I'm sure people in a similar situation have still played for their country of ethnicity in the past, like French Africans, etc. In that sense it wouldn't have been surprising if he has chosen to play for either nation.
- at times it looked as if the Germans had an extra CB there. This could come to haunt him though - success has made him take too many chances back there and it's just a matter of time before he'd F it up.
I'm sure people in a similar situation have still played for their country of ethnicity in the past, like French Africans, etc. In that sense it wouldn't have been surprising if he has chosen to play for either nation.