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La Furia Roja or the Red Fury as the Spanish national team are known have a long history of fielding players that are not fully Spanish play for them.
Back in the early 40s-70s, players could switch nationality hence quite a number of Spanish based superstars; Real Madrid icons Ferenc Puskás and Alfredo Di Stéfano and FC Barcelona’s greatest ever player; László Kubala (as voted for by Cules during the club’s centenary in 1999) played for their Spanish hosts.
Puskás played majorly for his native nation; Hungary, Di Stéfano represented Argentina, Colombia and Spain but Kubala who represented three countries; Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Spain played his most international games for Spain winning 19 caps and scoring 11 goals.
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Following FIFA’s tightening up of the eligibility rules in the 1960s, Spain has continued to recruit foreign-born players or players who do not have Spanish ancestry to play for the team.
Brazilian-born Marcos Senna was the midfield lynchpin for the team when they won Euro 2008 while Thiago Alcantara, Diego Costa and Rodrigo Moreno currently play for the team despite their Brazilian heritage.
#5 Willian José (Brazil)
There have been rumblings from the Real Sociedad’s strikers camp regarding a call-up following the player’s year on year improvements since he arrived in Spain.
After playing just one senior game for Real Madrid where he went to after leaving his native Brazil, Willian did well at Las Palmas, performances which convinced La Real’s board to snap him up from the Canary Islands side.
He scored 12 goals in 28 games last season forming a very good partnership with Mexican Carlos Vela but ever since the Mexican’s departure, Willian has had to step up and prove himself.
A strong and powerful centre-forward capable of creating chances for midfielders to run onto, he has expressed his frustrations at constantly being overlooked by Brazilian national team coach Tite for selection
It has been reported in the Spanish media that his representatives have made overtures to the Royal Spanish Football Federation (Spanish FA) and have begun preparation for making the switch as he is almost eligible for a Spanish passport.
He has already scored 8 goals in 17 La Liga & Europa League matches so far and would represent good competition for the two players currently ahead on the queue; Diego Costa (himself a naturalised Spaniard) and Alvaro Morata.
#4 Mariano Díaz Mejía (Dominican Republic)
The Olympique Lyon striker has made no secret of his desire to don the red shirt of Spain and has made himself unavailable for selection in his native Dominican Republic as he continues his efforts to make the Spanish team.
On being available for a La Furia call-up, Diaz had this to say:
“I would love to one day play with Spain and I will fight with everything I have to make sure that it happens”
He plays in a position where there is space for competition given the drop in form of players like FC Barcelona’s Paco Alcacer.
Atletico Madrid’s Diego Costa who is yet to kick a ball in anger this season and his replacement at Chelsea; Alvaro Morata are the only conceivable candidates for the top striker’s role under coach Julen Lopetegui.
Díaz has been having a phenomenal season in Ligue 1 since his €8 million (plus 35% interest on the capital gain of a potential future move) transfer to Olympique Lyon from Real Madrid, scoring 9 goals from 14 appearances in the league and in the Europa League.
Blessed with height, brilliant aerial ability and a poacher’s instinct, if he continues to score as he has been doing for Les Gones, expect the cries for his call-up to increase many fold.
#3 and #2: Lucas and Theo Hernández (France)
The brothers who hail from Marseille in France have followed their father’s footsteps to Spain and Atletico Madrid (the senior Hernández; Jean-François was a centre-back by trade and had played for both Atletico Madrid and Olympique Marseille).
The Hernández brothers have spent the majority of their footballing lives learning their craft at Atleti and rising through the youth teams to the first team until younger brother, Theo got upset at a perceived lack of opportunities and made the trip to bitter cross-town rivals Real Madrid for a reported fee of €24m after a successful loan spell last season at Alaves.
Both are defenders and while Lucas, like their dad, is a centre-back, Theo is a rampaging left-back in the tradition of the finest attacking fullbacks of the modern age.
It is being said that the RFEF have already commenced moves to get the brothers to switch from their native France and play for Spain, a push that seems to be working as Theo has recently declined call-ups by the France-U21 side.
While the younger Hernández has not hidden his desire to go red and ditch the blue of France, Lucas is more reticent but the presence of many centre-back options for coach Didier Deschamps; Raphael Varane, Presnel Kimpembe, Samuel Umtiti, Dayot Upamecano and senior centre-backs like Laurent Koscielny mean his chances of playing are slim.
This is in contrast to the La Furia set up where only Sergio Ramos and Gerald Pique are established centre-backs and as such, there is an almighty scramble behind the two world-class defenders among the young, a setup in which Lucas can feel good about his chances.
#1 Aymeric Laporte (France)
Possessing all the characteristics of the great modern defender -- ball playing ability, height, aerial presence, keen intelligence and an ability to play as a left-back when demanded --Laporte is a player whose ceiling is very high and it is a testament to the quality possessed by his native France (and the coach’s silly antics) that he is yet to get a senior cap for Les Bleus
Given the long line of quality centre-backs being produced in France (Varane, Umtiti, Kimpembe, Lucas et al), lots of pressure is being put on Laporte to switch allegiance to Spain so as to be eligible to play for La Furia Roja.
The 24-year-old was called up for two friendlies in 2016 by Deschamps but never came off the bench in either game.
Analysts have said his call-ups were a cynical attempt by Deschamps and the French Football Federation (FFF) to keep him away from the grasping hands of Spain as it has become clear that the coach has no place for him in his World Cup team.
When interviewed in 2016, Laporte made it abundantly clear that he had no desire to play for Spain but for France but the continued snubs by the French hierarchy have prompted the Basque-born player to declare his intention to switch sides.
