Croatia bemoaning loss of Eduardo..

[Cheeky Monkey]

...well they shouldn't be cuz he's Brazilian! In the same way that that Tongan looking bloke shouldn't currently be playing rugby for England, or numerous international players should never have been allowed to grace an England cricket shirt, or John Barnes for England blah blah blah. It's not about race it's about nationality and the concept of a naturalized player who is eligible by living/playing in a country for x number of years or can dig up some ancient relative is frankly bollogs. It's not a new rant admittedly, quite a tired old one in fact, but Eduardo for Croatia, give me a break.

 

[Peppermint Tea]

As the Duke of Wellington said (when asked if he was Irish by virtue of the fact that he was born in Dublin) "Just because you are born in a stable it doesn't make you a horse"...

 

[Diatribe]

...well they shouldn't be cuz he's Brazilian! In the same way that that Tongan looking bloke shouldn't currently be playing rugby for England, or numerous international players should never have been allowed to grace an England cricket shirt, or John Barnes for England blah blah blah. It's not about race it's about nationality and the concept of a naturalized player who is eligible by living/playing in a country for x number of years or can dig up some ancient relative is frankly bollogs. It's not a new rant admittedly, quite a tired old one in fact, but Eduardo for Croatia, give me a break.

Possibly not the best choice of words....

Anyway, on the grounds that it is do with national identity rather than race or ethnicity, can this not be adopted having lived in a country for a number of years? Unless it is something you are born with presumably it must be. John Barnes was born in Jamaica but moved to England young, and Eduardo moved to Croatia at 16, and he never played for anyone but them even at youth level. If it is down to mindset, then how are you supposed to tell which player is truly English and which does it just for the chance of international football?

 

[Munkfish]

owen hargreaves anyone?

 

[logan89]

Mark Lawrenson (may have spelled it wrong) springs to mind

 

[Munkfish]

vinnie jones

 

[gjh1971]

Terry Butcher

 

[logan89]

Fabio Cappello

 

[¤DãŃn¥ §êãGüLL¤]

owen hargreaves anyone?

At least his parents were British though

 

[Munkfish]

At least his parents were British though

But he never lived in England! at least he lived in Croatia.

 

[bright1064]

I also heard that the England football team could be in a similar position soon.

With Arsenals keeper Almunia. Apparantly when he gets his English citizenship he wants to play for us!

 

[bright1064]

vinnie jones

For the same reasons...Ryan Giggs

 

[Simon Morgan]

It's a very tough one to call. I think players should be eligible to play for other countries by virtue of their parents, but not grandparents (like it is now). If players played for the country in which they were born, exceptions to the norm would make it very difficult. However, it annoys me when players simply pick the stronger team and play for them (eg Vieira for Senegal).

 

[Lord Bracknell]

With Arsenals keeper Almunia. Apparantly when he gets his English citizenship he wants to play for us!

He still be Aluminium, though.

The job should go to Cudicini.

 

[Cian]

(eg Vieira for Senegal).

Viera spent most of his life in France.

I'd have thought a huge quantity of players granny rule due to not being good enough for their 'home' country. Vinnies Jones for Wales, Andy Townsend for Ireland, Ian Dowie for Northern Ireland, etc, etc. Can't see why Eduardo went for Croatia, though...

 

[Simon Morgan]

One that annoyed me in recent years was whe Franck Quedrue tried to be eligible for Ireland on the basis of his Great-Grandmother. He nearly got it as well, knowing f*** all about Ireland the whole time.

 

[Cian]

One that annoyed me in recent years was whe Franck Quedrue tried to be eligible for Ireland on the basis of his Great-Grandmother. He nearly got it as well, knowing f*** all about Ireland the whole time.

I didn't think he'd have got very far had he played... positionally wasn't needed at the time.

Cascarino's ancestry was by adoption, can't beat that for pulled out of thin air! Legal, though.

 

[Slough Seagull]

Can't see why Eduardo went for Croatia, though...

I assume he was not considered good enough for Brazil and since he had been with Dinamo Zagreb from 1999 I guess Croatia was the only country he was eligible to play for...

 

[unnameable]

I imagine that not a few Croatian ultra-racists will be pleased about Eduardo's absence from their team.

 

[Lady Whistledown]

To be fair, you'd get exactly the same reaction in this country if, say, Phillippe Senderos broke Wayne Rooney's leg before a major tournament.

(Try not to laugh when I mention the name of an England player in the same sentence as the phrase "major tournament")