Africa has been robbed of massive talents over and over
again. Could the situation have been different had the
numerous players decided to represent African countries?
Well, seeing the impact they have had on the teams they
represented, we can only speculate that they would have made the African teams
way better than they are now.
Lamentably, this trend may continue for a long time
since the players would most definitely choose Europe over Africa due to the
better terms, opportunities and facilities offered in that side of the world.
We take a look at some of the footballers who swapped
allegiance from African countries to play for European countries.
To begin with, Paul Pogba,
Another similar scenario is that of the Boateng
brothers. While Kevin-Prince chose to represent Ghana, his elder brother Jerome
picked Germany. The two have gone on to represent the different countries at
the highest level, the World Cup.
Italian forward Mario Balotelli, born in Ghana, now
represents Italy having grown up there after his parents emigrated there in his
early childhood.
LUIS CARLOS ALMEIDA DA CUNHA, better known as Nani is
of Cape Verde origin. Just like Balotelli’s parents, his too moved to Europe,
Portugal in his early childhood. He now represents the Portuguese national
team.
DAVID ALABA: Alaba was born in Vienna to a Filipino
mother who is a nurse and a Nigerian father who is a DJ and former rapper. His
middle name is 'Olatokunbo' means 'Wealth From A Foreign Land' in Yoruba
language was said to be keen on representing Nigeria at youth level. In fact if
all had gone well, the left-back would have been in Nigeria's U-17 squad to the
2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup handled by the late Yemi Tella but he was not
considered despite voicing his interest to play for the Golden Eaglets. "I
wanted to play for Nigeria but I must confess that there was no formal approach
for me. A scout actually discussed that with me. "I was excited because of
my dad, he was a fan of (current Super Eagles coach) Sunday Oliseh when Oliseh
played for FC Cologne. As a kid, I loved to watch Victor Agali in the jersey of
Hansa Rostock,'' he told an Austrian news medium.
DELE ALLI: Tottenham Hotspur hotshot Dele Alli has
Nigerian blood running through his veins. Full name, Bamidele Alli, the
supremely talented midfield prodigy regretfully plays for England and not
Nigeria. His name means "Follow me to my House" in Yoruba and the
name is given to a child born outside their community , state, or country. On
October 1, 2015, while Nigerians were marking the 55th anniversary of the
country, England manager Roy Hodgson on that day was busy hatching a plan to
deprive Nigeria of one of its best prospects, Alli.
JORDON IBE: Liverpool youngster Jordon Ibe in September
2015 opted to represent England at international football despite the best
efforts and more of Super Eagles coach Sunday Oliseh to have him play for
Nigeria, the country of his father. Ibe who Barclays English Premier League
commentators like Jim Beglin, Jon Champion, Peter Drury etc prefer to pronounce
as though it rhymes with 'Hybe' had initially hinted of his interest in playing
for Nigeria as the Nigeria Football Federation boss Amaju Pinnick journeyed to
England to convince Nigerian-born players in the country to switch allegiance
to Nigeria.
DANNY WELBECK: His full name is Daniel Nii Tackie
Mensah with a Ghanaian background. Welbeck too plays for England and not the
country of his parents’ birth, Ghana. In March 2011 Danny Welbeck made his
debut for England at Wembley, against Ghana. Unusually for an international
contest, Welbeck was booed by the away fans as he made his entrance on 81
minutes. This expression of Ghanaian discontent is understood in the context of
Welbeck's upbringing – the Manchester United forward is the son of Ghanaian
parents.
Many Ghanaians were disappointed at his choice to play
for the Three Lions after Black Stars officials had scouted him since 2008, and
others scoffed at his decision: "Why play a bit part role for England,
when he could have been a star in Ghana?"
Others are;
- Karim Benzema
who represents France but whose parents are of Algerian descent.
- Saido
Berahino (Burundi) plays for
England
- Wilfred Zaha
who picked England ahead of Ivory Coast, his country of birth.
- Divock Origi, (Kenya)
plays for Belgium
- Christian
Benteke (Demorcatic Republic of Congo) plays for Belgium
- Romelu Lukaku
as (DR. Congo) plays for Beguim. However, his father played for the DRC
national team.
- Patrice Evra, (
Senegal) plays for France
- Blaise Matuidi
(Angola). plays for France
- Angelo Ogbonna
(Nigeria) plays for Italy.
- Mamadou Sakho,
(Senegal) plays for france.
- Mesut Ozil, (Turkish) plays for
Germany
- Nathaniel
Challah Chalobah (Sierra Leon) plays
for England
- Raheem
Shaquille Sterling Kingston, Jamaica plays for England.
- Dazet Wilfried
Armel ZahaAbidjan , Ivory Coast plays for England.
- Ben Arfa
(Tunisia) – plays for France
- Samir Nasri
(Algeria) – plays for France
- Govou (Benin)
- plays for France
- Zinedine
Zidane (Algeria) - played for France
- Christian
Benteke (DRC) – plays for Belgium
- Angelo Ogbonna
(Nigeria) - plays for Italy
- Dennis Aogo
(Nigeria) - plays for Germany
- Okaka Chuka
(Nigeria) - plays for Italy
- Gabriel
Agbonlahor (Nigeria) - plays for Scotland
- Patrick Vieira
(Senegal) - plays for France
- Mousa Dembele
(Mali) - plays for Belgium
- Sami Khedira
(Tunisia) - plays for Germany
- Vincent
Kompany (Congo) – plays for Belgium
- Bacary Sagna
(Senegal) - plays for France
- El Shaarawy
(Egypt) - plays for Italy
- Dirick Origi
(Kenya) - plays for Belgium
- Renato Sanches
– from Cape Varde plays for Portugal
- Ngolo Kante – from
Mali plays for France
- William
Carvalho from Angola – plays for Portugal
- Danielo From
Guinea – plays for Portugal
- Samuel Mtiti from
Cameroon – plays for France
- Eliseu – from
Cape Verde plays for Portugal
- Eder – from
Guinea Bissau plays for Portugal
- Eliaquim
Mangala from DR Congo – plays for France
- Steve Mandanda
from DR Congo – plays for France
- Marouane
Fellaini from Morocco plays for Belgium