Arteta for England?
September 19th 2010 21:03
Link: twitter.com/mattsaltmer
A debate which myself and my friends have been having recently, is whether or not players should be picked for countries they are 'eligible to represent', but are not of that nationality. The player at the centre of the debate, was Everton midfielder Mikel Arteta, who has recently become available for England selection, and has stated that he would consider a call up.
There have always been many cases of players choosing to represent a different nation, using the nationality of family members to gain eligibility. Chris Birchall is an English footballer, but using his father's nationality, now plays for Trinidad and Tobago. But the other way of being able to play for a new country, is by playing for a club in that country for 5 years. As long as the player has never been capped by his home nation at senior level, they can now play for the country where they have spent 5 years.
Given his time at Everton, and never being capped by Spain, Arteta can now play for England. Other players who could be called up for England duty include, Manuel Almunia, Jose Enrique and Steed Malbranque. The question remains though, just because they are legally allowed to represent England, should they be called up?
I feel that Arteta could add a lot to the England set up, and would possibly be the most creative member of the squad. Had he been any nationality other than Spainish, I'm sure he would have many caps at international level already to his name. However, personally I don't think call ups should be given to players in this situation. The England team should be made up of English footballers, not players eligible to play on a technicality.
Given the balance of this debate amongst my friends, I thought I would share it on my blog, and see what the general consensus among readers is. Should players be able to represent a country, just because they can't get into their own nation's team? And if you were Fabio Capello, would you call up Mikel Arteta to a squad in the future?
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