there has been a lot spoken over national identity on these forums and it is a hot topic in Scotland at the moment. there has been a rule change in Britain so that kids not born in Scotland but have been at school in Scotland for 5 years or more can now become eligible to play for Scotland.
this rule has really came about due to the curious case of Andy Driver, now Driver is English, born there to English parents but he moved to scotland as a young boy and went to school here,grew up here,has all his friends and family in Scotland. he broke into the hearts team as a boy and has been attracting a lot of attention from English clubs, he came out and said he would love to play for Scotland and described teh rules forbidding him from playing as "unfortunate" his form was so good he was called up by Stuart Pierce for Englands squad for the recent under-21 championship.
the rule changes mean he now qualifies for Scotland but some people are not happy and are talking about blood lines being the be-all and end-all,but here is my argument,Matt Elliot had more right to play for Scotland than Andy Driver does,Matt Elliot was called up and accumulated a few caps before disgracing the jersey my lamping someone during a qualifying match. fair enough you may say, his grandparent was Scottish so he has "Scottish blood" running through his veins,yet he had never set foot in Scotland in his life before he was called into the squad,now does he have more right than Andy Driver,raised in Scotland,schooled in Scotland and feels Scottish t play for this country?
i ask this as the above article got me thinking,can someone with the loosest of ties to a country truly feel the passion of playing for a country more than someone who actually lives there? we have the Americans on this forum who were spitting blood over Guiseppi Rossi's decision to declare himself Italian, you have the Amauri situation where he may choose to be Italian simply because he now qualifies for a passport. Ballotelli on the other hand is not Italian by birth,has no bloodline to Italy but has grown up there and is desperate to play for his adopted country.
there are cases where this has proved successful,Trezeguet could have played for Argentina,Zidane Algeria,Lizerazu,Petit and Pires-Spain,Vieira-Senegal were all successful for France. cameronesi has won the world cup with Italy but has said he still feels Argentine, does that make true Azzuri fans angry? or is it accepted that in the current world,nationality is all a matter of paperwork?
this rule has really came about due to the curious case of Andy Driver, now Driver is English, born there to English parents but he moved to scotland as a young boy and went to school here,grew up here,has all his friends and family in Scotland. he broke into the hearts team as a boy and has been attracting a lot of attention from English clubs, he came out and said he would love to play for Scotland and described teh rules forbidding him from playing as "unfortunate" his form was so good he was called up by Stuart Pierce for Englands squad for the recent under-21 championship.
the rule changes mean he now qualifies for Scotland but some people are not happy and are talking about blood lines being the be-all and end-all,but here is my argument,Matt Elliot had more right to play for Scotland than Andy Driver does,Matt Elliot was called up and accumulated a few caps before disgracing the jersey my lamping someone during a qualifying match. fair enough you may say, his grandparent was Scottish so he has "Scottish blood" running through his veins,yet he had never set foot in Scotland in his life before he was called into the squad,now does he have more right than Andy Driver,raised in Scotland,schooled in Scotland and feels Scottish t play for this country?
i ask this as the above article got me thinking,can someone with the loosest of ties to a country truly feel the passion of playing for a country more than someone who actually lives there? we have the Americans on this forum who were spitting blood over Guiseppi Rossi's decision to declare himself Italian, you have the Amauri situation where he may choose to be Italian simply because he now qualifies for a passport. Ballotelli on the other hand is not Italian by birth,has no bloodline to Italy but has grown up there and is desperate to play for his adopted country.
there are cases where this has proved successful,Trezeguet could have played for Argentina,Zidane Algeria,Lizerazu,Petit and Pires-Spain,Vieira-Senegal were all successful for France. cameronesi has won the world cup with Italy but has said he still feels Argentine, does that make true Azzuri fans angry? or is it accepted that in the current world,nationality is all a matter of paperwork?
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