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Poll: The Natural Question

February 9th, 2009 | By: Alan | 5 Comments »

Coach Sven received a tough time from the Mexican media and public about his selection of naturalized players for the national team. The issue got so bad that now coach Sven gets a little sheet for every FMF game he watches, on the little card are the names of all the players along with a Mexican flag that shows which players were born in Mexico, bit much no?

In his defense coach Sven replied that he is a foreigner, and did not understand the customs or ways of Mexico, and that all he did was follow FIFA regulations which state that any player with a Mexican passport may play for the national team.

Your friends here at Mexico WCB will now investigate both sides of the naturalized player debate, and why it’s such a big deal in Mexico.

Alan: Mexico is a very nationalistic country that applies this sense of nationalism to every aspect of their culture, one of these aspects being football. I believe that first and foremost, the Mexican players feel threatened and a bit disappointed in themselves when a coach calls on naturalized players. I think this can be summarized by the comments that some players offered in response to the Sven call up list. “I hope this motivates Mexican players to go out and work hard.” Notice that no comments were made in respect to the naturalized players themselves or their achievements, but rather on the fault of the Mexican players. No one likes to see their boss have to call in someone else to do their job and this was part of why the players were a bit mad. The strong sense of Mexican nationalism in football can also be seen in “Mexico’s team” Chivas, this is a FMF team that is comprised of all Mexican players and because of this is one of the most popular teams in the Primera Division. Nationalism aside, I think that natural born players should have priority on the field, less we have a Brazil vs. Brazil Jr world cup.

Andrea: Mexico may be a very nationalistic country, but it is also a country that has much pride. I’m sure many would rather see a few foreign elements thrown into the team, than the team eliminated from the World Cup. Although foreigners may take away some spots from the “natural” born players, it’s the competition needed to make the team better in the long run. Besides, players such as Sinha, Franco, and Vuoso don’t have to participate with the national team. Yes, they’re called up, but if they didn’t want to play with us they wouldn’t have to. Sure, they may have an accent but they’re just as Mexican as the rest of us. They want the team to succeed, and they’ve given up any and all chances of being called up for their “original” country. Does anyone remember the game against Canada in October? It ended 2-2 in a game where we didn’t play too spectacular. If we had lost we would have surely been eliminated by the time the Jamaica game was played. Do you remember who scored in the Canada game? Matias Vuoso, freshly called up to play. I’m willing to bet that that night everyone was happy about his inclusion on the team. Besides, are people being so hypocritical that they’d turn a blind eye to those who don’t know the national anthem(until about 30 secs)

to those who are not natural citizens but sing their hearts out anyways when it’s played? Below as sung by Guillermo Franco.

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Comments

By Jose | February 9th, 2009 at 6:58 am

This speaks to a larger issue within Mexico itself which needs to be dealt with.. in the hearts and minds of every Mexican. As a rising regional economic power, Mexico has begun to attract immigrants from all over Latin America in a way unseen before. This is why the Mexican league has so many foreigners to begin with: its economic clout relative to other countries in the region.

Nevertheless, Mexico has yet to develop a culture of integrating immigrants. They remain a very defensive culture (I won’t say xenophobic), and hold to ideas of “true” Mexicanism.

Take, in contrast, the United States, which has had an immigrant culture for centuries. Newcomers are eventually welcomed as fellow Americans, having practically every right as a natural born US citizen (minus being pres/vice pres). Take, for example, the governor of California, the largest U.S. state: an Austrian immigrant.

As its economic clout continues to grow, Mexico is beginning to attract some of the best talent throughout Latin America: Central Americans, Caribbeaners, South Americans. In order to be successful at this, they need to redefine within themselves whether they’re willing to accept immigrants as their own, or whether they will continue to treat these people as second class Mexicans–and potentially lose this talent to a country that is willing to accept them as their own.

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By Jose | February 9th, 2009 at 7:07 am

Let me clarify a bit: Mexicans currently define “Mexicanismo” by both blood and culture. The United States, with the exception of many “Natural Born” activists, has usually defined Americanism by a set of vague ideas and principles. In order to take the next step in progress, Mexicans (and really, much of Latin America) will eventually need to emphasize the ideas behind their foundation (freedom from tyranny, self-determination, equality among citizens) as being integral to their nationality, and NOT place the onus of “Mexicanismo” on whether your grandparents were Mexican and you grew up watching el Chavo del Ocho, celebrating el Dia de los Muertos, and listening to rancheras (*ahem* so to speak).

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By Al | February 9th, 2009 at 1:38 pm

I have no problem with naturalized players only if they’re not using Mexico as their safety net because they can’t make the team of their respective country. The thing is, you don’t KNOW this and you can’t point the finger at Leandro or someone and tell them that they’re just in it so they can play in a World Cup. I could think of some exceptions to this *cough* Guille Franco *cough* but I get the vibe that these naturalized players are all for Mexicanismo.

Would Edgar Castillo be considered naturalized only because he was born in the US? His blood may be Mexican but he wasn’t legally born Mexican. Just like him, Guille, Leandro, Sinha etc had to obtain their Mexican citizenship afterwards. They’re all just as Mexican as Castillo.

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By asdf | February 9th, 2009 at 8:31 pm

So jose your trying to say Mexico should be more like the usa who accepts others as Americans even if they weren’t born in the u.s.

I guess it would make sense, if you look at the usa squad they are all “american” but their ancestory is from all over the place. They have africans,europeans, heck they even have mexicans now.

I don’t mind naturalized players, most likely because I was born in the u.s. I didn’t even know Zinha wasn’t Mexican until I heard his name, he looks “mexican” enough to me. Besides I think the naturalized players are good because most of them really give an extra effort to prove their love and worth for their new home.

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By lieben | March 3rd, 2009 at 6:15 am

Interessante Informationen.

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