England has historically been a melting pot for immigrants from around the world and many have contributed positively to the way we live and across all the counties. Indian doctors and African nurses in the NHS, Polish plumbers and Australian bar workers. Often the avenue that has brought cultures together has been through sport and it is obvious to see through diaspora of colours and names in the English national team. It is a tribute to their hard work and love for their new nation.
I remember listening to the English Cricket team reaching an all-time nadir, losing a home test-series against New Zealand in 1999. The answer seemed controversial at the time but the decision was to bring in a foreign coach, Duncan Fletcher from Zimbabwe. Results and consistency finally brought home the pinnacle of test glory, an Ashes victory after an eternity of defeats against the Aussies. England have built on these imports, another Zimbabwean, Andy Flower is the latest head coach along with some naturalised South Africans players and some Australian and Pakistani coaches. This is becoming standard form across the cricketing world, even the world HQ is now based in Dubai. Look at the likes of Rugby League, Super League is dotted with Australian coaches and in Athletics Team GB is headed up by a Dutchman. English sport is truly globalised.
The story that deflected a lot of attention was the potential recruitment of Mikel Arteta to the English football team, perhaps a step too far? Arteta, a Spaniard, who has played football in Britain for seven years has recently attained British citizenship and has yet to gain a cap in the Spanish national team. I personally agreed with the recruitment of a foreign coach and think the national side has improved from the coaching methods and knowledge from these foreigners. Is this potential call-up a reflection of Britain as a society or a desperate call after a miserable summer? He wouldn’t be the first player to change nationalities in footballing terms, think Deco, Podolski, Eduardo. Also the fact we have had two foreign coaches appears to make the so-called sacrosanct Three Lions appear futile. I like Arteta and I think he would be a good player but I just don’t think it is right for the England team. The other sports I named earlier are embedded with the moral codes of Empire, the subsequent legacy and competition of these games seems natural as they are only played by a small group of countries, technical coaches are therefore a sparse commodity. But then, you could argue that football is the ultimate global game, where globalisation has changed how we watch and play the sport, is this not the next obvious step? By all means yes, but it seems ignore all the inherent problems within our game at the highest and the lowest level, Arteta would be a short term solution for a long term problem. It wouldn’t surprise me if something like this happened in the future but now is not the time to be doing it.
I remember listening to the English Cricket team reaching an all-time nadir, losing a home test-series against New Zealand in 1999. The answer seemed controversial at the time but the decision was to bring in a foreign coach, Duncan Fletcher from Zimbabwe. Results and consistency finally brought home the pinnacle of test glory, an Ashes victory after an eternity of defeats against the Aussies. England have built on these imports, another Zimbabwean, Andy Flower is the latest head coach along with some naturalised South Africans players and some Australian and Pakistani coaches. This is becoming standard form across the cricketing world, even the world HQ is now based in Dubai. Look at the likes of Rugby League, Super League is dotted with Australian coaches and in Athletics Team GB is headed up by a Dutchman. English sport is truly globalised.
The story that deflected a lot of attention was the potential recruitment of Mikel Arteta to the English football team, perhaps a step too far? Arteta, a Spaniard, who has played football in Britain for seven years has recently attained British citizenship and has yet to gain a cap in the Spanish national team. I personally agreed with the recruitment of a foreign coach and think the national side has improved from the coaching methods and knowledge from these foreigners. Is this potential call-up a reflection of Britain as a society or a desperate call after a miserable summer? He wouldn’t be the first player to change nationalities in footballing terms, think Deco, Podolski, Eduardo. Also the fact we have had two foreign coaches appears to make the so-called sacrosanct Three Lions appear futile. I like Arteta and I think he would be a good player but I just don’t think it is right for the England team. The other sports I named earlier are embedded with the moral codes of Empire, the subsequent legacy and competition of these games seems natural as they are only played by a small group of countries, technical coaches are therefore a sparse commodity. But then, you could argue that football is the ultimate global game, where globalisation has changed how we watch and play the sport, is this not the next obvious step? By all means yes, but it seems ignore all the inherent problems within our game at the highest and the lowest level, Arteta would be a short term solution for a long term problem. It wouldn’t surprise me if something like this happened in the future but now is not the time to be doing it.
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