List of German football players with dual nationality

[Cris 09]

I thought this was an intersting list. Some of you might have seen it before, some might have not...from Wikipedia.

Albania
Enis Alushi, Faton Toski

Angola
Nando Rafael

Assyria
Daniyel Cimen

Brazil
Kevin Kuranyi, Paulo Rink

The Congo
Kosi Saka

Croatia
Thomas Brdarić, Sreto Ristic

England
Aaron Hunt

Ghana
Gerald Asamoah, Kevin-Prince Boateng, David Odonkor

Greece
Ioannis Masmanidis

Iran
Ashkan Dejagah

Italy
Massimilian Porcello, Giuseppe Reina

Netherlands
Willi Lippens

Nigeria
Patrick Owomoyela

Poland
Adam Bodzek, Christoph Dabrowski, Paul Freier, Miroslav Klose, Lukas Podolski, Eugen Polanski, Lukas Sinkiewicz, Horst Szymaniak, Piotr Trochowski, Ernest Wilimowski, Dariusz Wosz

South Africa
Sean Dundee

Spain
Mario Gomez

Switzerland
Oliver Neuville

Tunisia
Mounir Chaftar

Turkey
Mehmet Akgün, Mustafa Doğan, Malik Fathi, Mesut Özil, Mehmet Scholl

Ukraine
Eugen Bopp

USA
Jermaine Jones

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_German_football_players_with_dual_nationality"

[squidward123]

borowski would have dual nationality too with poland

[Cris 09]

borowski would have dual nationality too with poland

Would have? or does have??

[squidward123]

Would have? or does have??


i'm just guessing that he does..but not sure of it

[footyfan1]

i'm just guessing that he does..but not sure of it

As far as I know, he doesn't. I believe he was born and raised in Germany.

People see his name and make assumptions.

Podolski and Klose are dual because they were both born in Poland.

The heading of the article clearly states that the players either have dual citizenship OR "players who can trace their origins to a foreign country".

I would not assume everyone who is on that list holds dual citizenship.

For example. I know David Odonkor doesn't.

And Sean Dundee is a born South African, who OBTAINED German citizenship. Same with Oliver Neuville and Switzerland.

Why isn't Otto Addo on the list??

He's still a "German" (born and raised in Germany) who chose to play for the country of his parents, but he isn't on that list. He's listed in 'kicker' as a dual citizen. I guess the guys who put that list together don't consider him "German" anymore because he plays for Ghana??

What pisses me off over here are the cases of Basturk and the Altintop brothers. As far as I know, they were all born and raised in the Ruhr Valley area and despite some calls for them to play for Germany, they all chose to play for Turkey.

So, they are no longer listed anywhere as "Germans" even though technically, you know they are.

Because they chose to play for Turkey they are no longer Germans??

That sounds funny, but I do believe here, that is the case.

Two for Dortmund:

Nuri Sahin. Last year or just about two years ago chose to play for Turkey. Is still listed as a dual citizen in the pre-season kicker.

If he had his German citizenship taken away, it didn't make the news.

They have Kosi Saka on the list. As far as I know, unless it just happened recently, Kosi Saka is full Congolese, not German. When they say "German Footballers", do they mean footballers who are German or footballers who play in Germany???

I question Jermaine Jones' holding "dual citizenship". Players like Kuranyi who truly hold two or three passports have them listed in the pre-season "kicker". Jones is listed simply as "German".

He may have had an American father, but if his father didn't do his paperwork, then he doesn't have dual citizenship, no matter what his last name is.

It's sad for me to say, but some of my former Army colleagues left children over here and never did their paperwork. Those kids might have an American father and know who their father is, but as far as the world is concerned, they are "German" and that's it. Some of them are friends of my kids now.

If Jermaine Jones doesn't have the dual and wants it, I'm sure USA Soccer can make it happen in record time.

Can any Frankfurt fans out there answer that?? If he does truly hold dual citizenship, I'm surprised USA Soccer hasn't come after him yet even with his injuries.

And if he has it, I'm sure USA Soccer would be all over him. He'll never see German cap.

My comments were not directed at anyone in particular. While it is an interesting list, watch how you take the information provided.....

Like quite a few things on Wikipedia (I love the site), this thing doesn't seem to be totally accurate.

[meininki]

borowski would have dual nationality too with poland
Lots of people in Germany have Polish last names. Most of them are the descendents of Polish workers who emigrated to Germany in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and don't actually consider themselves Polish today.
Another famous example would be Dirk Nowitzki.

[IlTedesco]

There are TONS of players missing on that list. One other example would be Kevin Prince Boateng's brother Jerome who debuted in the Bundesliga a couple of weeks ago.


They have Kosi Saka on the list. As far as I know, unless it just happened recently, Kosi Saka is full Congolese, not German.

Kosi came to Germany when he was 5 but hasn't been granted German citizenship so far. Nonetheless he feels more German than Congolese and has rejected all offers to play for Congo.

See Smithie's interview with Kosi here, very sympathetic kid:

http://www.fussballtalente.net/sakainterview.html

[Alex_K]

He's still a "German" (born and raised in Germany) who chose to play for the country of his parents, but he isn't on that list. He's listed in 'kicker' as a dual citizen. I guess the guys who put that list together don't consider him "German" anymore because he plays for Ghana??

What pisses me off over here are the cases of Basturk and the Altintop brothers. As far as I know, they were all born and raised in the Ruhr Valley area and despite some calls for them to play for Germany, they all chose to play for Turkey.

So, they are no longer listed anywhere as "Germans" even though technically, you know they are.



Do they actually have, or ever had, German citizenship? They wouldn't get it from just being born and raised in Germany - many, if not most, of Turks living in Germany don't have German citizenship.


Lots of people in Germany have Polish last names. Most of them are the descendents of Polish workers who emigrated to Germany in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and don't actually consider themselves Polish today.
Another famous example would be Dirk Nowitzki.

Actually it was mostly inner German immigration, considering that most workers emigrated from Eastern Prussia, Silesia and Pommerania into Western Germany (while other people emigrated from Poland into the parts of Eastern Germany which later went to Poland).

There were also German families living in the eastern parts of Prussia with surnames of Polish origin which went back much further. Theodor Kaluza, for examples, is sometimes called a Polish scientist in American publications (despite the fact that his family had been German for many generations and that served in the German army during WWI).

[squidward123]

hmm footyfan, but assuming that borowski's parents have polish citizenship by birth, doesn't it mean that borowski himself is eligible for polish citizenship, which me might have chosen to acquire in a dual format with the german one? Even though he was born and raised in germany

If he has got polish citizenship in a dual thing then that's how i'm guessing he has it, although what the point is of having german and polish if you're not born in poland, I don't know.

[squidward123]

so is trochowski born in germany or not?

[meininki]

Actually it was mostly inner German immigration, considering that most workers emigrated from Eastern Prussia, Silesia and Pommerania into Western Germany (while other people emigrated from Poland into the parts of Eastern Germany which later went to Poland).
You're right. But from a cultural and ethnical standpoint, these immigrants still considered themselves Polish.

[meininki]

hmm footyfan, but assuming that borowski's parents have polish citizenship by birth, doesn't it mean that borowski himself is eligible for polish citizenship, which me might have chosen to acquire in a dual format with the german one? Even though he was born and raised in germany

If he has got polish citizenship in a dual thing then that's how i'm guessing he has it, although what the point is of having german and polish if you're not born in poland, I don't know.
I'm almost 100 % sure, Borowski's parents aren't Polish. There must be some Polish ancestry, but it might be quite far back.
For one thing, his father's name is Klaus...

[squidward123]

I'm almost 100 % sure, Borowski's parents aren't Polish. There must be some Polish ancestry, but it might be quite far back.
For one thing, his father's name is Klaus...

Oh right so he isn't like podolski.

Borowski just needs to change the end of his surname then somehow because he has virtually no polish links at all.

Anyway, speaking of fathers, Klose's father is german isn't he? Isn't klose a german surname?


Anyway a bit unrelated, but a cricketer from tasmania called ben hilfenhaus recently got capped for australia..that's a german surname isn't it? His dad is called hans too..

there's several players with what I think are german surnames that play state cricket in australia..and some of the greats have had german last names too..like justin langer, and darren lehmann who was pretty good..both only very recently retired from internationals.

[Alex_K]

You're right. But from a cultural and ethnical standpoint, these immigrants still considered themselves Polish.

That's true, although the difference would be that most of them were German (or previously Prussian) citizens. Despite being actual citizens they were still considered foreigners by most though.

[Alex_K]

Oh right so he isn't like podolski.

Borowski just needs to change the end of his surname then somehow because he has virtually no polish links at all.

Anyway, speaking of fathers, Klose's father is german isn't he? Isn't klose a german surname?



Why should he do this?

Klose's family later added the "e" I think. As far as I know, my family "germanized" our surname as well at some point.

[mofo4life]

Borowski isn't polish, he was born in eastern germany.

Tim Borowski (born May 2, 1980 in Neubrandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany), is a German football midfielder with SV Werder Bremen of the German Bundesliga and Germany.

[footyfan1]

Oh right so he isn't like podolski.

Borowski just needs to change the end of his surname then somehow because he has virtually no polish links at all.

I don't think he "needs" to do anything. I think people should stop looking at other people's names and making assumptions from them...... :rolleyes:

[F96]

My mother's last name is Polish as well but even her gand-parents never spoke Polish.

Does Gonzalo Castro have Spanish nationality as well?

[Cris 09]

Holy crap!! I posted this last night and went to bed an when I got to my office this morning for a quick "BigSoccer" fix....

1. It's Wikipedia, if you feel some names are missing....you may edit them yourselves.

2. Not this whole Polish/German shit again....don't use a name to judge someone's backround. Chances are you'll get it right 90% of the time, the other 10% you'll end up looking like an ass.

3. Though it's true that if you are born in a country, you may not always have the citizenship of that country, though it is your birth-right, you may be registered at the local embassy (I was born in Ecuador and registered as a German in Quito, the capital).

4. What is a Pole, what is a German, what is Prussian...it's funny, in the US, their called Americans, and yes, while many cultures clash in the US, they are all of some ethnic backround unless they are Native Americans. Until how far will ancestries be traced until one no longer is of that ancestry? Will my kids be German? Ecuadorian? I grew up in the US most of my life and have a US passport and I married and American that is half Italian half Irish? It's great to be proud of your roots, but you can really only take that argument so far....

5. If people follow the process of naturalization to play for a country, when they moved here as a player, I have a problem with that, though it is legal, so I can't do much about it...so if a player lived most of his life in Germany as a kid and then naturalized I believe there is some of this country in his heart.

[IlTedesco]

Does Gonzalo Castro have Spanish nationality as well?

Yes. AFAIK he played for several Spanish youth teams before switching to the DFB. Apparently one of the reasons was that he had problems being accepted there since he only speaks Spanish with a German accent...

That's what I read, anyway.