Although the Netherlands, formerly known as Holland, have yet to win the World Cup, they are always among the favorites to win this and other international tournaments. Many football stars have worn this jersey. The most famous include Clarence Seedorf, Ruud Gullit and, more recently, Virgil van Dijk. But did you know that they could have played for a South American team?
A country of Shingles in America It has an important connection with this European nation. In addition, the official language is Dutch, as it was once its colony. Next we will tell you which country it is.
Which South American country will end up playing for the Netherlands?
Suriname is the South American country that soccer stars ultimately play for Netherlands. Several of the players who have defended and defended the Netherlands jersey are of Surinamese origin or were born in this territory; However, they choose to wear the orange shirt.
Currently including Denzel Dumfries (Inter Milan), Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool), Devyne Rensch (Ajax Amsterdam), Georginio Wijnaldum (Ajax Amsterdam) and Xavi Simons (RB Leipzig), as reported by ESPN Mexico.
Clarence Seedorf is one of the Netherlands' top idols whose roots lie in Suriname. Photo: Sky Sports
As already mentioned, this trend is not new. Other idols of the beautiful sport appear in history who could also have defended the jersey of the South American country, but chose not to Netherlands. These are Ruud Gullit, Patrick Kluivert, Edgar Davids, Frank Rijkaard and Clarence Seedorf. The latter even gave his native nation a football stadium that bears his name.
Why do most Suriname football stars play for the Netherlands?
If someone decides to investigate the origins of the players who play in Dutch professional football, they will be surprised to find that several athletes have their roots in Suriname but do not play for their national team.
What is this about? This initially happened because this South American country did not allow players with dual nationality to defend their national team's jersey. “When you get a new nationality (usually Dutch), you automatically renounce that of Suriname,” Argentine football broadcaster Nahuel Lanzón said on Twitter in 2019.
The Peruvian writer Daniel Titinger spoke about this with the then President of the Surinamese Football Association, Louis Giskus, for his chronicle “Suriname, where children kick a ball so they can be Dutch.” To justify why so many talents were left out, Giskus said: “Our players of Dutch nationality cannot play for Suriname.”
Although Suriname is in South America, its team plays in Concacaf. Photo: Olé
In November 2019, this rule was changed. The association allowed footballers with dual nationality to join the national team. However, several soccer stars end up playing Netherlands.
This is due, among other things, to the fact that the South American team has a low level of football compared to the European team. Furthermore, most of these talents are trained in the lower divisions of Dutch teams and are often called up to the various categories of Dutch youth teams, which influences their final decision on which country they will represent.