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| Jonathan de Guzman (Feyenoord) (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
The
2014 World Cup is being held in
Brazil. It is now in its
knockout phase. When I say World Cup, I am not talking about that World Cup that the
Smart Gilas will be participating this August. That basketball World Cup is just trying to copy the blueprint of the original World Cup which is in the sport of football or
soccer (for
Americans).
The World Cup is held every four years and players would wish to participate in it at least once in their lives. For
Filipinos, it will probably be just a fantasy. Our country did not even qualify for the
Asian Cup.
The Philippines only started to have a decent team in 2010. There is a spike in local interest for the sport but being practically a newbie, we are not expected to contend in major international competitions for a couple years, decades, and hopefully, not centuries. Maybe in 2030 or 2034, we will get a shot. How old would I be then?
Will we ever have a team in the World Cup???
While we would not expect the Azkals to be in World Cup soon, two players with Filipino blood know how it feels to be in Brazil 2014. At least, this two somehow proves that there will always be a Filipino in any big event. The two players are
Jonathan de Guzman of The Netherlands and Team
USA's
Nick Rimando.
Jonathan de Guzman is a midfielder and he has a Filipino dad and a Jamaican mom. De Guzman acquired Dutch citizenship in 2008. Nick Rimando is the back-up goalkeeper for the Team USA and he has a Filipino dad and a Mexican mom.
It is funny that other countries are willing to give their citizenship to excellent athletes or professionals. In the case of the Philippines, we always complain when a mix blood or a foreigner comes to our place and take away a job of a Filipino. It is hard for someone with no Filipino blood to become Filipino especially the high profile ones.
I read many times how coaches complain about foreign coaches and other imports. We forget that our best is actually playing for other flags. We see many "Filipino" Olympians winning medals for other countries. Our best doctors are working in the hospitals of other countries serving other nationalities. So, why can't we "steal" talent from other countries. I am sure there are too many basketball "centers" in Nigeria, football "strikers" in England, Olympic-level swimmers in Australia, Taekwondo jins in Korea or badminton stars in Indonesia. So, why can't we give those extra talent of other countries a chance to play in the biggest stage of their chosen sport. I am sure there is an excess of players for a country where the sport originated.
I am not saying that our national will have to look like an International Colours of Benetton commercial but it is actually looking like one but we are not winning. We need better talent. We need to make it easier for others to be Filipino. I am sure there are only very few who would want to be Filipino but we should not make it too hard especially for the talented ones. Getting Andre Batche to be Filipino is like our little way of getting back at America for getting players like Rimando,
Tim Lincecum,
Brian Viloria, Natalie Coughlin,
Tiffany Roberts, and more.
If we want to fast track our participation in a World Cup or getting an Olympic gold then our leaders should start to think differently. Let's send our scouts to other countries to look for players willing to play for the Philippine flag. Many Filipinos are resilient and they would respond positively to added competition by stepping their game although more would just like to complain. The best NBA team is a multinational mix and the Americans are not complaining that NBA's best has just a few Americans.
Time to make our fantasy a reality! Let's do to them, what they do to us!!!!
