National Identity Crisis

One thing that I love about huge soccer tournaments is that it’s usually country vs. country which is a format that I can’t get enough of. It’s like having two countries go to war without any fighting. But after watching some of Euro 2008 and doing a little research I discovered something that I found very troubling, half the players on these teams aren’t actually from the country that they are representing. So really can any national pride be gained from winning if you use foreign players?

One excellent example of what I’m talking about can best be displayed in Germany’s opening game of Euro 2008 when they played Poland and won 2-0. Lukas Podolski, who was born in Poland, played for Germany and scored both goals against his home nation. Is it right that a Polish born player scored both girls to help Germany win? In my mind it’s not right. Besides just Podolski Germany also has 2 other Polish born players, 1 Swiss player, and 1 Brazilian.

It is not just Germany who does this however, France has players that were born in Zaire, Cameroon, Senegal, and the Congo. Turkey has players born in Germany, France, Brazil, and England. Portugal uses players from Brazil, France, and Zaire as well. These aren’t just bench players though as most of these foreign players have a key role in the team and most are found within the starting XI. Some teams such as the Netherlands and Russia do not use foreign players and for that I commend them.

Now some might argue that these teams are simply trying to field the best team possible and I could see why that might be a good argument but not when it is a tournament in which countries play one another. To me this cheapens everything that Euro stands for and does nothing but show the weakness of a country to develop enough talent to fill a whole team. Another argument is that these players are just trying to play for a more competitive team in the case of Podoloski. Maybe if he stayed in Poland with fellow countryman Miroslav Klose, who also plays for Germany, the Poles would have a better team to work with.

When you are born in a country you should represent your country with pride and should not turn your back on that just to better your own career. A person’s nationality should stand for something and should not just be an answer on a Visa application.