The Xhaka brothers facing off each other, playing for different countries; A Brazilian-born Eder scoring against Sweden and helping the Azzurri secure qualification to the round of 16. These are only two of the many examples of diversity at this year’s European Championship.
The ongoing Euros consist of many players who are playing for their adoptive country and also many who are eligible to play for countries other than their own.
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Let’s rewind and look at the players who won the European Championships with their adopted country. Don’t get surprised if you find a majority of French players in this list.
#1 Patrick Vieira
Patrick Vieira was to Arsenal and French national team what Paul Scholes was to Manchester United and England. Vieira was born in Dakar, Senegal in 1976. However, when he was just eight years old, his parents moved to France and he was granted French nationality due to his grandfather serving in the French Army.
The dynamic midfielder played for a string of teams before he started with the French club AS Cannes and went on to enjoy a trophy-laden career, winning titles with likes of Arsenal, Inter Milan, and Manchester City.
The 39-year-old was a complete midfielder, known for his physical and technical abilities and possessed lethal energy levels.The former Arsenal captain had the rare ability to defend as well as attack, winning the ball back for his team at the center of midfield and starting the counter attack. This made Vieira arguably the best player in his position at that time.
Although eligible to represent his native country Senegal, Vieira opted for Les Bleus and went on to make 107 international appearances for the French national team. He won the World Cup in 1998 as well as the Euro in 2000 for his adopted country.
At Euro 2000, Vieira was as effective defending as attacking. He was rock solid at the heart of midfield along with Didier Deschamps, covering his center backs and also provided support to the attacking duo of Thierry Henry and Zinedine Zidane.
In fact, it was his magical run that allowed Youri Djorkaeff to score the quarter-final winner against Spain. Vieira’s all round performances earned him a spot in the team of the tournament.
#2 Marcos Senna
Marcos Senna like Deco, Pepe and Diego Costa is another Brazilian player whose talents were not recognized by the Brazil national team and went on to play for a European country instead.
Senna, born in Sao Paulo, Brazil in 1976, began his professional career with Rio Branco and went on to represent Brazilian giants Corinthians, winning the FIFA Club World Cup with them in 2000. In the summer of 2002 he moved to Spain to sign with Villarreal. The 39-year-old became an integral part of the team, pulling strings in midfield and eventually was appointed the club captain.
He helped the Yellow Submarines reach the 2005/06 Champions league semifinals and finish as runners-up in La Liga in 2008, behind Real Madrid. Before gaining Spanish citizenship, Senna was never called up for Brazil in any category.
Marcus Senna gained Spanish citizenship in early 2006 and went on to represent La Roja at the 2006 World Cup and Euro 2008.
The former Villarreal midfielder was the unsung hero of Euro 2008. Senna formed a formidable partnership with Xavi. His tireless running, shielding the defence and winning the ball back for his team in crucial areas provided the much-needed balance to the Spanish team. He sat back and did the dirty job, and supplied balls to the likes of Xavi, Iniesta and Silva.
Senna was arguably the most important player for La Roja at Euro 2008 and it wouldn’t have been a surprise if he was chosen as the player of the tournament instead of Xavi. The dynamic midfielder was included in the team of the tournament.
He went on to win 28 caps for his adopted nation, scoring one goal in the process.
#3 Marcel Desailly
Marcel Desailly was born in Accra, Ghana in 1968, but went on to become a French legend. The former Milan defender was just four years old when his family moved to France in 1972 after his mother married the head of the French Consulate in Accra, who adopted all of her children.
Desailly began his professional career with Nantes in 1986, two years after his half-brother Seth Adonkor (playing for the same club) tragically passed away in a car crash. He went on to play for sides such as Milan and Chelsea in his 20-year career.
The 47-year-old made his debut for the French national team in 1993 and went on to lift the FIFA World Cup in 1998 and Euro in 2000. At the Euro 2000, Desailly along with Laurent Blanc remained rock solid at the heart of the defense, with France conceding just 7 goals in the tournament.
Although not part of the starting XI of the team of the tournament, he was included in the 22 member squad of the team of Euro 2000. He stated in his autobiography, Capitaine, although he was eligible to represent Ghana, he never considered to play for a country other than France.
Desailly became the captain of the national team after Deschamps retired and won a total of 116 caps for his adopted country.
#4 Fredi Bobic
Fredi Bobic is of Croatian-Slovene descent born in Maribor, former Yugoslavia in 1971, to a Slovene father and a Croatian mother. His parents moved to Germany just a few months after his birth and settled down in Stuttgart.
He started his career with VfR Bad Cannstatt but soon made a move to the youth team of the biggest club in his city, VFB Stuttgart Bobic made a name for himself at VFB Stuttgart, helping them win the DFB-Pokal in 1997. He formed the famous attacking magic triangle at Stuttgart along with Giovane Elber and Krasimir Balakov .
In the 1995-96 Bundesliga season, he finished as top scorer of the league with 17 goals, enough to convince Berti Vogts the then German coach to take him to the 1996 Euro in England.
Bobic played alongside Stefan Kuntz up front in Germany’s first match against the Czech Republic. Later, Klinsmann and Bobic were Vogts’ preferred choice. In the final against the Czech Republic, Bobic, however, was an unused substitute.
He started a couple of games, but couldn’t register a goal for himself in the tournament.
Fredi Bobic scored an impressive 108 goals in 285 Bundesliga appearances . The 44-year-old won 37 caps for his adopted country, scoring 10 goals in the process.
#5 Lilian Thuram
Who would have thought a migrant from Guadeloupe would grow to become an icon in French sporting history.
Lilian Thuram is yet another French player who could have played for a different country but eventually opted to represent France in international football. Thuram was one of the many players of the France 1998 World Cup winning squad to be born out of the country. The most capped player in the history of the France national team was born in Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe in 1971 before his family moved to France in 1981.
Thuram started his professional career with Monaco in the French league. He then went on to win titles with the likes of Parma, Juventus, and Barcelona and was named French footballer of the year in 1997.
Euro 2000 was a quite tournament for Thuram as compared to the World Cup in 1998. Nevertheless, he played as a right back and his cool-headed displays and surging runs from the right flank were instrumental in France's victory. He was named in the team of the tournament as well. The 44-year-old is arguably one of the greatest defenders to ever turn up for the Les Bleus.
