Flags, face paint and national anthems.
It’s 2014 and the game of sport is global. Football with its 203 federations typifies this. Nations have now crossed borders with each other in sporting terms.
Globalisation has also played its part in sport with many football players not representing their country of birth. Eduardo, the Croatian striker will line up against his native Brazil. Mesut Ozil of Germany was born in Turkey and Diego Costa has swapped his chance to represent the Samba Boys when he saw Red with La Furia Roja and went on to represent Spain.
Unfortunately, money and fame has become one of the biggest deciding factors on whether sportsmen represent certain clubs or decide whether to represent their native or adopted countries.
Many of these choices depend on the club that the player represents. Club football is a lucrative avenue for the world’s top players especially in European football. Mesut Ozil played his club football in Germany and went on to represent Germany. Retired French footballer and former French national team captain, Patrick Viera, was born in Senegal but chose to represent France as he had spent his time at clubs in France. Others players who have followed a similar route are Zinedine Zidane and Jonathan de Guzman amongst others.
One of the biggest fears is that national team may end up looking like a club team made up with players from different cultures and corners of the world. Will national pride still shine through? Is the urge to represent and die for your country on the pitch the motivating factor when putting on the jersey? Or is it money and the opportunity to play for historically strong footballing nations?
On another note it can also be a positive thing as it grows the game, teaches respect between cultures and races as well as fostering a unique bond between players. In a sense it establishes a new team philosophy to take the game forward. Guus Hiddink time as the national coach of South Korea is an example of this when he moulded the South Koreans’ style to a more European way of playing. This rejuvenated the team and brought new interest into the game of football in South Korea.
The most important aspect is to keep international football alive and not to let club football take away the pride of playing for your country and all its culture, history and tradition.
The World Cup is where nations clash and where fame is not bought through financial means but through pure football means. As the World Cup is inching closer, it is time to bring back the beautiful game to its roots. Nation versus nation on the World biggest stage.
Brazil – the World’s eyes are on you.
The Sport Escort 