So much of Eric Abidal's playing career has been remarkablethe stuff of myth. But on Friday, at the age of 35, the defender will announce his retirement.His final match was on Wednesday, in which he played the full 90 minutes of Olympiacos' 2-0 win over Panionios.Abidal joined Olympiacos on a two-year contract during the summer, but on Thursday manager Michel told Nova TV that the Frenchman had already made his decision to retire back in October, according to ESPN FC."I am proud to have been his coach this season," he added. "Personal decisions take precedent over those on the pitch."It's expected Abidal will take on a coaching role with Barcelona's academy. It was during his time at Camp Nou, after all, that he experienced both the highs of on-field success and the lows of a health crisis.In March 2011 the then-31-year-old was found to have a tumour in his liver. After undergoing surgery he was rallied around by the entire football world, and even Real MadridBarcelona's eternal rivalposted a message of support on its stadium scoreboard.Two months later Abidal was starting the Champions League final against Manchester United, and following Barcelona's 3-1 victory captain Carles Puyol gave him the armband so he could be the first of his teammates to lift the trophy.It was the France international's second European Cup, and by then he had also won three La Liga titles, a trio of Ligue 1 championships with previous club Lyon and a pair of Copas del Rey.But a year on from his initial liver procedure he required a transplant, after which he spent two months in hospital. This time a comeback to football was rather less certain, and it wasn't until the following October that he was able to resume training.Nevertheless, Abidal persevered, and in April 2013 he returned to first-team action with Barcelona.The following season he signed with Monaco, where he had first played professionally. He made 26 Ligue 1 appearances as the principality outfit finished runners-up to Paris Saint-Germain and qualified for the Champions League.In July he made the move to Greece, but despite agreeing to a two-year pact he quickly resolved to retire before 2015.Whether his bodychallenged with so much in recent yearssimply couldn't hold up to the rigours of day-to-day football any longer or if he was merely eager to get into coaching at La Masia will be revealed at his Friday press conference.Whatever the case, he will leave with the game a legacy of someone who loved football so much that he overcame the odds to come back to it not once, but twice, and at the very highest level.Read more World Football news on BleacherReport.com
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