His future in football still remains unclear however, with suggestions he may move to Adelaide to join the coaching staff at United alongside his brother, Aurelio.

Vidmar has enjoyed a international and domestic career which has included stints in Belgium, the Netherlands, Scotland and England.

Vidmar joined the Mariners as their inaugural marquee player just prior to their 2006 Pre-Season Cup semi final against the Newcastle Jets at Bluetongue Stadium.

After debuting in that match, he has gone on to record 37 competitive appearances for Central Coast, 32 in the A-League.

Most recently, Vidmar has been a cornerstone member of the Mariners’ season three successes – starting 17 of the Central Coast’s 23 matches in defence and contributing to a club record ten regular season clean sheets.

The 2008 Grand Final at Sydney Football Stadium on Sunday, February 24, will be Vidmar’s last competitive appearance at any level of football – a match that provides the 37-year-old with a fitting opportunity to cap a successful career.

"There has been a lot of speculation on what I was going to do, whether to continue on or to end my career," said Vidmar.

"I made up my mind about three weeks ago and thought that it was probably the right time to finish and that was well before we clinched our Grand Final berth.

"My aim at the start of the season was to help qualify the team for the AFC Champions League and to top that now would be very difficult.

"There are a lot of people that I’d like to thank – when I first started in the National Soccer League my first coach Zoran Matic was a huge influence for my career and every other coach that I’ve had since has influenced me in some way.

"I’d like to thank everyone at the Mariners – everyone in the office to the coaching staff and my team-mates, after what happened with my medical condition it was a gamble that they took to bring me here and I’d like to thank them for giving me the opportunity to finish my career in Australia.

"It would definitely be nice to finish it off with a Championship."

The Championship would be a welcome addition to Vidmar’s trophy cabinet, which already includes two National Soccer League Championships, two Scottish Premier League Championships, three Scottish FA Cups, two Scottish League Cups and the A-League Premiers Plate, which was won by the Mariners earlier this campaign.

However, it was while wearing the green and gold of Australia that Vidmar contributed his most noteworthy performances.

Vidmar retired from the international arena at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium in October 2006 as Australia’s third highest capped player of all time, having accumulated 76 appearances between 1991 and his retirement.

Some of Vidmar’s highlights while playing for the Socceroos include captaining his country to a famous 1-0 win over Brazil at the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup, opposing the likes of Eric Cantona, Diego Maradona and Ronaldo in various competitive or friendly internationals and scoring one of the match winning penalty kicks of Australia’s unforgettable FIFA World Cup qualifying triumph over Uruguay in November 2005.

Vidmar retires from competitive football having taken part in nearly 600 competitive fixtures in league and cup competitions around the world, restricted age international matches and senior international games.

"Everyone at the Central Coast Mariners is thrilled, delighted and exceptionally proud to have been able to witness one of the icons of our game – a man who is an absolute credit to our sport, wear our club colours for two seasons," said Mariners Executive Chairman Lyall Gorman.

"It is the influence of players like Tony that has helped introduce a whole new level of professionalism and football culture to the A-League and, indeed, to the Mariners.

"We are indebted to his contribution to our club in his capacity as our very first marquee player."

He added: "While it is with much sadness that we realise one of Australian football’s most beloved players will pull on the boots for the last time in a little over a week, we are of course one hundred percent supportive and respectful of Tony’s decision and we wish him all the very best for the future.

"On behalf of everyone at the Mariners and the Australian football community at large, I would like to thank Tony for his truly outstanding service to football in this country.

"His playing contribution will never be forgotten and his noteworthy efforts off the field will live on for some time I am sure."