JULY 29, 2018 • THE WEEK 55friendly in 2014 (FIFA regulations do
not allow players with more than one
nationality to switch countries once
they play a senior competitive match
for one country). He has played for
CSKA Moscow since 2012 and decid-
ed to represent Russia upon receiv-
ing citizenship in 2017.
Th e union of various ethnicities
is evident in the teams from France,
Belgium and England. In short, one
of six players in this World Cup has
an immigrant background. Th ough
this became more noticeable at the
quarterfi nal stage, teams which were
eliminated in the earlier stages also
had players who were descendants
of immigrants. German midfi elders
Mesut Ozil and Ilkay Gundogan
have Turkish roots. Th eir teammate,
The Swedish code
In the Germany-Sweden group
stage match at Russia 2018, the
Germans had scored their winner
from a last-minute free-kick by
midfi elder Toni Kroos. The Swedish
player who had conceded the free-
kick was winger Jimmy Durmaz.
This resulted in Durmaz—a player
with Turkish roots—being racially
abused on social media. The Swed-
ish team responded with a video
message that had only two words:
F**k racism!
The Swedish squad for this edi-
tion of the World Cup did not have
many players with foreign roots.
But there are several immigrant
players in the Swedish domestic
league. Immigrants from eastern
Europe and the Middle East have
been settling in Rosengard near
Malmo, for many years now. Swed-
ish legend, striker Zlatan Ibrahi-
movic, was born here. Growing up
in a slum, Ibrahimovic was involved
in petty crimes in his youth. But
his talent on the football ground
was undeniable as proven by his
spectacular displays.
Though the Swedes believe that
immigrants are putting the nation’s
economy under stress, they don’t
hold that against young immigrant
footballers. Ibrahimovic retired
from international football in 2016.
Though many said it was a loss to
the 2018 World Cup, there is also
talk that his absence has benefi ted
the national team. Free from his
superstar shadow and his notorious
ego, the Swedish team played well
as a unit to reach the quarterfi nals.defender Jerome Boateng, is of
Ghanaian descent. In fact, Jerome’s
half-brother, midfi elder Kevin-Prince
Boateng, represented Ghana at the
2010 and 2014 World Cups. Others in
the German team with an immigrant
background included midfi elder
Sami Khedira (Tunisia) and defender
Antonio Rudiger (Sierra Leone).
Many members of the Swiss team
were descendants of immigrants
who had fl ed to Switzerland during
the Balkan Wars (1912 and 1913).
Th e team also had players with roots
in Cameroon, Ivory Coast and Cape
Verde. Fourteen of the 23 Swiss play-
ers had double citizenship. Argentine
striker Gonzalo Higuain has French
citizenship by birth, though he does
not speak a word of French. Spanish