Arsene Wenger promotes the idea of England calling up Arsenal’s Spanish goalkeeper Manuel Almunia:
The Spanish goalkeeper, who joined the club in July 2004, will be eligible for UK citizenship next year. “I could only advise you to take advantage of it and call him up for the England squad,” said Wenger.
Many of those who supported the appointment of Italian Fabio Capello as England manager made the argument that nationality was irrelevant and what mattered was getting the best man for the job. To play, of course, you need to meet citizenship or nationality criteria but if he becomes a British citizen then Almunia would be an option for Capello.
So would any other Premiership foreigner who gained a British passport and wasn’t ruled out by having previously appeared for another national team. Perhaps all those young foreign-born players in the youth systems of top Premiership clubs might not be undermining the future of the England team at all. Perhaps they are the future of the England team?
On the face of it, an England national team with an Italian coaching staff, a Spanish goalkeeper and a smattering of foreign players across the field sounds absurd but if getting results is all that matters for the FA and most England fans then why not?
It is over a decade since the late, former sports minister in the UK, Tony Banks - a Chelsea fan - floated the idea of England featuring Premiership foreigners. He was roundly mocked for suggesting Gianfranco Zola as an England player (Zola wouldn’t have been eligible as he was already an Italy international) but now, with England so desperate to change their fortunes, his idea doesn’t seem too far fetched.
The counter-argument to the ‘best men for the job’ position is that the England team is supposed to represent the best of English football in the same way that a school team represents a school and a ‘town team’ represents the best kids from a given conurbation. In such a context, signing up non-English players to the team is an admission of defeat.
But what do you think? England fans, would you be happy with a Spanish goalkeeper playing for an Italian coach if it brought success to your country? Or would it dilute the prestige of any success that might come? Non-England fans, should a passport really be all you need to represent a country in international football? If so, who would you like your national team to ’sign’?
PHOTO: Manuel Almunia (L) saves a penalty from Robbie Keane during Arsenal’s English Premier League match against Tottenham at the Emirates Stadium in London, December 22, 2007. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh
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9 comments so far
Not a bad idea, but can’t England do better than Manuel Almunia?
- Posted by David KeyesEngland don´t seem to have a problem with this in other sports. Dozens of cricketers have qualified to play for England only by residence and who can forget Zola Budd? Did anyone over there have a problem with Kevin Pietersen winning the Ashes for England?
- Posted by TedIt would be an admission of defeat and it would also erase the line separating club football from international football. If this becomes the norm, England will become a blueprint copy of Arsenal. I don’t think too many England fans would be happy with that.
- Posted by Red Devilwats wrong with arsenal?? lol
- Posted by VIKi’m not an englishman, but if i was one of them, i would prefer wait and see….
Almunia, is very fantastic for this year, but what about next year and the year after. And pay attention also with his age..
I will pick between Ben Foster or Chris Kirkland, rather than take Almunia as player no.1… the key is prospective age for development
- Posted by Andy GultomI’m an Arsenal supporter, and a fan of Almunia, but he’s probably not quite at the level England would want for a goalkeeper. Is there any evidence that he’s better than David James?
Aside form Almunia, regarding the rest of the post: I’d like to see national teams stick to players and staff from their own country.
Hiring a foreign manager seems like paranoid low self-esteem. I say hire a relatively intelligent person from your own country, play attacking football, and if you go down at least you go down with a little pride.
Hopefully you can muster some defensive rigidity to go with the attacking flair, but for me it’s more of a national effort if the players and staff are from the country that is being represented.
- Posted by Total NewbieThis is so ludicrous it makes me want to tear my hair out. Why would England want to rip up their tradition to get a player like Almunia into the team? I mean, Diego Maradona would have been one thing…
- Posted by Tedengland have always claimed themselves as the inventor of football. back in 96, they launched a slogan ‘football comes home’ when hosting euro 96. so, it will be a shame to have a non english player as in the national team.
- Posted by european football blogi consider the so called english goalkeeper crisis as a warning for english football. this crisis shows that regeneration is a must.
VIK: There’s nothing wrong with Arsenal because having an English club with no English players might well become the norm in the near future but an England team with hardly any home-made players would be a bit ludicrous, don’t you think?
- Posted by Red Devil