• You may have to login or register before you can post and view our exclusive members only forums.
    To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

English players with immigrant parents?

Forums Unread posts
Status
Not open for further replies.
Modo

Modo

A contentious scando
Member
How come there aren't any in the premiership or the national team?

Sure there are some black players with Caribbean descent. But there's a lot of European immigrants in England and none of them seems to have made it to the national frame or even the premier league.

The only player I know that has played for England but was born and raised elsewhere is John Barnes. Hargreaves doesn't count cause his parents are English.

Immigrants in other national teams:
Ibrahimovic, Sweden
The entire french squad
Hakan Yakin, Switzerland
Klose, Piotr Trochowski, Podolski, Germany
Etc.

Aren't they good enough or don't immigrants play football in England?

Basically I'm looking for an English player with a non-Anglo-Saxon name.

Btw Mustapha Izzet played for Turkey and has an English mother.
 
[quote author=jan link=topic=34309.msg892924#msg892924 date=1245684419]
Nedum Onuoha
[/quote]
That's right, I just thought of Ugo Ehiogu.
 
[quote author=Modokay link=topic=34309.msg892922#msg892922 date=1245683885]
Aren't they good enough or don't immigrants play football in England?

[/quote]

Its a good question. Its very hard to find players who are immigrants/from ethnic minorities etc who play football in the usual Saturday/Sunday league setups so chances of them being scouted are slim. Its an area the FA and most clubs are desperate to tap into because there must be some good players out there.
 
Modokay's talking about immigrants from Europe though, and I question the assumption in the first post that "there's a lot" of such immigrants in England. Some people come here from Europe to work, but generally not permanently and certainly not in large numbers.
 
[quote author=Judge Jules link=topic=34309.msg892936#msg892936 date=1245687448]
Modokay's talking about immigrants from Europe though, and I question the assumption in the first post that "there's a lot" of such immigrants in England. Some people come here from Europe to work, but generally not permanently and certainly not in large numbers.
[/quote]

Agreed, the number of migrants from Europe/Africa is not a lot compared to those that go to France/Germany/Italy.
The French sides have a large number of players from African descent.
There have been a number of projects set up to try and get sub-continent second/third generations into professional clubs, it's not happening much though
 
[quote author=Whitey85 link=topic=34309.msg892935#msg892935 date=1245686684]
[quote author=Modokay link=topic=34309.msg892922#msg892922 date=1245683885]
Aren't they good enough or don't immigrants play football in England?

[/quote]

Its a good question. Its very hard to find players who are immigrants/from ethnic minorities etc who play football in the usual Saturday/Sunday league setups so chances of them being scouted are slim. Its an area the FA and most clubs are desperate to tap into because there must be some good players out there.
[/quote]
It's weird cause I visit my cousins in England every year and I see a lot of immigrant children where they live. I don't know if it's fair to compare the influx of immigrants in Sweden with England but I have feeling that there are more refugees and immigrants in England.
Don't many of them gain British citizenship?
It seems that Spain has the same problem, despite the large group of north Africans that live in Spain. No immigrants in the Italian squad either but they're fascists, so it's no surprise. 😉
 
I'm sure Spain and Italy are coping just fine, being European and World Champions and all...
 
[quote author=Modokay link=topic=34309.msg892956#msg892956 date=1245689393]
It seems that Spain has the same problem, despite the large group of north Africans that live in Spain. No immigrants in the Italian squad either but they're fascists, so it's no surprise. 😉
[/quote]

Heh, I wouldn't say it's a problem for Spain given their recent form.

Italy have Balotelli.
 
[quote author=Squiggles link=topic=34309.msg892958#msg892958 date=1245689517]
I'm sure Spain and Italy are coping just fine, being European and World Champions and all...
[/quote]

I'm not saying it's a problem per se but I wonder if immigrants are welcome in the national teams..
 
It's not quite the same, but Italy also took Camoranesi and Spain let Senna play for them.
 
Well I dont think Sol Campbell, Ferdinand, A. Cole, Heskey have their roots in the UK.
They surely descent from former British colonized regions.
 
Deleted your post Sheik?
Some of the players I mentioned must have descent who immigrated to the UK, no?
 
Never mind that, how come there are no Pakistani or Indian footballers?

Do they all play something else? Or is it like in the past when it was hard for black footballers to get into the top flight?

Or are they all just shite at footie?
 
[quote author=Asbo link=topic=34309.msg893075#msg893075 date=1245697890]
Never mind that, how come there are no Pakistani or Indian footballers?

Do they all play something else? Or is it like in the past when it was hard for black footballers to get into the top flight?

Or are they all just shite at footie?
[/quote]

I remember reading that people from that part of the world don't have such agile joints or something so can't twist as well. This later got dismissed as racist, though I guess it's the same as the old argument that West Africans are physically superior, etc.
 
If the Asian community around here is anything to go by, quite a few of the younger generation do play and follow football, but their main sporting interest does still tend to be cricket.
 
Fulham bought that Asian guy from Watford - can't remember his name. They've sold him since though, haven't they?
 
Zesh Rehman played for Fulham and later decided to play for Pakistan as well. He's born in England.
 
A lot of German players coming through have decidely un-German names. And I'm sure there was one World Cup/Euros where they had 4 Polish strikers in the squad.

Adolf would be spinning in his stinking grave. If he was dead and not larging it in South America.
 
I think you're right, in 10 years there's going to be loads of Asian players. I'm not going to start grouping them by age, but the older Asians still love the cricket, but the teenagers and early twenties play football just as much now.

Our local league went from having very few, to having several very good teams.

One thing of note, a lot of young kids are all starting to play ronaldo type football, selfish but skillfull, and completely losing the ability to 'see' the game. Makes them very easy to play against, but i would guess we're going to see a change in our style of football in future.
 
[quote author=H link=topic=34309.msg893179#msg893179 date=1245705291]
give it 10 years and we'll be fielding 11 of them, just incase it appears racist.
[/quote]

If you're good enough, you'll play.
 
I'm sure there are loads of 2nd Gen Italians and French, or with at least one parent ffrom there. Everyone just thinks of them as English/British.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

SummerOnions
    • Like
  • Locked
big interview with Kwatez
Replies
9
Views
998
hamstrung_pigeon
hamstrung_pigeon
Oncy
  • Locked
Arteta for England *waves tiny flag*
2
Replies
32
Views
1K
The Slugmonster
The Slugmonster
Sheik Yerbouti
The Sheik's Rough Guide....B
Replies
21
Views
4K
Spionkop69
Spionkop69
Back
Top Bottom