Dzenan Radoncic. 28 years of age, Montenegrin by birth and upbringing, 6’4″, striker, 45 goals in 150 odd games for Incheon and Seongnam. Currently plays for Suwon Bluewings.
He announced yesterday that he wants to get naturalized and play for South Korea. It looks like the first step, naturalization is going to happen. But what comes after has been a topic of contention.
I am against it. Player ability notwithstanding, I believe an international should be representative of his country, in ethnicity and in cultural mentality. Otherwise, international football would have the potential to turn into club football. Dzenan does not represent the Korean people, despite having lived 8 years in this country. If he was second generation, the question becomes more complicated. From a human standpoint, it’s hard to tell a mentally Korean person that they can’t pull on the shirt because of the color of their skin.
This debate has been slightly easier because at the end of the day, Randoncic does not make the grade for the Korean national team. Attack is one area where Korean talents are widespread in Europe. It’s possible, though remote, that if were a defender, that the Koreans would be more receptive. For now however, I’m afraid he’s out of luck.
The Beautiful Game 