1
* Co espondence o: Alb ech Sonn ag. ESSCA School o Managemen , 1 Rue Joseph Lakanal, 49000 Ange s (F ancia) – [email p o ec ed] – h p://o cid.
o g/0000-0003-0428-6336
How o ci e: Sonn ag, Alb ech , y Ga cía Ga cía, Bo ja (2020). Na ional Teams, Mul iple Loyal ies. A Discussion o h ee Foo ball Case S udies. Papeles del CEIC,
ol. 2020/1, papel 224, 1-17. (h p://dx.doi.o g/10.1387/pceic.20832).
Recei ed: May, 2019; Final e sion: Oc obe , 2019.
ISSN 1695-6494 / © 2020 UPV/EHU
This a icle is dis ibu ed unde he e ms o he
C ea i e Commons A ibu ion 4.0 In e na ional License
Papeles del CEIC, 2020/1
h p://dx.doi.o g/10.1387/pceic.20832
ISSN 1695-6494
Na i o N a l e a m s , mu l i p l e lo y a l i e s .
a Di s c u s s i o N o h e e o o b a l l ca s e s u D i e s
Selecciones nacionales, leal ades múl iples.
Una discusión de es casos de ú bol
Alb ech Sonn ag*
ESSCA School o Managemen (F ancia)
Bo ja Ga cía Ga cía
School o Spo , Exe cise and Heal h Sciences, Loughbo ough Uni e si y (UK)
Keywo ds
Na ional Iden i y
Dual Iden i ies
Foo ball
Na ional Team
Abs Ac : In se e al Wes e n Eu opean coun ies, mul i-e hnic socie ies a e also e lec ed
in na ional oo ball eams ha ield playe s o mig an o igin. This a icle p esen s an em-
pi ical analysis o how oo ball playe s wi h dual iden i ies ha e nego ia ed hei allegiances
o hei ‘home’ and ‘adop i e’ oo balling coun ies. Resea ch is conduc ed h ough induc-
i e analysis o empi ical da a based on h ee case s udies om Ge many, Swi ze land and
F ance, da ing om 2018. These cases highligh he di e en manne s in which such oo -
ball playe s a e con on ed wi h hei dual iden i ies when op ing o he Na ional Team o
hei «coun y o adop ion». Ou indings e eal ha , while he na ional iden i y o p o es-
sional playe s seems o be la gely i ele an in he globalised Foo ball Clubs and Leagues o
Wes e n Eu ope, playe s wi h mig an backg ound ace se ious di icul ies when exp ess-
ing, spon aneously o in en ionally, hei dual allegiance. The main heo e ical con ibu ion
o he a icle is he concep ualisa ion o a p ocess in which la ge pa s o public opinion and
media discou se, e en in coun ies wi h a long-s anding his o y o mig a ion, ha e ouble o
come o e ms wi h dual loyal ies. In hose cases, oo ball playe s ace a demand o explici ly
make public hei allegiance when bea ing he na ion’s «colou s» on he oo ball pi ch.
Palab as cla e
Iden idad
nacional
Iden idades
duales
Fú bol
Selección
nacional
Resumen: En a ios países de la Eu opa occiden al podemos encon a sociedades con una
composición mul i-é nica que se e leja ambién en la composición de sus equipos naciona-
les de ú bol, los que cada ez alinean más jugado es de o igen emig an e. Es e a ículo, con
un én asis p incipalmen e empí ico, analiza cómo los jugado es de ú bol con iden idad na-
cional dual negocian su adhesión a su país de o igen y al país de adopción u bolís ica. La in-
es igación se plan ea median e es casos de es udio si uados en Alemania, Suiza y F ancia
en 2018. En es os casos se analiza la mane a en que dis in os u bolis as se han en en ado
a su iden idad dual al juga en la selección nacional de su país de adopción. El p incipal e-
sul ado de la in es igación sugie e que, mien as la iden idad nacional de los u bolis as pa-
ece no se excesi amen e ele an e en las compe iciones Eu opeas de clubes, no ocu e lo
mismo con las selecciones nacionales. Jugado es con o igen emig an e encuen an emen-
das di icul ades pa a exp esa , de mane a sencilla o espon ánea, su iden idad dual den o
del ú bol de selecciones. La p incipal con ibución eó ica del a ículo es una concep uali-
zación del p oceso po el que una g an pa e de la opinión pública y del discu so de los me-
dios de comunicación, incluso en países con una amplia adición de acogida de emig an es
como F ancia, Suiza o Alemania, ienen di icul ades pa a en ende las complejidades de las
iden idades duales. En esos casos, los u bolis as se en o zados a hace pública, de mane a
cla a y exp esa, su leal ad hacia los «colo es» de su país sob e el e eno de juego.
Alb ech Sonn ag, Bo ja Ga cía Ga cía
2 Papeles del CEIC, 2020/1, 1-17
IN RODuC ION AND PROLOGuE: «HeimA »
«Heima » is one o hose pe ec ly un ansla able Ge man wo ds loaded wi h emo ion. I
s ems om he same lexical ield as «Home» («Heim»), bu ca ies many addi ional seman-
ic conno a ions o oman ic soul-sea ching, egional oo s and cul u al belonging. The e m
«Heima » is a singula e an um, a noun ha desc ibes an abs ac concep ha only exis s
in i s singula o m. The e o e, i is all he mo e su p ising ha he P esiden o he Fede al
Republic o Ge many, F ank-Wal e S einmeie , in his quali y as o icial Head o S a e, de-
libe a ely igno ed his g amma ical es ic ion by decla ing, a he o icial annual celeb a-
ions o «Ge many Uni y Day» on Oc obe 3 d, 2017, ha «Heima also exis s in he plu al»
(De Spiegel, 2017). He did so by insis ing on Ge many’s ema kable success-s o y o dec-
ades o in eg a ion o mig an s, as an an ido e o cu en mig a ion anxie ies ollowing wha
is gene ally e e ed o as « he 2015 Re ugees C isis». He added: «a human being can ha e
mo e han one Heima , one can ind a new Heima , and ou Fede al Republic has al eady p o-
ided p oo o his claim o millions o people» (ibídem: pa . 43).
Lis ening o his speech, i was easy o p edic ha he sen ence «Heima also exis s in he
plu al» was likely o make he headlines he nex day and o be passiona ely and polemically
discussed in bo h adi ional media and social ne wo ks. In hindsigh , howe e , i was a he
di icul o an icipa e ha wi hin a ew mon hs, he P esiden would ha e o use he e y
same message when ying o ex inguish a pa icula ly hea ed public deba e abou he «Ge -
manness» o wo pilla s o he na ional oo ball eam. I was in ain: on Sunday July 22, 2018,
Mesu Özil esigned om he Ge man Na ional Team, p ecisely because he claimed he was
denied he igh o ha e a plu al Heima .
The ocus o his con ibu ion lies wi h he ques ion o dual iden i ies in con empo a y oo -
ball and he loyal y p essu e i p oduces on playe s in bo h hei cul u e o o igin and he so-
cie y o hei coun y o adop ion. Ou objec i e is o discuss whe he , in he con ex o na-
ional oo ball eams, Heima can ac ually be in he plu al. How do p o essional oo ball
playe s o mig an o igin nego ia e hei dual iden i y? Ra he han on Foo ball Clubs o P o-
essional Leagues, he a icle ocuses on Na ional Teams, as hey ha e been widely consid-
e ed an impo an elemen o na ional iden i y o ma ion o consolida ion. Thus, we aim o
discuss he ex en o which oo balle s o mig an backg ound a e, agains hei will, o ced
o explain hemsel es publicly on hei loyal y o he coun y o adop ion, and he socio-cul-
u al eac ion o cases when he loyal y issue becomes p oblema ic.
Based on se e al decades o esea ch on in e na ional oo ball and na ional iden i y, as well
as on expe in e iews be o e and a e he 2018 Wo ld Cup in Russia, his pape aims o
discuss h ee case s udies, o unde s and ecen e olu ions in a i udes o playe s wi h mi-
g an backg ound in Na ional Teams. The h ee case s udies a e p esen ed in he o m o i-
gne es o episodes: he i s in ol ing Mesu Özil and his Ge man-Tu kish iden i y. The sec-
ond p esen s he F ench Na ional Team (Wo ld Champions) and hei playe s o mig an
o igin. Finally, he cases o G ani Xhaka and Xhe dan Shaqi i and hei con o e sial ei indi-
ca ion o hei Koso a o igin whils ep esen ing Swi ze land in he Wo ld Cup. Following he
explo a ion o hese case s udies along i e episodes, we pu ou indings in o pe spec i e in
he las one. The a icle concludes wi h a discussion on wha lessons can be d awn om he
analysis o hese case s udies, and ends wi h a sho epilogue ha e lec s on he u u e chal-
lenges ha immig a ion is posing o na ional oo ball eams.
Na ional Teams, Mul iple Loyal ies. A Discussion o h ee Foo ball Case S udies
h p://dx.doi.o g/10.1387/pceic.20832 3
Episode 1. GERMANy, SuMMER 2018: AN IN EGRA ION SuCCESS S ORy
WI H AN uNHAPPy ENDING.
When Mesu Özil publicly esigned om he Ge man Na ional Team only one week a e he
2018 Wo ld Cup inished, his decision sen a shockwa e h ough Ge man media and soci-
e y. His open le e in English, pos ed in h ee pa s on his Facebook page, ci ed « acism and
lack o espec » as main mo i a ions o his s ep, which he said he had aken «wi h a hea y
hea » (Özil, 2018). Mesu Özil had played 92 in e na ional ma ches o Ge many; he was a
membe o he Wo ld Cup winning eam in 2014.
Özil’s esigna ion was he esul o a highly cha ged public deba e in Ge many, ac oss all a-
di ional media and social ne wo ks, ollowing he publica ion o a pho o aken on May 13,
2018 wi h he Tu kish P esiden Reccep Tayip E doğan a an e en in London. In ha pic u e,
Özil and E doğan we e also accompanied by wo o he Ge man-bo n playe s o Tu kish o i-
gin, Ilkay Gündoğan (also a Ge man in e na ional), and Cenk Tosun (who had op ed o play
o he Tu kish Na ional Team). The h ee playe s o e ed dedica ed je seys o hei espec-
i e clubs o M . E doğan, add essing him as «my P esiden » (Ol e man, 2018: pa . 3).
Tha pho o oppo uni y, o ganised by he h ee playe s’ agen s, was in e p e ed as an ac i e
suppo o he elec ion campaign o a poli ician, whose au oc a ic and au ho i a ian en-
dencies we e deemed pe ec ly incompa ible wi h he democ a ic alues embodied by he
Fede al Republic o Ge many. Mo eo e , P esiden E doğan had, o e ecen yea s, epea -
edly slande ed Ge many in an agg essi e manne , compa ing cu en Ge man poli ics o Nazi
me hods, and encou aging Ge man ci izens wi h Tu kish o igins o willingly esis in eg a ion
in Ge man socie y.
In he wo mon hs be ween he day he pho o was published wo ldwide and he esigna ion
le e pos ed by Mesu Özil, he (jus i ied) c i icism o his mo e han awkwa d endo semen
o a poli ical leade wi h semi-dic a o ial a i udes was quickly ollowed by highly emo ional
eac ions on social media. Özil and Gündoğan we e massi ely booed by he spec a o s o he
las p epa a ion games be o e he 2018 Wo ld Cup; he p os and cons o he exclusion o
bo h playe s om he na ional squad we e he objec o a hea ed deba e. A he same ime,
he ou pu o he social ne wo ks was inc easingly domina ed by a e y ac i e mino i y wi h
s ong acis unde ones (Schulze-Ma meling, 2018).
The helpless and somewha e a ic manne in which he Ge man Foo ball Fede a ion (DFB
in Ge man), and especially i s P esiden Reinha d G indel, ied o s ee h ough his c isis
con ibu ed o i s escala ion. Nei he he P esiden , no he Na ional Coach Joachim Löw,
who was known o hold Mesu Özil in high es eem, no he Team’s Manage , Oli e Bie ho ,
ully unde s ood he symbolic dimensions o wha had become « he Özil A ai ». A quickly
a anged «explana ion» be ween he playe s and he h ee ep esen a i es o he Fede a-
ion had no consequences wha soe e . Simila ly, he wo playe s’ isi o Ge many’s Fed-
e al P esiden F ank-Wal e S einmeie and a join s a emen on hei con e sa ion, includ-
ing he P esiden ’s insis ence on Heima in he plu al (De Spiegel, 2018), we e conside ed by
many as oo li le, oo la e. The ha m was al eady done. All he mo e so as Özil —con a y o
Gündoğan, who ied o apologise o he bad imp ession le by he pho o oppo uni y wi h
E doğan, pledging his ull iden i ica ion wi h he Ge man Team— had s oically e used o
apologise o his endo semen o E doğan, o a leas publicly explain i . A wall o silence ha
was only b oken by his iple Facebook pos s on July 22.
Alb ech Sonn ag, Bo ja Ga cía Ga cía
4 Papeles del CEIC, 2020/1, 1-17
Some had hoped ha success on he pi ch a he Russian 2018 Wo ld Cup would calm hings
down. Needless o say, he simple ac ha he Ge man Team was elimina ed in he i s
ound o he i s ime in i s long his o y, a e losing o Mexico and Sou h Ko ea, did no mi -
iga e he in lamma ion o he public deba e. While game s a is ics p o ided e idence ha
Mesu Özil had been one o he a e playe s o deli e a pe ec ly sa is ying pe o mance, he
was none heless blamed by a la ge numbe o media pundi s and anonymous commen a o s
o ha ing unse led o des abilised he eam.
When Özil inally published his esigna ion s a emen on Facebook a week a e he
Wo ld Cup inal, ano he con o e sial deba e was igni ed be ween hose (including
o he playe s) who ca ego ically —and a he c edibly— ejec ed he exis ence o acism
wi hin he DFB and he Na ional Team, and hose who showed unde s anding o his ac
and saw he whole a ai as e idence o widely sha ed, la en an i-Tu kish acism in Ge -
man socie y.
Again, his pape is no abou acism o disc imina ion in in e na ional oo ball. The opic has
been widely and compe en ly add essed by academic esea ch (Bu dsey, 2011; Cashmo e
and Cleland, 2014; Dembowski e al., 2015; Ga land and Rowe, 2001; González and Ma ín,
2006; Llopis-Goig, 2009; Me kel and Toka ski, 1996). And since acism o disc imina ion a e
highly unlikely o be e adica ed any ime soon o a numbe o easons, hey will con inue o
be majo issues in he o e all deba e o p o essional oo ball’s commi men o e hical and
social esponsibili y (Sonn ag and Ranc, 2015).
Episode 2. FLASHBACK, EIGH yEARS EARLIER: HANDLING LOyAL y
PRESSuRE
On Oc obe 8, 2010, Mesu Özil had al eady been he objec o a amous pho o wi h a leading
poli ician.
Eigh een mon hs a e his i s cap wi h he Ge man Na ional Team, and only h ee mon hs
a e signing up o Real Mad id ollowing a b illian Wo ld Cup pe o mance ha made him
an emblema ic playe o he new mul icul u al Ge man Team, Özil was in he line-up o a
pa icula ly sensi i e quali ie o he 2012 Eu opean Championship agains Tu key in he
Be lin Olympias adion. As could be expec ed, a la ge c owd om he Tu kish diaspo a in Ge -
many occupied wo hi ds o he 75,000 sea s, u ning he ma ch in o a somewha su ealis ic
away-game o Ge many.
Fo many o hose spec a o s, « he dogma o singula na ional iden i y» desc ibed by Yağmu
Nuh a in he excellen s udy Media ing Tu kishness in T ansna ional Foo ball (Nuh a , 2015:
133), was clea ly no nego iable. Conside ing Özil a « ai o » o he land o hei ances o s
—despi e he ac ha he had been bo n and aised as hi d-gene a ion mig an in Ge -
many— hey booed and whis led his e e y mo e on he pi ch. Imp essi ely, gi en he p es-
su e he was exposed o, Özil deli e ed a b illian pe o mance sco ing a goal, bu diploma i-
cally e aining om celeb a ing i . The mos impo an momen o his ma ch, howe e ,
ook place in he eam’s changing oom, when Chancello Angela Me kel d opped by o con-
g a ula e he playe s, mos o whom she pe sonally knew al eady om p e ious occasions.
The pho o ha was aken on his occasion, showing M s Me kel shaking hands wi h a hal -
Na ional Teams, Mul iple Loyal ies. A Discussion o h ee Foo ball Case S udies
h p://dx.doi.o g/10.1387/pceic.20832 5
naked, smiling Mesu Özil, was u ned by he Chancelle y’s communica ion se ice in o an in-
s an icon o Ge many’s mig a ion his o y.
I is no exagge a ed o claim ha Mesu Özil has been ins umen alized wice in his ca ee
by poli ical leade s o hei espec i e agenda. One may a gue ha he e is a quali a i e di -
e ence be ween being used as symbol o an o e all humanis ic in eg a ion policy and being
asked o endo se an inc easingly au ho i a ian egime ha aised wo ldwide conce ns on i s
espec o ci il libe ies. The ac emains ha he oo balle himsel had no ac i ely asked
o ei he o he pho os. I may be con enien o accuse poli icians o using oo ball o hei
own pu poses bu , how could hey do o he wise? In oo ball-c azy coun ies —o which he
Eu opean con inen coun s a signi ican numbe — i is only cohe en ha he highly sym-
bolic cha ac e o he Na ional Teams is exploi ed by leading poli icians. In he «s ess com-
muni ies» ha ou con empo a y Na ion-S a es ha e become (Slo e dijk, 1999), hey a e in
despe a e need o he a e and essen ial momen s o emo ional cohesion ha oo ball can
p o ide.
Foo ball playe s ha e always been «ambassado s agains hei will», as Ilkay Gündoğan’s
b o he Ilke , a PhD s uden in Eas Asian S udies, o mula ed in a e lec i e blogpos in
Sp ing 2018 (Gündoğan, 2018). F om he momen na ional oo ball eams appea ed a he
beginning o he 20 h Cen u y, hey ha e been pe cei ed as «uniquely e ec i e a medium
o inculca ing na ional eeling» (Hobsbawm, 1990: 143). I is only logical ha Benedic An-
de son’s (1983) seminal concep o he «imagined communi y» —which, acco ding o E ic
Hobsbawm «seems mo e eal as a eam o ele en named people» (ibídem.) — has undoub -
edly been he mos -quo ed e e ence a each and e e y in e na ional oo ball con e ence.
Today, howe e , he communi y hey a e supposed o embody has changed. In mul icul-
u al socie ies, dual iden i ies a e no longe a a e excep ion, bu a eali y expe ienced by a
signi ican numbe o indi iduals in a a ie y o con igu a ions. O cou se, a he han mi -
o he e ec i e e hnic di e si y o a gi en socie y, a Na ional Team mainly e lec s he ules
and p ac ices go e ning ci izenship and access o na ionali y ha a e cu en ly in igou in
he Na ion-S a e conce ned. Bu e en in coun ies whe e he acquisi ion o na ional ci izen-
ship by mig an s —o en e e ed o as na u aliza ion, a e ealing e m on ou concep ion o
Na ion-S a es— is acili a ed and dual ci izenship is legally possible, he ques ion o loyal y
ne e seems en i ely se led.
In he mids o he Özil A ai , on July 2018, he Ge man jou nalis and book au ho o Tu kish
o igin, Baha Güngo , summed his issue up in an in e iew o he Cologne Daily Kölne S ad -
anzeige :
«This young man is cu en ly su e ing he a e o hund eds o housands Ge mans
wi h Tu kish o igins, who ha e en i ely in eg a ed in o Ge man socie y, bu who,
p ecisely because hey also acknowledge hei Tu kish oo s, ind hemsel es pe -
manen ly be ween he on lines. This is some hing ha each no mal ci izen o
Tu kish o igin expe iences, he ac ha he is asked again and again o make a p o-
ession o loyal y o one o he wo sides. Socie y does no g an him o be bo h a
he same ime: Ge man and Tu kish.» (Nägele, 2018: pa . 14)
Clea ly, Tu key, wi h i s a he a chaic unde s anding o na ionali y, does no ha e he mo-
nopoly o he dogma o singula na ional iden i y. Qui e on he con a y: Foo ball, wi h he
highly emo ional discou se i igge s, e eals ha he dogma seems jus as well and ali e in
Alb ech Sonn ag, Bo ja Ga cía Ga cía
6 Papeles del CEIC, 2020/1, 1-17
he mindse o la ge pa s o one o he mos open and mul icul u al socie ies in Wes e n Eu-
ope. One migh a gue ha Ge many’s accep ance o i s undeniable cha ac e as mass im-
mig a ion coun y and i s in oduc ion o a new ci izenship law including he op ion o dual
na ionali ies in 1999 a e s ill e y ecen phenomena1, and ha he in e naliza ion o such
massi e cul u al change simply needs ime. Bu Ge many is no alone in ha ing ouble o
come o e ms wi h mul iple loyal ies in p ac ice, while ole a ing hem in heo y and p inci-
ple. In a coun y like F ance, which looks back on 150 yea s o a he success ul in eg a ion
o massi e successi e wa es o immig a ion (Noi iel, 1988), he ques ion has been la ing up
egula ly o e he las decades.
Episode 3. FRANCE, SuMMER 2018: AFRICAN WORLD CHAMPIONS?
On July 17, 2018, in his la e-nigh show on Ame ican ele ision, he Sou h-A ican bo n en e -
aine T e o Noah jokingly picked up a commen ha had al eady been made on Twi e . To
him, hanks o he isible p esence o playe s o A ican o igin in he F ench eam, A ica had
won he Wo ld Cup (Timsi , 2018).
This ela i ely cheap joke, which delibe a ely igno ed he complexi y o he nexus o am-
ily o igins, ci izenship and pe sonal loyal ies, se o a a he se ious con o e sy. The F ench
Ambassado o he Uni ed S a es, Gé a d A aud, known o be a a he uncon en ional and
open-minded man, add essed Noah an o icial le e in which he eminded him ha 21 o he
23 F ench playe s had been bo n in F ance, poin ing ou he di e ence be ween he Ame i-
can and F ench concep s o e hnici y:
«Unlike he Uni ed S a es o Ame ica, F ance does no e e o hei ci izens based
on hei ace, eligion o o igin. To us, he e is no hyphena ed iden i y, oo s a e an
indi idual eali y. By calling hem an A ican eam, i seems you a e denying hei
F enchness. This, e en in jes , legi imizes he ideology which claims whi eness as
he only de ini ion o being F ench.» (A aud, 2018)
Needless o say, T e o Noah had an easy ime idiculing he Ambassado ’s le e in his nex
show. And he enjoyed doing so wi h he applause o an audience ha was all oo willing o
show i s poli ical co ec ness in suppo ing e hnic mino i ies agains F ench neo-colonial-
is sup emacy. Bo h Noah and his public we e in sha p con as o Ba ack Obama, himsel a
membe o an e hnic mino i y, bu s aunch de ende o in eg a ion h ough ull ci izenship
wi hou disc imina ion. Speaking a an e en in Sou h A ica o commemo a e he 100 h bi h-
day o Nelson Mandela, he said: «The F ench Foo ball Team jus won he Wo ld Cup. No all o
hese olks look like Gauls o me. Bu hey’ e F ench. They’ e F ench» (F ance24, 2018: pa . 3).
«Why can’ hey be bo h?» Noah asked, om his poin o iew (Timsi , 2018). While he was
celeb a ing hyphena ed di e ence, Obama was commending indi e ence o acial o eli-
gious cha ac e is ics, e y much in he unde s anding o he F ench Republic. And a he in
line wi h he F ench playe s wi h A ican mig a ion backg ound hemsel es. No a single one
o hem seemed willing o be used as spokespe son o ep esen a i e o an e hnic mino i y.
1 Fo mo e de ails on his issue, see Sonn ag (2015).
Na ional Teams, Mul iple Loyal ies. A Discussion o h ee Foo ball Case S udies
h p://dx.doi.o g/10.1387/pceic.20832 7
In he nigh o he inal, when a Twee a ibu ed each o he squad’s 23 names a na ional lag
acco ding o hei p esumed o igins, le back Benjamin Mendy ep oduced he same Twee ,
bu wi h a F ench icolo e in on o each name and he simple legend « ixed», accompanied
by a smiling emoji.
A he end o he yea , he Pa is New Yea ’s E e pa y always uses he A c de T iomphe as a gi-
an p ojec ion sc een o a spec acula ligh show. On Decembe 31s , 2018, a ibu e o he
Wo ld Cup winne s was o cou se ine i able. Wha he o ganise s did was simply p ojec he
23 names oge he wi h he name o he ci y o illage whe e hey g ew up. The glamo ous
capi al aking a deep bow o places like Méni al, Lagny-su -Ma ne, Jeumon , Bondy o Mâcon
—i is di icul o imagine a mo e app op ia e symbol o na ional cohesion.
Wha his episode abou he «F enchness» o he «A ican» Wo ld Cup winne s highligh s is,
on he one hand, a long-s anding lack o unde s anding be ween F ench and Anglo-Ame i-
can no ions o ci izenship, iden i y and communi y. On he o he hand, i also shows an e o-
lu ion in he discou se on na ional belonging and e hnical o igins, bo h in e na ionally and
wi hin F ance. In o de o unde s and his e olu ion, i is e ealing o go back 20 yea s in ime
o analyse he Wo ld Cup ic o y o ano he F ench mul i-e hnic oo ball eam.
Episode 4. FLASHBACK, WEN y yEARS EARLIER: FRENCH ASSIMILA ION
AND I S LIMI S
The F ench Team o win he Wo ld Cup a home in 1998 was hailed, bo h domes ically and
ab oad, as a highly symbolic collec i e o F ance’s mul icul u al socie y. The h ee colou s
o he na ional lag —«bleu-blanc- ouge»— we e ans o med in o he amous «black-blanc-
beu » slogan, in allusion o he e hnic mix o he eam, which included se e al black playe s
(bo h F ench-bo n in o e seas e i o ies and o genuine mig an o igin), whi e playe s om
e y di e en egions in F ance, as well as Zinedine Zidane, he icon o he No h A ican
communi y (colloquially e e ed o as «beu »), whose pa en s had immig a ed om Alge ia.
In he collec i e eupho ia o he momen , he e iden ha mony wi hin his ema kably homo-
geneous and sympa he ic eam was ex apola ed —wi h media, poli icians and majo in el-
lec uals in a e union— in an almos despe a e manne as emblema ic o he en i e na ion.
The collec i e exhila a ion esponded o he na ional soul-sea ching on immig a ion ha had
been going on o e a good pa o he 1990s, especially ollowing he eme gence and consol-
ida ion o he ex eme igh -wing pa y F on Na ional ( oday enamed Rassemblemen Na-
ional) and i s agg essi e an i-immig a ion he o ic. Hea ed deba es abou successi e inci-
den s wi h eiled Muslim gi ls in public seconda y educa ion pu g owing p essu e on he
F ench model o s ic secula ism (laïci é), while a lu y o academic publica ions, which we e
widely discussed in mains eam media, a emp ed o ake s ock o he e iciency wi h which
gene a ions o mig an s om e y di e en o igins had been in eg a ed in o F ench socie y
(Noi iel, 1988; Schnappe , 1991; Todd, 1994; T ibala , 1995, 1996; Weil, 19912). The c ea ion
o wha has now become he «Na ional Museum o he His o y o Immig a ion» in Pa is was
2 Fo an excellen summa y o he deba e in mains eam media, see also Be na d (1995).
Alb ech Sonn ag, Bo ja Ga cía Ga cía
8 Papeles del CEIC, 2020/1, 1-17
also launched a he end o he 1990s. Needless o say, he Museum lags a sec ion on mig a-
ion’s con ibu ions o F ench spo ing successes.
Alas, he ha mony o he Summe o 1998 could no possibly las . On Oc obe 6, 2001, he
i s e e iendly ma ch be ween F ance and Alge ia —almos o y yea s a e he la e ’s
independence— had o be called o a e 76 minu es due o a pi ch in asion by hund eds
o you hs o No h A ican descen wa ing Alge ian lags, emo ionally o e whelmed by he
e en and he complexi y o hei own eelings. The e y ac ha hey appea ed los be-
ween wo loyal ies pe cei ed as con lic ing, a he han agg essi ely p o es ing agains dis-
c imina ion o wha e e pe cei ed o , was e y lucidly analysed by an ex e nal obse e like
He man Lebo ics: «These young people el an u gen need o es ablish a ce ain cul u al
iden i y in F ance, among he F ench. In F ench, unlike Ame ican English, compound e hnic
labels like Alge ian-F ench ha e no accep ed meaning» (Lebo ics, 2004: 142).
E en s like his ma ch — he e has ne e been a second iendly be ween he wo na ions so
a — highligh he limi s o he long-s anding F ench adi ion o assimila ion. Assimila ion
is a adical concep , based on he uni e salism o he F ench Re olu ion: he newly a i ed
O he is ully accep ed, wi hou any ese es o disc imina ion, bu his cul u al di e ence is
ca ego ically ejec ed, and i is expec ed he/she comple ely and e y apidly adop s he al-
ues and socio-cul u al no ms o he hos na ion (Bis ol i, 1994). Cul u al adi ions and espe-
cially eligious habi s om he cul u e o o igin a e o cou se pe ec ly ole a ed, bu mus
emain s ic ly limi ed o he p i a e sphe e and canno possibly be he basis o a «mino i y
communi y». I is wo h no ing ha he e m «communau a isme», ansla ed om he An-
glo-Ame ican philosophy o «communi a ianism», has a e y nega i e conno a ion and is
deemed incompa ible wi h Republican p inciples (Taguie , 2005).
In Decembe 2012, one o he au ho s o his pape conduc ed an in e iew wi h Raymond
Kopa, hen aged 81, he i s supe s a o F ench oo ball, who had been a membe o he Real
Mad id Team o he 1950s and was awa ded he «Ballon d’O » o he bes Eu opean playe
o he yea in 1958. In his younge yea s, Kopa’s amily name was amously sho ened om
he o iginal Kopaszewski, he name o his Polish g and a he , who had mig a ed o F ance
in 1919 seeking wo k in he coalmines o he No h. No e ha «Raymond», he i s name o
his hi d-gene a ion mig an , was al eady as F ench as could be. Du ing he in e iew, Kopa
ag eed ha oo ball had been a o midable means o social mobili y o him, bu showed no
unde s anding wha soe e o he esea che ’s insis en ques ions abou he unc ion o ole
model he mus ha e had o he Polish communi y in No he n F ance. The e y no ion o
«communi y» seemed o escape him en i ely: «I was F ench, wha else would you wan me
o be?» he sh ugged he idea o . In o he wo ds, Raymond Kopa was an indi idual who had
comple ely in e io ised he p inciple o assimila ion.
Today, e en in F ance, his «one-way s ee » o in eg a ion is no longe he p e alen doc-
ine. Cul u al o igins o mig an s a e me wi h a highe deg ee o espec , e en in he pub-
lic space, especially wi h ega ds o demons a ions in a ou o mino i ies. High-le el poli-
icians ha e begun o use he e m «communi y» in e e ence o speci ic mino i ies (while,
somewha incohe en ly, s ill ejec ing «le communau a isme»). None o hem would openly
ad oca e ull assimila ion, a concep ha is now conno a ed o neo-colonialis a i udes.
Howe e , he close obse a ion o how he na ional oo ball eam is pe cei ed by public
opinion and he beha iou o he playe s, mos o whom (unlike Mesu Özil in Ge many) seem
ully awa e o hei ole o «ambassado s agains hei will», e eal a disc epancy be ween
Na ional Teams, Mul iple Loyal ies. A Discussion o h ee Foo ball Case S udies
h p://dx.doi.o g/10.1387/pceic.20832 9
he e olu ion o poli ically co ec discou se and widely sp ead a i udes. While «in eg a ion»
as a ecip ocal adap a ion p ocess be ween hos cul u e and mig an ha ideally p oduces
an «en ichmen » o bo h has become he o icial doc ine, i may be a gued ha he e e-
mains a deep-sea ed longing o «assimila ion» among la ge pa s o F ench socie y. In o he
wo ds, he «good» indi idual wi h mig an backg ound is he one who epea edly poin s ou
how F ench he/she is. Bu eal and comple e assimila ion o one’s adop i e cul u e is di icul ,
and oo ball compe i ions p o ide nume ous examples o i . We u n now o examine a clea
case o how oo ball is a pe ec ield o demons a e dual, and e en con adic o y, iden i ies
and loyal ies.
Episode 5. SWI zERLAND, SuMMER 2018: uNFORGE ABLE LOyAL IES
On June 22, 2018, Swi ze land’s la e ic o y (2-1) o e Se bia in a Wo ld Cup g oup s age
ma ch in Kalining ad spa ked a poli ical con o e sy. An ea ly goal by Alexande Mi o-
ic o he Se bians was cancelled ou by G ani Xhaka se en minu es in o he second hal ,
and a nine ie h minu e s ike by Xhe dan Shaqi i (Lowe, 2018a). Bo h playe s o Koso a o i-
gin and Albanian descen celeb a ed hei goals wi h a hand ges u e ep esen ing a double-
headed eagle, a ec ea ion o he Albanian lag’s black emblem. The d ama ic las -minu e
winne , wi h Shaqi i aking his shi o and doing he double-eagle ges u e along he side o
he pi ch, ollowed a game on which local Russian ans joined Se bian suppo e s in chan s o
«Se bia-Russia, Se bia-Russia» (Lowe, 2018a).
Koso o’s s uggle o independence agains he backd op o he Yugosla Wa s o he 1990s
and highly sensi i e Albano-Se bian e hnic con lic s ha e anspi ed in o spo , especially
oo ball, in ecen yea s. The Koso o Foo ball Associa ion was ecognised by UEFA and FIFA
in 2016 (UEFA, 2016), eigh yea s a e he coun y’s sel -p oclaimed independence and al-
mos immedia ely a e i s applica ion o FIFA membe ship. Since hen, he Koso o Na ional
Team has been playing in in e na ional compe i ions, bu i canno call upon some o he
mos enowned p o essional oo balle s o Koso a o igin, o hey led he coun y wi h hei
amilies a a young age o escape he s uggles o he wa . Such is he case o G ani Xhaka
and Xhe dan Shaqi i.
P io o hei i s ma ches o he Swiss Na ional Team in 2010 and 2011 espec i ely, Xhaka
and Shaqi i had al eady played o he Junio Na ional Teams, s a ing wi h he U-17 as o
2007. By he ime o he 2018 Wo ld Cup in Russia, hey we e well-es ablished in e na ional
s a s o he English P emie League. Thei ges u es in he ma ch agains Se bia we e quickly
denounced by he Se bian FA o FIFA as being poli ical (Lowe, 2018b). The playe s a oided
making any explici poli ical e e ences, bu le hei eelings anspi e a e he ma ch.
«I was o my people, who always suppo ed me. Fo hose who did no neglec me, in my
homeland, whe e my pa en s’ oo s a e. These we e pu ely emo ions», said Xhaka, whose
a he was in jail o campaigning in a ou o Koso an independence and whose b o he
Taulan plays o Albania (Lowe, 2018b: pa . 7). Simila ly, Shaqi i e e ed o emo ions a he
han poli ics:
«I can’ discuss he ges u e I am a aid. We a e oo balle s no poli icians. All I can
say is ha I sco ed a goal I am p oud o . We can’ discuss any hing else. Emo ions
Alb ech Sonn ag, Bo ja Ga cía Ga cía
16 Papeles del CEIC, 2020/1, 1-17
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