since debuting at the age of 18 against Canada in March 2006. He scored seven goals.

"I will never forget how energy-sapping and obstacle-ridden the route to a regular place in the national team was," he continued. "That's why this decision to retire was anything but easy. I had the great honour of representing my country 55 times and I experienced many unforgettable moments."

"I particularly recall our first ever qualification for a European Championship, in which I scored the crucial goal for qualification against Moldova. Given the positive development of football in our country, I'm sure that we'll have opportunities to qualify for major tournaments in future, and I'm going to remain a faithful fan and keep my fingers crossed in front of the TV."

Junuzovic will lead Bremen out on Sunday (kick-off 18:00CEST/16:00GMT) as they look for their first win of the season in the Bundesliga against Borussia Mönchengladbach.