8 goals including an equaliser against former club Newcastle Jets in their home minor semi-final, a game the Phoenix won 3–1. On 26 March 2012 Brown announced his retirement from football following the conclusion of the 2011–12 A-League season, to pursue a master's degree in management at either the London School of Economics or Cambridge University. Brown's last game for the Phoenix was a disappointing 3–2 loss to the Perth Glory in the playoffs at the end of the 2011–12 season. International career Brown represented New Zealand at Under-20 and Under-23 level before making his full All Whites debut in a 3–0 win over Solomon Islands on 31 May 2004. Brown was included in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup squad in South Africa where he captained the side. Seen as a future All Whites captain, Brown has played all but three of the 14 national team matches since Ricki Herbert took charge in 2005. Brown was a standout in the 1–1 draw at English premier leaguers Charlton Athletic in August 2006, a performance that eventually led to an A-League contract with the Newcastle Jets in Australia. Brown was handed the captain's arm-band for the credible 2–2 draw in Wales in late 2007 May due to the unavailability of regular captain Danny Hay. Given the responsibility of leading his country for the first time against Wales, Brown put on a masterful display in Wrexham with a whole-hearted effort and supplied the ball for Shane Smeltz's second goal. Brown retained the All Whites captaincy for the beginning of 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification but was sent off against Vanuatu in Wellington on 21 November 2007. The red card earned Brown a suspension for the World Cup qualifier against New Caledonia and with Ryan Nelsen returning after a four-year absence, Brown relinquished the captaincy to the Blackburn Rovers skipper but retained a leadership role in the team as vice-captain. In 2009, another injury-enforced absence of Ryan Nelsen provided another opportunity for Brown to once again assume the captaincy, leading the All Whites in their third Confederations Cup campaign and also earning their first-ever point in a senior men's FIFA tournament in a 0–0 draw with Iraq. On 14 November 2009 Brown and the All Whites beat Bahrain 1–0 to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. On 10 May 2010, Brown was named in New Zealand's final 23-man squad of which he is