Former Oxford United defender Michael Duberry has officially announced his retirement from football. After several weeks of contemplating, the 37-year-old centre-half reluctantly decided to call time on his amazing career that spanned over twenty years, scoring 12 goals in nearly 500 games.

Known to Oxford fans as ‘Dubes’, the towering centre-back joined the Us back in the summer of 2011 from Scottish Premier League outfit St Johnstone. Duberry proved at massive hit at the Kassam Stadium during his two-year stay with the club, racking up nearly 50 appearances for Chris Wilder’s side.

The defender’s 484^th and final professional appearances came in Oxford’s 3-0 away victory at Accrington Stanley back in April last season. Unfortunately at the end of the season, veteran Duberry wasn’t offered a new contract by Oxford on the grounds of a serious neck injury that sidelined the former Chelsea and Leeds United for the first half of last year’s campaign.

Duberry, who will turn 38 this month, has been playing for non-league side Hendon having failed to impress any other professional suitors during the summer. Despite retirement never being on his mind since leaving United back in May, ‘Dubes’ can confidently look back on a memorable career.

He said: “I sit here happy and content because I take with me great memories. I look back and I’m proud of my career. I’m proud of who I’ve played with and against – the journey has been a fairytale.

“When I started at Enfield Rangers at nine years old, if someone had shown me the path I would go on and what I’ve achieved, I would have thought they were joking.

“Speaking about the whole of my career, do I have any regrets? There’s absolutely none because I’m sat here smiling.”

Duberry’s story began at Stamford Bridge all the way back in 1993, working his way up as a young trainee at Chelsea, before unknowingly going onto make nearly 90 appearances for the Blues, winning the League Cup, Cup Winner’s Cup and the European Super Cup. The defender became a first-team regular for the Pensioners during his tenure, but opted for a switch to Leeds United in 1999 for a reported fee of £4.5m.

His other previous clubs include Stoke City, Reading and Wycombe Wanderers; but Duberry revealed how much he relished his time at United: “I loved my time at Oxford. The first season was amazing as I played with a passion from the first pre-season game. I wanted to show everyone I wasn’t an old player.

“I had that attitude every week and it kept me going to prove the doubters wrong. The second year I was so gutted to need surgery on my neck because I had such big plans.I was determined not to retire on the treatment table. It was a massive thing to get back playing again.

“When I left Oxford in the summer I kept myself fit and thought the phone would ring. Obviously I restricted myself to a radius where I wanted to be close to my kids, but I didn’t think that would be a problem.

“For whatever reason it didn’t happen. When I left Hendon I was training on my own and I thought ‘you know what, you’ll be 38 soon, I’m going to call it a day and look forward to my next step’.

“I have had journalism and media work in my head and I’m going to give 100 per cent to that, which is what I did when I started football.”

Meanwhile in other news, goalkeeper Shwan Jalal has been recalled by his parent club AFC Bournemouth from his loan spell at the club. The Division Two side have decided to bring Jalal back to Dean Court following Ryan Allsop’s dismissal against Leeds United on Tuesday night.

The 30-year-old keeper arrived at the Kassam Stadium on a one-month emergency loan after Max Crocombe was ruled out with a shoulder injury, and has provided back-up to regular number one Ryan Clarke as an unused substitute in the previous three league games.

Thankfully for Oxford, young shot-stopper Crocombe has returned to full-time training, and is expected to be fit enough to return to the bench for United’s home tie against Southend United this Saturday.