Rudi Voeller blasts Qatar's attempts to recruit Brazilian players Berlin, March 5, IRNA -- German national football team head coach Rudi Voeller harshly criticized Qatar`s decision to sign up at least have a dozen foreign "football mercenaries" for its national team. "This Qatar deal is extreme. If this becomes a habit, you don`t need to have a national team any longer," Voeller told Friday`s issue of the daily Bild. "It`s not the objective of the event that a country buys up a team and then like Qatar participates in a World Cup with five Frenchmen and five Brazilians," he added. Desperate to qualify for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, Qatar`s national football head coach Philipe Troussier is pursuing at leastsix foreign players, most of them Brazilians and Africans, to help his embattled team. Meanwhile Wer der Bremen`s top Brazilian goalgetter Ailton will fly on Sunday to Qatar to receive his Qatari citizenship and he is due to start in Qatar`s second World Cup qualifying match against Jordan on March 31. Qatar is facing a tough battle to move beyond the first round of the Asian World Cup qualifier, as it lost its opening match 3-1 to football powerhouse Iran. Other opponents in Qatar`s group include lightweights Jordan and Laos.
Does he have to answer a 'skill testing question' to pick up that $1 million that comes with the citizenship.
I also think this mercenary action is a disaster waiting to happen. What will become of poorer countries when the rich will pay for all of their best players? I don’t want the national game to become as stagnant as the CL where the same old clubs (Real, Man U, etc.) have the best chance to win every year because they have the money to buy the best players. A national team is about national pride in playing for your country men. Fifa should step in and keep it that way.
Well, the WC pretty much sucks already anyway. That's primarily because there isn't a fair qualification process to get the world's 32 best teams there. I think they should just abandon it. Or, hold a tournament for the continental champions only. Since there are more than four but less than eight continental champions it can't be a knock-out competition. It should take a league format where everyone plays each other once. Whoever sits atop the table at the end is the World Champion. Did I go off topic here? Sorry.
Another German Coach Speaks Out! Berlin, March 5, IRNA - The head coach of German Bundesliga club Schalke 04 Jupp Heynkes called on FIFA to intervene in the affair over Qatar`s national "mercenary" football team, calling the practice of buying foreign players "absurd". "I am lacking any understanding as to how FIFA and UEFA could simply stand by and watch how anyone slips on a jersey whichever he feels like. By doing so national teams will become absurd. Stop this nonsense," Heynckes was quoted as saying in Friday`s press. Desperate to qualify for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, Qatar`s national football head coach Philippe Troussier is pursuing at least six foreign players, most of them Brazilians and Africans, to help his embattled team. Qatar is facing a tough battle to move beyond the first round of the Asian World Cup qualifier, as it lost its opening match 3-1 to football powerhouse Iran. Other opponents in Qatar`s group include lightweights Jordan and Laos.
It's really disgusting! For the record, I was and am still totally against rink and Dundee playing for Germany!
This MUST be stopped. If FIFA has the gonads, they will do the right thing and ban this rule, and kick Qatar out of FIFA. Of course that won't happen, but it will kill International football. Intermission
I hope the Iranian national team beats the pants off of geldgierig Qatar in the return leg of the Asian World Cup qualifier. ;0
Dede is another cheap whore!! Also Dede will Play for Qatar By SkySports Mar 5, 2004, 23:10 Qatar- Fifa could be ready to act against Qatar, after another Brazilian - Dede - confirmed he would be switching allegiances to the Gulf state. Qatar have already persuaded Bundesliga top scorer Ailton to play for them and now Dede is set to join him. "I don't care. I'm flying to Qatar on Monday and will sign," said Dede. "I finally get a chance to be a national team player. I didn't get a chance in Brazil, or in Germany either. "Maybe I will be at the 2006 World Cup with Qatar." Schalke - who are signing Ailton from Werder Bremen in the summer - have already voiced their concerns and now the head of the German Football Association says he has approached Fifa to try and stop Qatar. "We've agreed that it's nonsense and will hurt the substance of national teams when people without a connection to a country or nationality can be naturalised," said Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder after meeting with Urs Linsi, general secretary of football's governing body German coach Rudi Voller added his weight to the campaign against Qatar. "The Qatar thing is too extreme," he said. "If that works, then you don't need national teams anymore," Voller said. "It can't be right that a country buys a team, and for example, Qatar pops up at the World Cup with five Frenchmen and five Brazilians." Qatar have been busy around Europe in approaching players and at least half a dozen French players are also considering offers to play for them.
Do some of these Brazilians even have any national pride? How the hell would they feel about standing & saluting Qatar's national anthem!!!! I don't care how bad a player wants to play in WC, if he can't make it in his native land then he needs to work harder at it, not change citizenship!!!! these idiots along w/ Qatar are making a mockery of WC and the concept of national team. I would lose interest in NT football, maybe even football as a whole if this transfer takes place.
Qatar Lash Out on Germany's Interference Over Ailton Naturalization By MEF Mar 8, 2004, 07:19 DOHA- (MEF) In an unprecedented attack against Germany's plans to stop Qatar from going ahead in naturalizing Brazilian striker Ailton, Qatar FA general secretary Saoud Al Mohannadi said "If the Qatari step is about to bring fears to Germany, this means we are on the right track." Talking in a special press conference held Monday afternoon in Doha, Al-Mohannadi went on saying: "Germany FA has no right to interfere in the whole affair. "Ailton is a Brazilian national and playing only his club football at one of their clubs, Werder Bremen. The DBF, or any of their officials, have no right whatsoever to pressurize FIFA doing anything they think it's better for them." Over the weekend, German FA president Gerhard Mayer-vorfelder revealed "FIFA is about to step up against the naturalization of Brazilian player Ailton as Qatari. "FIFA will try its best in future time to stop players from any country gaining naturalization of a given nation to play with foreign national teams," added Mayer-vorfelder, himself FIFA executive committee member. "Everybody out there at the German FA must be aware that we are receiving many offers from at least six European and South American nations, players who didn't represent their national teams and willing to play for us. "It's not the matter of Ailton or Dede, we are playing it right and fair. "FIFA regulations are very clear in this respect: Any player who didn't play for his national senior A team has the full right to represent any other country. "We all know as well that a player who represented his Under-21 national side and wants to get back and play for his mother country has the right to do so, but this has nothing to do with a player who acceded that age. "This being said, why not playing all the cards at once? What about those nations who were active in naturalizing foreign players for more than three decades now? What about Germany itself, France, Poland, Portugal, etc…??? "We have the very same status as Germany within the world governing body and everyone out there must know they are playing with fire when interfering in this matter. "We will be all out to defend our own interests," concluded Al-Mohannadi.
Mr. Al-Mohannadi said it himself, "Ailton is a Brazilian national and playing only his club football at one of their clubs, Werder Bremen." Ailton is a Brasilian national and should play for his national team. If he emigrated to Qatar and had lived there for a number of years this would be a differant matter. Setting your foot in a country and collecting a pay cheque does not make you a part of that culture. Futhermore, this issue effects all footballing nations not just Germany. It is a disaster that could transform National Teams and Fifa into an anachronism.
This is freaking obsurd! Qatar is so pathetic for trying something like this...Fifa should not only step in to stop this but they should boot Qatar totally out of the wc qualifying until after 2006. I dont care if they are a small country, look at Latvia, they qualified for Euro 2004! Look at Slovenia in WC 2002! Ecuador, Costa Rica, must I go on???? Btw, this all started with pathetic Poland and their selection of Olisadabe, who has no connection with Poland whats so ever! Their argument relied on the fact that he married a Polish Girl! I dont know why Fifa didnt stop this move. This could be a huge turning point in Football, Fifa must stop this no matter what. Btw, Iran is gonna beat the ******** out of this loser team with or without Ailton!! I would love to see a friendly between Germany and Qatar set up lol. Kiss my ass Qatar
It started as early as the '34 Cup when Italy naturalized several Argentine players of Italian extraction. I'm not sure how much they were paid to play for their 'mother country' Football was semi-professional in most of the world, and England stayed out of the pre-WWII cups. The home international probably seemed a better competition at that time. At least the money earned by pro players was nothing like what is seen today -- even in MLS! To be fair, many countries have sought out and embraced foreign talent to bolster the national team, though usually there was at least a tenuous connection between the player and the country -- something more than a purse. Certainly, the US needs to remain quiet in this matter. as it has, while FIFA sorts it out or, more likely, does not sort it out, and simply lets Qatar buy the players it needs. Money talks and the player walks.