Joe Allen: The Welsh Pirlo was no ordinary Joe and will be missed

Joe Allen's first Wales involvement came in 2005 when he represented Wales under-17s

The Welsh Xavi, even The Welsh Pirlo.

Neither moniker sat comfortably with Joe Allen who once remarked he'd be prefer to be known simply as an average Joe.

Yet that could never be the case for those who watched the 32-year-old in the red shirt of Wales he has now decided to hang up for the final time.

Whether the Pembrokeshire playmaker liked it or not - and his modesty meant it was often the latter - supporters saw Allen as a cut above most others.

Indeed, even now he has made his decision to retire from international football, there will be every chance you will still see the giant banner that has been present in the Red Wall for many a year: 'When God made Joe Allen, he was just showing off'.

Some statement in a side containing the talents of Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey, but Allen was always seen as key to Welsh success as his two long-running team-mates - even if his club career never quite reached the same heights or earned the same silverware.

Bale and Ramsey may have been matchwinners, but Allen was hugely influential in his own right during Wales' greatest era.

Gareth Bale, who also recently retired from international football, has been among the many of Joe Allen's teammates to pay tribute to him on social media.

The first of his 74 caps came as a substitute against Estonia in 2009 when only 4,000 fought against apathy to watch the side in Llanelli.

Given his debut by John Toshack, made a key figure by Gary Speed, it was under Chris Coleman that Allen came to the fore.

While he struggled to live up to the hype after a high-profile move to Liverpool, he was always most comfortable controlling games for Wales. Coleman likened him to an owl such was the way he could scan for passes before receiving the ball, with Bale and Ramsey so often the beneficiaries.

With a bravery in and out of possession that belied his stature, he was considered the heartbeat of the team.

"He's been outstanding, kept things simple, didn't overcomplicate things. We're quick to praise Aaron Ramsey and Gareth Bale for their skill, their goals and their assists, but they don't get as much of the ball if they don't have Joe Allen in midfield," former Wales striker Iwan Roberts told BBC Radio Wales.

And while his subtleties meant he did not have the same stardust as his peers, the diminutive player was gargantuan in his popularity because, with Allen in the side, Wales fans were always given hope.

Not that Allen saw it that way.

"He never wanted any attention, he was happy being a player for the team, do his role quietly in the background, being appreciated by the players on the field with him and the Red Wall as well of course," former team-mate Owain Tudur Jones told BBC Radio Cymru.

"I think playing for Wales over and over again, and then to get the success that he did, means so much to him.

"He deserves so much praise and we'll always appreciate what he's done and achieved."

Joe Allen helped Wales to qualify for three major tournaments during his international career

And it was never more appreciated than in the Wales dressing room - and never more obvious than during Wales' historic run at Euro 2016.

An ever present in the side that reached the semi-final and named in Uefa's team of the tournament, Bale was asked why Allen didn't engineer the same amount of headlines as others.

"In the squad he gets the headlines," came the reply, with Bale adding that every day was a Joe Allen appreciation day, a nod to then captain Ashley Williams' revelation the side's WhatsApp group would have a weekly homage to the softly-spoken midfielder.

It seems Williams' admiration has not diminished.

"One of my favourite team-mates ever," said his colleague at Swansea, Stoke and international level, adding in his social media post that Allen was one of "Wales' greatest players".

Ramsey, meanwhile, wrote that Allen was "everything and more you'd want from a midfield partner" and Bale - while also posting a picture of that aforementioned banner - said: "A pleasure to play alongside you, Joe. What a player. Legend."

Such tributes show why manager Rob Page was so desperate to have his influence in Qatar as Wales finally reached a World Cup that he kept a place on the plane for him despite injury in the build-up that would already see him miss the opening fixture with USA.

"A lot of people don't know the truth on how close he was to missing out on the World Cup completely," revealed Jones.

"He didn't train for nearly three months before due to a nasty hamstring injury and that showed his character, that he was ready to work hard and get himself on the field, that meant a lot."

By the time he was introduced as a substitute against Iran, Wales' adventure was all but over, save a final appearance against England.

Page had already said he would be looking to younger talent as Wales attempt to qualify for a third successive European Championships, beginning in Croatia in March, 2023.

He will do so now without another one of Welsh football's golden generation after a player who routinely shrugged off both criticism and praise seems to have listened to what his body has been telling him.

"Unfortunately, time and injuries take their toll and so it's time for me to make way for our next generation," Allen wrote in his farewell note, although he will now carry on for Swansea, the boyhood club he returned to last summer.

Joe Allen returned to his boyhood club Swansea City after spells with Liverpool and Stoke City

"I think the disappointment for him personally is that he never saw himself retire from international football, he thought he'd do something similar to Gareth Bale which was to stop playing football (altogether)," Jones added.

"But physically in the last year or two the game has just caught up with him, playing in the Championship, so many games, he feels it in his legs and unfortunately he had to make some sort of a decision to try and play for as long as possible.

"I think he just felt another campaign would be physically too much and that's unfortunate because the truth is we're going to miss him."

Roberts agrees. "He's irreplaceable. Every successful team, every good side needs a Joe Allen in midfield: an energetic, no-nonsense, ball-winning, midfielder who covers every blade of grass."

It is a stark reminder of the challenge Wales now face, but also of what has been achieved.

The fact Allen was so instrumental in it suggests he was never an average Joe.

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