Too many Brazilians playing in Euro 2008?

[Rainer24]

The only team that really benefits from the brazilians is portugal.
The other brazilian players are bit part performers. Where as portugals key performers are imported.




I don't know how you call Poland's only goalscorer being Brazilian insignificant. He was also their best player after being subbed into the Germany match.

Marcos Senna is a starter for Spain. Hardly a bit part.

[Hrvat]

There was so much noise about how can Eduardo play for Croatia and even more that without him we're an average side. And yet without him we top the group in which a born and raised Brazilian scores for Poland, a born and raised Croat scores for Austria and a born Pole scores for Germany. And obviously there are some Croats (Modrić, Srna, Olić) who can put the ball in the net.
There's nothing we should feel bad about, can't wait for Eduardo's return.

[meininki]

There was so much noise about how can Eduardo play for Croatia and even more that without him we're an average side. And yet without him we top the group in which a born and raised Brazilian scores for Poland, a born and raised Croat scores for Austria and a born Pole scores for Germany. And obviously there are some Croats (Modrić, Srna, Olić) who can put the ball in the net.
There's nothing we should feel bad about, can't wait for Eduardo's return.
You do have three born and raised Germans, one born and raised Australian and one born and raised Swiss (and another one who grew up in Switzerland) though. ;)

[Hrvat]

You do have three born and raised Germans, one born and raised Australian and one born and raised Swiss (and another one who grew up in Switzerland) though. ;)

Yes. But when you see Podolski almost apologizing for scoring against Poland (or Yakin's case) I think it's obvious that those players made the right decision by choosing the country they feel more attached to, even if we can argue that that's disrespective to the countries they were born in.

But let's stick to Brazilians here, there are enough threads already open for a discussion such as this one ;)

[meininki]

Yes. But when you see Podolski almost apologizing for scoring against Poland (or Yakin's case) I think it's obvious that those players made the right decision by choosing the country they feel more attached to, even if we can argue that that's disrespective to the countries they were born in.
I don't think Podolski and Yakin feel more attached to Poland and Turkey respectively. They just showed respect for those countries.
Podolski has always said that part of his heart is Polish, nothing wrong with that.

But let's stick to Brazilians here, there are enough threads already open for a discussion such as this one ;)
Agreed.

[Todorov]

But when you see Podolski almost apologizing for scoring against Poland (or Yakin's case) I think it's obvious that those players made the right decision by choosing the country they feel more attached to, even if we can argue that that's disrespectful to the countries they were born in.

On the contrary, I think it is disrespectful to the countries they have adopted. If Podolski and Yakin chose to play for Germany and Switzerland, then they should play for those countries with all their hearts and minds into it. If everytime they score a goal against their "former" countries they are going to "apologize", we get the feeling that they somehow feel "guilty" for having scored against a country that they chose to abandon.

If they feel remorses for chosing Germany and Switzerland over Poland and Turkey, they shouldn't have chosen them in the first place. They should feel German and Swiss above all and if they don't, they made the wrong choice because they will be betraying themselves and the people of Germany and Switzerland everytime they represent those countries.

[Rainer24]

Yeah, but Podolski still has relatives in Poland, so you can't blame him for being a bit subdued. I'm sure he regrets neither scoring for Germany nor choosing to play for them, but that doesn't mean he has to rub it in.

Yakin was born in Basel, so he doesn't even really belong in this discussion. He's Swiss, even if his parents are immigrants.

[meininki]

On the contrary, I think it is disrespectful to the countries they have adopted. If Podolski and Yakin chose to play for Germany and Switzerland, then they should play for those countries with all their hearts and minds into it. If everytime they score a goal against their "former" countries they are going to "apologize", we get the feeling that they somehow feel "guilty" for having scored against a country that they chose to abandon.

If they feel remorses for chosing Germany and Switzerland over Poland and Turkey, they shouldn't have chosen them in the first place. They should feel German and Swiss above all and if they don't, they made the wrong choice because they will be betraying themselves and the people of Germany and Switzerland everytime they represent those countries.
I don't agree. Podolski was named MOTM in that game, it's not as if he didn't play properly, just because it was against Poland. On the contrary, he had a great match and scored two goals.
I think it's perfectly understandable that he still feels a connection to Poland, that doesn't mean though that his heart isn't in it when he plays for Germany. He says part of his heart is Polish, not that he feels more Polish than German. In today's world, it's very common for people to have more than one nationality (though e.g. Podolski only has one), for a number of different reasons. It's perfectly fine to feel a connection to more than one country.

[Kebbie Gazauzkas]

Yes. But when you see Podolski almost apologizing for scoring against Poland (or Yakin's case) I think it's obvious that those players made the right decision by choosing the country they feel more attached to, even if we can argue that that's disrespective to the countries they were born in.

But let's stick to Brazilians here, there are enough threads already open for a discussion such as this one ;)

Good point, apparently Fatih Terim, the Turkish coach, said the following after the Turkey-Switzerland match: "There were 14 Turks on the pitch, there was no way we could lose" (Yakin, Inler, and Derdiyok have Turkish descent). :D
I agree that uncontrolled naturalization is a very serious issue for the integrity of national teams.

[Hrvat]

On the contrary, I think it is disrespectful to the countries they have adopted. If Podolski and Yakin chose to play for Germany and Switzerland, then they should play for those countries with all their hearts and minds into it. If everytime they score a goal against their "former" countries they are going to "apologize", we get the feeling that they somehow feel "guilty" for having scored against a country that they chose to abandon.

If they feel remorses for chosing Germany and Switzerland over Poland and Turkey, they shouldn't have chosen them in the first place. They should feel German and Swiss above all and if they don't, they made the wrong choice because they will be betraying themselves and the people of Germany and Switzerland everytime they represent those countries.

There's been a misunderstanding, I could have explained it better. I was referring to Croatian diaspora born players and not Podolski and Yakin ;)

[sinner78]

Good point, apparently Fatih Terim, the Turkish coach, said the following after the Turkey-Switzerland match: "There were 14 Turks on the pitch, there was no way we could lose" (Yakin, Inler, and Derdiyok have Turkish descent). :D
I agree that uncontrolled naturalization is a very serious issue for the integrity of national teams.

he must be taking the piss!!
Aurelio is about as Turkish as Kobe Bryant.
Not to mention Colin Richards who cant even speak Turkish and never went anywhere near turkey until he got picked by them.
I wont even mention all their german born players.

[Makandal]

On the contrary, I think it is disrespectful to the countries they have adopted. If Podolski and Yakin chose to play for Germany and Switzerland, then they should play for those countries with all their hearts and minds into it. If everytime they score a goal against their "former" countries they are going to "apologize", we get the feeling that they somehow feel "guilty" for having scored against a country that they chose to abandon.

If they feel remorses for chosing Germany and Switzerland over Poland and Turkey, they shouldn't have chosen them in the first place. They should feel German and Swiss above all and if they don't, they made the wrong choice because they will be betraying themselves and the people of Germany and Switzerland everytime they represent those countries.

Let's get 1 thing straight: Podolski didn't apologize for scoring against Poland. Now if you can't understand that he will not celebrate his goal against Poland the same way he would against a country he has no affiliation to, I don't know what to tell you.