MARCO Gabbiadini yesterday brought down the curtain on his prolific playing days.

A long-standing knee injury means his career is over after 19 games and seven goals for Hartlepool United this season.

He scored 273 times in 791 games during a career which started with a 3-0 home defeat for York City against Bolton Wanderers in 1985.

After 18 years in the game, the buzz of the day-to-day camaraderie will be a big miss to the striker, who turns 36 today.

He confessed: "It's so much fun being a sportsman and I've had an 18-year career.

"It's a horrible day today but all I want to do is get out on the training ground and be with the lads - that's the hardest part of it for me.''

From York he moved to Sunderland, Crystal Palace, Derby, Birmingham, Oxford, Stoke, Darlington and Northampton before arriving at Victoria Park last summer on a free transfer.

He has cost £2.8m in transfer fees over the years - Crystal Palace shelling out £1.8m to take him to Selhurst Park from Sunderland in 1991.

Gabbiadini, who took over the running of a York hotel with his wife during the summer, admitted: "I had the operation which I thought would clear it up, but it's not going to settle down.

"I was feeling it a bit after the operation, had a scan, then there was Christmas which dragged it on a bit.

"The advice is to stop playing because of what could happen in the future. All the surgeons can do now is something to ease the pain, not to get me fit again.

"I suppose that since the operation, retirement is something I've had to consider but it was something to put to the back of my mind. But now it's reality and time to call it a day.

"The surgeon actually said if it was him then he wouldn't carry on, but I wanted to continue.''

Gabbiadini was last year voted Darlington's greatest player after two goal-laden years at Feethams.

He left for Northampton after the play-off defeat in May 2000 and may have returned to his former club last summer after training with the squad during the close season before switching to their bitter rivals.

Quakers' boss David Hodgson admitted: "I spoke to Gabba earlier today and I can honestly say he can look back at his career and be proud.

"He's taken so much stick over the years on the pitch I'm surprised he lasted this long! He scored over 50 goals for us and virtually every one was special.

"I had hoped to squeeze one more year out of him but unfortunately we didn't.

"The manner in which he played the game was a pleasure to watch. I don't keep much memorabilia but I kept Gabba's shirt when he left.

"It's easy to sympathise with our fans' anger when he went Hartlepool.

"But what he did for this football club was incredible and they should always remember that.''

Gabbiadini netted seven goals for Pool this season after his free transfer from Northampton. His last came in the FA Cup win over Whitby on November 8 and he admitted: "I came to Hartlepool in the summer and I've enjoyed every minute of it. I will look back on it with great affection.

"There is a real togetherness here, as is often the case with a team when they have been through a promotion together. But every new signing who has come in has been made welcome.''