Huzzah, it's the international break again! The sporadic season interval that places an embargo on the usual week-long fixture list of desirable games, in favour of a bi-weekly display by your wilting nation (invariably against the likes of Azerbaijan). The excitement is overwhelming...
Appearing equally effervescent, Roy Hodgson last week announced England's squad for the potentially cringy double date with Chile and Germany, and though it was riddled with a few new faces, much of the squad's composition was as expected; the quintessentially British sounding Rodriguez the exception. But despite the slow evolution of the playing staff over the past 18 months, the new cohort finally making inroads into the "Golden Generation", there's a fear England remain bereft of the technical athletes that their competitors produce in their droves - a number of which may actually be on show at Wembley this week (Gotze, Ozil, Alexis).
Oddly, however, in seeking to address this lack of subtly, invention and verve, the FA seems only to have deepened concerns. To onlookers of English football, some of last month's activities look as desperate as a suburban housewife (or as any lesser-spotted celebrity on "Get Me Out of Here")! Over the past decade there has been a metaphorical revolving door at the FA's offices, new facilities built at St. George's Park, as well as numerous Posh Spice-esque face lifts to the national game; and yet England are still pinning hopes, and expending finite resources, on poaching players primarily qualified for other nations.
The rationale is obvious: improved performances and results in the short-term from the one time World Cup winners - the triumph of 1966 worn like a millstone round the neck; especially given that, despite qualifying for next summer's World Cup festivities, modern history is littered with performances flatter than a size zero model. The Chief Executive summing up the nations expectation levels ahead of Brazil 2014 by proclaiming "2022" a more achievable target (helpful) - in a nutshell, the players are infinitely more likely to return with one of Rio's infamous lady-boy's than any silverware.
There is therefore, a legitimate argument that failure to incorporate the best athletes available to England merely restricts progress further - after all, the ploy of 'adopting' candidates has been widely used in other sports and by other nations to aid success (see England's current Ashes XI or Ireland's World Cup side of 1994). But for many, including myself, the notion of selecting players for the national team via a regulatory loop-hole offers a worrying precedent.
Jack Wilshere's remarks on the possibility of using the FIFA residency rules to qualify Manchester United's Adnan Januzaj, a player who is eligible for virtually every nation except England, spoke volumes. Dressed in a tracksuit (as worn by those from Luton) and looking strikingly similar to Tommy Robinson (that's nothing more than a visual observation), Wilshere announced, "The only people who should play for England are English people... If you live in England for five years it doesn’t make you English".
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(Is that Messi in the back of Noel
Fielding's wagon?) |
Though doubtless he could have been more careful with the wording of his statement, the crux of the issue is that a national team, by its very definition, is for players originating from the given country only. Henry Winter, writing in the Telegraph, likened the FA's attempts to artificially broaden the pool of players available to England to adopting "the Child Catcher role from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang".
The problem is driven by the blurred essence of Englishness, and who/what constitutes an English sportsman or woman? Most, in a model world, would like to see the boy or girl from their street or their town representing their hopes and desires on the world stage; someone that they can relate to and feel inherently proud of. Depending on your location, ethnic origin, and even economic background, this "model athlete" represents vastly different values. The normative nature of the above guarantees that the answer to the question "what is an Englishman?" will differ hugely from individual to individual.
So, do you rely on place of birth? Do you take a scientific approach that states an athlete's genetic makeup as the defining factor in their eligibility? Adopt a political stance and allow someone who has been an inhabitant of the nation for a certain duration of time? Or, implement the intangible, and allow those who have a passion to represent a given country to participate? The huge amount of maneuverability within these constraints, especially when used in conjunction with each other, highlights the difficulty in installing a one-size-fits-all policy... furthermore I expect almost every reader has a differing preference.
For the viability of inter-nation sports going forward there must be a practical and credible framework. As things stand, the loose application of qualifying criteria, such as residency, leaves the system open to abuse, and thus the incumbent population exposed... What's to prevent players being re-homed in a given nation, 'supported economically', and introduced to the national team set up in due course? In theory there's still time for Qatar to put together a competitive XI!
Whenever nationality/race issues are discussed there is a degree of sensitivity, and this particular debate will be no different (see the media circus surrounding Jack Wilshere's comments). I understand, and empathise with concerns, but I do wonder why the English are so precious about their nationality when it comes to Football. After all, they embraced the successes of a multitude of athletes from a diverse ethnic background in last summer's Olympic games; Mo Farah, Chris Froome et al. Furthermore, the residency rules allowed Deco and Marcos Senna to represent Portugal and Spain respectively, and it would take a belligerent soul to argue their detrimental effect on their countries' progression (I don't think I'm overstepping the mark when I say that Spain are pretty good).
I wonder therefore whether it's the perceived attack on a national institution, or the acceptance of defeat as a footballing force? Let’s be honest, it's hardly a show of strength that the explosion onto the scene of a young Belgian player with no English heritage has even been discussed as a prospective way forward!
Below I have outlined a few sportspeople who qualified for England via a variety of categories discussed above. Where do you feel the line should be drawn? At what point does the makeup of a national team no longer represent its people?
Phil Jagielka -
Born in Manchester, but eligible for Poland through ancestry. Carries a name as British as a sun-tan.
Terry Butcher -
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(This iconic image has become the
benchmark by which all subsequent
England players are judged - But is
Terry Butcher English?) |
A symbol of England's courage and passion, Butcher was in fact born in Singapore; though he moved to England when he was a child.
Wilfried Zaha -
Arrived on our shores from the Ivory Coast aged just 4. Has 2 caps for England to date.
Saido Berehino -
Passionate about playing for England in the future, the West Bromwich star was moved to the UK from Burundi when he was just 10 years of age.
John Barnes -
the jinky winger and part time rapper was born and raised in Jamaica. His family moved to London when he was a teenager and he subsequently amassed 79 England caps (and a number 1 hit).
Owen Hargreaves -
Born in Canada to a Welsh mother and an English father; Hargreaves opted for England in 2001 (he had never been a resident of the country at that point)
Lewis Holtby -
A Rhineland born midfield player with an English father. Has chosen to represent Deutschland.
Tony Dorigo -
Born in Australia, Dorigo was approached by the FA and asked to postpone his international career for an additional year in order to obtain British citizenship. He subsequently made 15 appearances for England.
Victor Moses -
Although hailing from Lagos, Nigeria, Moses represented England up to U-21 level through residency. He eventually chose to represent the country of his birth.
Adnan Januzaj -
Born in Belgium to Albanian-Kosovan parents, Januzaj is also eligible to play for Turkey and Serbia. He could potentially obtain citizenship and play for England in 2018.
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| (England's great hope - Wayne Rooney) |
Wayne Rooney -
Drafted from a fairy-tale swamp, Rooney has amassed 86 caps (none of which, I have on good authority, fit on his head).
Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule googling naughty 'selfies'...
