Comments on: Blatter Fears “Invaders from Brazil”

By: Abby

Abby — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 11:36:11 +0000

True, only Brazilians count. Good thing, too, because that means Germany can keep playing Klose without fear of reprisal from Sepp. (and Podolski if he ever gets regular form back). I was really more responding to Bernd up there and his assertion that the Scandinavians are all “ethnically entrenched” in the country they play for…

By: Martha

Martha — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 10:39:02 +0000

Zlatan’s Croatian ethnically but was born in Sweden, I think, Abby, so Blatter probably wouldn’t kick HIM out. Well, that and the fact that he’s not Brazilian.

By: Abby

Abby — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 03:28:19 +0000

Well, in this day and age nationalities in general aren’t as ethnically entrenched as they were in the past. Particularly for younger people. Maybe my perspective is a little skewed as an American, and therefore not really ethnically entrenched anywhere, but nationality these days isn’t entirely about ethnicity. And Sweden’s got Zlatan, who’s not ‘ethnically’ Swedish, is he?

I bet he’s just mad at Eduardo da Silva being so useful in kicking out England. His wife is Croatian, though, isn’t she?

By: Bernd

Bernd — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 19:17:27 +0000

A team representing a country whose players are actually ethnically entrenched in that country is a rare occasion these days. The only ones that come to mind are Spain, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, and the Scandinavian countries. Germany has the Poles, Italy has the Argentines, Portugal has the Brazilians, England has the Carribean, Australia has players from all over world, and France has it’s colonies. It’s basically club football but on a much larger scale in both the corruption and the pay-off.

By: Martha

Martha — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 17:07:52 +0000

My guess, Diane, is that you’ve hit the nail on the head with option #3. It seems like Blatter can do and say pretty much anything he wants.

By: Diane

Diane — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 17:05:57 +0000

He’s just bitter that the England squad isn’t “full of Brazilians” and there’s a tourny coming up that won’t be filling FIFA coffers with its share of the England lbs that would otherwise have come pouring in next summer.

p.s. In any other job, wouldn’t he have been fired — and brought up on charges — for those comments? Or is that just in the U.S.? Or is it another FIFA rules its own parallel universe situation?

By: Chris Murphy

Chris Murphy — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 17:02:39 +0000

bashing immigrants is so easy that even FIFA wants part of the action. That’s okay, a nice bribe will make him shut up.