This section of the book, The World Cup as World History by William Bowman, focuses on the negative stereotypes players receive when they have a different heritage than the national team they are playing for.
An example of this in the text is the 2014 German national team, which fielded a bunch of players who weren’t one hundred percent ethnically German. Some players of note are Miroslav Klose, whose family is originally from Poland, Mesut Ozil, the midfielder who is from a Turkish background, and Sami Khedira, who is of Tunisian heritage. Mesut Ozil was born in Germany and came up playing in a local club around the area where he was born, called Schalke 04, before he eventually moved his way up to Arsenal by the end of his career. Despite being born in Germany and playing in and winning a World Cup with the the german national team, Ozil’s Turkish heritage complicated his playing career as alot of people didn’t view him as truly German.
This increase in migrants to Germany is relatively new, however, as German immigration laws have previously made it very hard to immigrate to the country and still receive the same rights that naturalized German citizens already have. Germany’s super strict citizenship laws, which had been in place since 1913 and were removed in 2000, made it extremely hard to receive citizenship if you were a minority coming from another country.
Germany isn’t the only country that has been dealing with the problem of stereotypes and discrimination in World Cup events. Brazil has also had a very storied history in its path to winning five World Cup titles. The Brazilians were super excited to host the 1950 World Cup and show off their country and how rapidly the economy had been growing. And the tournament went great for Brazil until the final, where, heartbreakingly, the Brazilians lost 2-1 to an underpowered Uruguayan national team in front of thousands of loyal Brazilian fans.
After this game, many Afro-Brazilian players were sent death threats and desriminated agaisnt, and this event led to Brazil deciding to have only players of European descent play on their national team for the next couple of years. This changed when a bunch of young, exciting, and ethnically diverse Brazilians went on to win three World Cup titles in 1958, 1962, and 1970. Names like Vavá, Didi, Mário Zagallo, Garrincha, Rivellino, Nilton Santos, Gérson, Tostão, Jairzinho, and Carlos Alberto all shone and showed off their different heritages on the biggest stage in the world, showing that despite their differences, they were all still Brazilians. The biggest player of Afro-Brazilian descent who played for the national team, however, was Pele whose poise and grace with a soccer ball allowed him to not only capture Brazilian favor but also the favor of other countries, who really liked to watch him play.
I think that ignorance is the main cause of discrimination against certain players on these national teams and when these teams are good, like the German side who won the World Cup or even legendary like the Brazilian teams of the 60’s and 70’s it helps people to open their eyes more and see individuals who may look different than them in a more positive light. Winning really helps to put players on a pedestal in the eyes of the world and their country, and I think more places should embrace their strong immigrant communities and find ways to show respect to that culture, but also still recognize them as citizens of that specific country.
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