Championship player gets full England call up.

[steken1]

It's kind of amazing how many players have played for multiple national teams, like. Even these days it's not rare for someone like Gueye to play for the the french youth system and then Senegal or Jenkinson do the same with Finland and England but back in the day you had players just go mental with it. I think Kubala and Di Stefano played for three different teams each. And one argentinian reached world cup finals with two different teams in the 30s.

How do you know he was argentine then?

Only messing. I can understand it to some degree as France has historically seen a lot of immigration from africa. But Island nations like ours it's very odd.

FIFA allowing a lot of crossing on the issue have damaged the legitimacy of In.t football IMO and they should introduce something better than whats there now.

 

[Allezfan]

How do you know he was argentine then?

Only messing. I can understand it to some degree as France has historically seen a lot of immigration from africa. But Island nations like ours it's very odd.

FIFA allowing a lot of crossing on the issue have damaged the legitimacy of In.t football IMO and they should introduce something better than whats there now.

The Italian team which won two world cups under mussolini was full of argentinians they'd bought over the atlantic for that purpose. It was one of the fascists dirty tricks which meant the 34 world cup is often devalued. Hilariously it was justified by the fact that a lot of the players were nominally in the armed forces and the italian coach said 'if they can fight for italy, they can play for her' which was slightly undercut by them all deserting once war actually broke out.

Where as in this country, for instance the supremely talented Stuart Leary who flew in the RAF during WW2 was never capped by england because he was born in south africa. So he could fight for england but not play for her.

 

[steken1]

A professional footballing fighter pilot. Bet he had loads of trouble with the birds.

I think, despite the best efforts of Labour, national pride burns strong in this country. I can't imagine that type of thing would fly with the general public or the media of our country TBH.

Then again no one was moaning at the olympics.

For me every single person from the coach driver to the manager should all be English. World cups and all internationals are about the best of your country taking on the best of another.

Edit - I thought Uraguay won that WC?

 

[DualityNSNO]

A professional footballing fighter pilot. Bet he had loads of trouble with the birds.

I think, despite the best efforts of Labour, national pride burns strong in this country. I can't imagine that type of thing would fly with the general public or the media of our country TBH.

Then again no one was moaning at the olympics.

For me every single person from the coach driver to the manager should all be English. World cups and all internationals are about the best of your country taking on the best of another.

Edit - I thought Uraguay won that WC?

1930, mate.

 

[Fred West Kills Kopites]

He's from The Ivory Coast ffs.

Not a fan of all this inter changing your country. Like Podolski playing for Germany when he's Polish...

But I suppose if it benefits England then who's arsed.

Who's arsed about England though, they're not fishy one bit.

 

[Connor]

Zaha ? Great choice from the Owl.

 

[Allezfan]

A professional footballing fighter pilot. Bet he had loads of trouble with the birds.

I think, despite the best efforts of Labour, national pride burns strong in this country. I can't imagine that type of thing would fly with the general public or the media of our country TBH.

Then again no one was moaning at the olympics.

For me every single person from the coach driver to the manager should all be English. World cups and all internationals are about the best of your country taking on the best of another.

Agreed mate.

 

[Allezfan]

I just don't think you have to be born in england to be english. Living here from the age of four is good enough for me.

 

[carlos_the_jackal]

People who talk about Podolski playing for Germany probably should also realise his family got German citizenship in the first place because the area of Poland that they were from had in fact been part of Germany until 1945.

 

[EFCNIK]

I just don't think you have to be born in england to be english. Living here from the age of four is good enough for me.

It's weird. I think you can refer to yourself as British but not English.

 

[carlos_the_jackal]

It's weird. I think you can refer to yourself as British but not English.

Why? What if the Union collapses and we all become our own countries? Will that still stand then?

 

[steken1]

I just don't think you have to be born in england to be english. Living here from the age of four is good enough for me.

Deffo. I just don't understand how you can feel english one week, nigerian the next.

For instance BTW not a dig at anybody.

 

[Allezfan]

Deffo. I just don't understand how you can feel english one week, nigerian the next.

For instance BTW not a dig at anybody.

Oh, I agree entirely. No time for those who switch nationalities.

I'm just saying it's not as simple as where you were born. Simone Perrotta isn't english, David Phillips isn't german, Richard Gough isn't swedish, Craig Johnston isn't south african and I'm not a southerner, ffs.

But Owen Hargreaves never even lived in England before his call up, that's just plain wrong.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

It's worse in other sports. I mean Henry Paul, Lesley Vainikolo and Shontayne Hape all played rugby league for New Zealand, then crossed codes and played rugby union for England. Makes a mockery of things.

 

[Allezfan]

It's worse in other sports. I mean Henry Paul, Lesley Vainikolo and Shontayne Hape all played rugby league for New Zealand, then crossed codes and played rugby union for England. Makes a mockery of things.

Cricket is pretty bad for it, too. And Lennox Lewis just wasn't british. Not to mention Zola Budd and all the eastern european defectors like Navratilova.