2024-07-11 00:42:34
Lucas Hernandez chose the French in March 2018 and became world champion! Although he initially wanted to play for the Spanish.
As İdman.biz reports with reference to “Championship”, migration at the national team level is a long-standing process. You have probably seen various memes related to the origins of the French or English national team players. A common situation: the players’ parents moved to a foreign country, after which the child was formed in a new environment. And then he represents the national team of the country in which he was born or moved, although ethnically he belongs to a different nationality. Similar stories often happen between neighboring countries. Often, top football players choose which national team to play for – France or Spain.
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The reasons for the mix of nationalities in the French and Spanish national teams go back far into history. Both countries had a large number of colonies. This influenced migration processes. For example, the director general of the French National Office for Immigration and Integration (OFII) Didier Lesci reported in 2023 that the share of immigrants in the country was at least 10%. And the Spanish Institute of National Statistics cited a figure of 7.2 million (15.22%) people. “France has always adhered to a policy of immigration openness. People from other countries came and actively participated in the economy. Therefore, we have a very multicultural society. This is clearly expressed in the French national team: there are many players with dual cultures who were born in France, but their parents are from African countries, the Maghreb. Marcel Desailly – Ghana, Zinedine Zidane – Algeria, Michel Platini – Italy, Raymond Kopa – Poland. “It turns out that all the best players in France are not French by origin,” Les Dernières Nouvelles d’Alsace journalist Julien-Thomas Ville told Sports.ru.
Deschamps and Lloris could play for Spain
Several important figures in French football are of Spanish/Catalan/Basque descent. France national team head coach Didier Deschamps was born in Bayonne, part of the French Basque Country. Also from this region is the 1998 World Champion Bixente Lizarazu. When the future footballer was born, they wanted to call him Bixente (in the Basque manner). However, an official in the French Basque Country refused to record this name in the documents, changing it to the French style.
And goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, who ended his career with the French national team in 2022, is Catalan on his father’s side. However, the goalkeeper was born in Nice, and his mother is French. So there were no changes with the national team. Also of Catalan descent are the legendary forward of the French national team Eric Cantona and coach Raymond Domenech, who led the team to the final of the 2006 World Cup.
Until 2021, the only Frenchman in the history of the Spanish national team was midfielder Armando Alvarez. He was born in Colmar (a city in eastern France) to Spanish immigrants. But he spent his entire playing career in his parents’ homeland. And in 1996-1997, he played two matches for the Spanish national team.
The French and Spanish national teams are currently a mix of players from different backgrounds. For example, the French have goalkeeper Mick Maignan (his mother is Haitian), forwards Antoine Griezmann (his father is German, his mother is Portuguese) and Kylian Mbappe (his father is Cameroonian). And for Spain, Nico Williams plays: his parents are from Ghana (his older brother Iñaki chose the African country), but they fled the economic crisis in the country. Maria and Felix Williams arrived in Spain illegally. They were then arrested, but salvation came. A lawyer told them to tear up their Ghanaian documents and say that they were fleeing the war in Liberia. Williams’ parents were registered as refugees and sent to Bilbao, where they were sheltered by a local priest. And the new superstar of the Spanish national team, Lamine Yamal, was born in Barcelona to a Moroccan father and an Equatorial Guinean mother.
The Spanish-French connection in the current national teams
The most high-profile situation in recent years has revolved around defender Aymeric Laporte. He was born in the French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. At first, Aymeric trained in junior clubs in Spain, but in 2010 he ended up in the system of Athletic Bilbao. How? Laporte’s great-grandfather and great-grandmother are Basques. Thanks to this, he got the opportunity to play for Athletic. But at the national level, Aymeric played for the youth and youth teams of France. He grew into a top defender, and in 2018 he moved to Manchester City. And he did not receive a call-up to the French national team.
Laporte was also not in the France squad for the “golden” 2018 World Cup, although he was a key player for Manchester City at the time. “Of course, I don’t think it’s for sporting reasons, you’d have to ask him about that [Дешама] Personally I have nothing against him but if anyone has a problem it’s him [Дешама]not me. I could have become world champion, but it is the coach’s decision not to call me up. I have to respect that decision,” a frustrated Laporte said in 2018.
And yet, Deschamps called Emerick up to the French national team. Twice, even. But he didn’t take to the field in either match. So the defender still had the opportunity to change his sporting citizenship. In 2021, the Spanish Football Federation invited Laporta to play for their national team. Then-coach Luis Enrique convinced Emerick of his necessity for the team. And two months later, the defender received a passport and went with Spain to the Euro.
“Emeric had a free choice until he was called up to the French national team. He might not have had the opportunity to choose, 10 seconds of playing for France would have been enough. He was always on the national team list, but there is competition. I never take a player to the national team with the aim of preventing a second choice. In addition, I am irritated by lies (Laporte claimed that he sent Deschamps a message, saying that he never received an answer. – Ed. “Championship”). The only message I received from him was in October, in connection with the situation when he got injured – that he was no longer on the list. But he was on it in November, and in March, and on the latest list too. This is not our mistake, it is the player’s decision. I wish him all the best. This is one of his freedoms,” Deschamps said about the situation with Laporte.
Aymeric Laporte, Spain defender:
“There will always be people who are not happy. It’s the same with food and drink. There are people who like one thing and others who like another. But for most people, I have noticed a lot of support in Spain, I feel the love. It’s an honour to feel this connection with so many Spaniards. Instead of saying that I am French, now they value me even more, they tell me the exact opposite. At the time, I made the decision to play for the Spanish team. I was convinced by both the coach and the philosophy of the country, in which I feel very good. I identify much more with the Spaniards, and the Spaniards return to me the love that I had for them at the time and that I still feel today.”
The third (and so far the last) Frenchman in the Spanish national team was defender Robin Le Normand. While Laporte had Basque roots, the Real Sociedad player did not. He was born in the Brittany region of France, began his career in the French Brest, and moved to Spain only in 2016. But at the beginning of 2023, the Royal Spanish Football Federation launched the naturalization procedure for Le Normand.
In February, national team coach Luis de la Fuente said he was counting on the defender. And Le Normand himself was disappointed that Didier Deschamps did not call him up to the French national team for the 2022 World Cup. So Robin accepted the Spanish offer, received a passport, and made his debut for the team in June 2023. “I have lived in Spain for eight years. Real Sociedad has given me a lot. And being called up to the Spanish national team will help me. I made a thoughtful decision. I thank France, but I have made my choice,” Le Normand said at the time.
The French national team currently has two stars who could help Spain. We are talking about brothers Theo and Lucas Hernandez. They were born in Marseille, their father is a former footballer Jean-François (he went missing in 2004, but in 2022 L’Equipe found him in Thailand), their mother is also French. But Theo and Lucas received their football education in Spain. At first, both trained in the Rayo Majadahonda children’s team, and in 2007 they ended up at Atletico. In 2014, Lucas began to be called up to the Madrid main team, but Theo never played for the main team. In 2017, Real Madrid took him. The path of both brothers in Spain ended only in 2019. Theo was bought from Real by Italian Milan, and Bayern paid a record € 80 million for Lucas.
What does the Spanish national team have to do with it? Especially since both brothers were called up to play for the youth and junior teams of France. In 2016, Theo decided not to play for the country of his birth and instead tried to get a Spanish passport. And only in 2019 did he change his mind. “I made this decision a few years ago, and what happened is already history, [это была] “a mistake of youth. If Deschamps calls me, I’ll come,” Theo said in an interview with L’Equipe.
A similar story happened to his older brother, Lucas. In March 2018, he declined a call-up to the French national team and decided to play for the Spanish national team, waiting for an invitation from Julen Lopetegui. However, after a couple of weeks, Hernandez changed his mind. “Many people talked about the situation, and that’s normal, but my decision has been made. I’m proud to be French, proud to wear this shirt, and I will defend it to the end,” Lucas said.
And already on March 23, Hernandez played for France in a friendly match with Colombia. At the 2018 World Cup, he became a starting player and helped the French become world champions. Later, Lucas explained why he thought about playing for the Spanish national team.
Lucas Hernandez, defender of the French national team:
“I am a very ambitious player and people who know me understand that. I had no news from the French team, but when the coach [Дешам] called me, I didn’t hesitate for a second. I told him yes straight away and that I was ready to fight for this shirt. Of course, I thought about other options. But as soon as the coach called, all doubts disappeared.”
Lucas suffered a cruciate ligament injury in May 2024, which means he will miss the Euros. But Theo, Laporte and Le Normand are fighting for gold. To reach the final, they need to beat the team they could theoretically play for.
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