With a population of over 186,000,000 (count 'em!) and only eleven spots in the starting line-up, it's not an easy task to make the Brazilian national team. So what are you to do if you're a humble Brasileiros whose managed to carve out a career pounding the turf of professional futbol fields but are still nowhere near donning the gold and green of your birth country? Easy! Switch nationalities! And that's just what the following fellows have done in order to make appearances in this years European Championships:
Fenerbache's Rio De Janeiro-born defensive midfielder acquired Turkish nationality in 2006 after five years of residence in his adopted homeland. He subsequently adopted the Muslim name "Mehmet" in order to complete his transformation and was immediately called up to the national team, proving himself an invaluable asset for the Crescent Stars.
Gifted playmaker Deco was born in the mountain city of São Bernardo do Campo. He enjoyed a spell at Corinthians before moving to Portugal with Benfica shortly before his 20th birthday. Benfica and their manager, the infamous Graeme Souness, did not see Deco as player worth holding on to and first loaned him out to lower league clubs and then allowed him to move to their rivals FC Porto. Here the Brazilian showed his true worth, becoming the lynchpin of a dominating Porto side that captured three Portuguese Ligas, three Portuguese Cups, three Portuguese Supercups, the UEFA Cup and finally the Champions League. Following this success he crossed the border to play for the mighty FC Barcelona. Deco made his international debut for Portugal in 2003 after six years of residence. Ironically his first appearance was against Brazil where, to make the fairy tale complete, he scored in a 2-1 win.
Pepe moved to Real Madrid after six years of playing in Portugal for 30 million Euros (count...Ah, don't bother, it's Monopoly money) which, according to the exchange rate at the time of writing, is approximately £23,780,504.02 (count 'em - and don't forget the two pence!) He gained Portuguese citizenship in 2007 shortly before he joined Franco's favourites and made his debut four months later.
Rog' is another lad from São Paulo, he got called up for Poland after only two years living in the country as his application was citizenship was fast-tracked. Just in time for Euro 2008 too! How convenient!
The man with the middle name of Dennis was born in Rio de Janeiro but was in fact eligible to play for four different countries due to his parentage. He chose Germany back in 2003 and has been banging in the goals ever since, scoring a respectable 19 in 49 appearances for Die Mannschaft.
Marcos Senna is one of Villarreal’s longest-serving and most valuable players. He moved to the Madrigal stadium in 2002 after doing the rounds in Brazil, playing for no less than five clubs in five years there. He gained Spanish nationality in 2006 and hasn't looked back since.
Eduardo's not actually at the Euros but he would've been if Martin Taylor hadn't broken his leg. He's another that was born in Rio but was scouted by Dinamo Zagreb and brought to Croatia at just 16 years old. Five years and many goals later he made his debut for Croatia and has an enviable goal scoring record at the national level with 13 in just 22 appearances. He now plies his trade in the Premiership with Arsenal and hopes to recover from his horrific injury by early next season.
Ok, so they didn't actually qualify for Euro 2008 and none of them are from South America's largest country but watching them play... Well, it's just like watching Brazil! Honest!
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