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Serdar Tasci confirms: I will play for Germany

3.8K views 128 replies 15 participants last post by  The Champ  
#1 ·
Image


Name: Serdar Tasci
Nationality : Germany
Date of birth : 24/04/1987
Current club : » Stuttgart
Position : Defence
Height : 1.86 m
Weight : 75 kg


Interview with Serdar Tasci - Stuttgarter Nachrichten, 16th December 2006 (translated version)

Mr. Tasci, you are leading superior in the grade-ranking of our newspaper. Even if you lose the first position in Cottbus, you will be the climber of the year from VFB.

Serdar Tasci: That's a great honour for me, thank you very much.

No reason to thank us, you were responsible for your performances.

Serdar Tasci: I think what I've shown was ok. It went very well..hmm..let's say well.

Your fast advancement was even for Coach Armin Veh unexpected. And for the public more than ever. Could you at least expect that development?

Serdar Tasci: Honestly, no. Before this year, I did not even think about playing time. I would have been happy to be in the squad at all. And suddenly I was a starter! This round was just beautiful.

With your advancement, we are sure that your demands have changed.

Serdar Tasci: I think it's clear that I'm not satisfied with a place on the bench anymore. It would be a disappointment if I don't get some playing time regularly.

You have just one problem...

Serdar Tasci: Which is?

Fernando Meira and Matthieu Delpierre are playing on the centre-back position. One can't have a stronger competition in the Bundesliga.

Serdar Tasci: I know. But that cannot be a reason to resign...

Lastly, Veh has diplomatically reacted on the oversupply. He did not take you out of the team since the comeback of Meira, but he led you play as a Rightback. But it's not your dream position.

Serdar Tasci: Let's say it this way: It's not my greatest strenght to play on the wings and pass the ball from there. That's why my aim is to get back as fast as possible on the Centreback position.

And who shall give way?

Serdar Tasci (smiles): ah you know, as soon as Fernando Meira is completely fit, he would be a great addition for our midfield.

And if you still had to play on the right wing?

Serdar Tasci: That would just boost my motivation. But I'm not thinking about that. My aim for the next round is clear: I want to assure my starting place, if possible on my best position (centreback).

Regarding the national team, you could have advanced faster. Turkey lured you with a starting place in their A-team. But you have decided to play for Germany - and the more stony way with the youth teams of the DFB.

Serdar Tasci: The decision was very difficult. It is a decision for the whole life.

What was crucial?

Serdar Tasci: I'm still proud of my Turkish roots. But I was born in Esslingen and grew up in Altbach and I feel very well here.

Let's be honest: In what way did sporting reasons play a role?

Serdar Tasci: It was definitely a reason too that the chances are higher to play in a great tournament with the German national team or even get the title.

You were torn for a long time. Who did in the end convince you to play for the DFB-team?

Serdar Tasci: That was an old acquaintance: Matthias Sammer. He was with us in England for the U21-match. He spoke to me in the plane and convinced me.

And your parents can live with that?

Serdar Tasci: That wasn't a problem. They said: "Boy, this is your decision. No matter what comes out of it, we stand behind you."

Where does your family come from?

Serdar Tasci: From Artvin near the black sea. My parents came to Germany 30 years ago, but part of my relatives still live in Turkey.

Can they watch your performances in TV there?

Serdar Tasci: Not every match is broadcast - but I was lucky until now. My two goals against Dortmund and Schalke were broadcast in Turkish television.

Do you get fan-post from Turkey?

Serdar Tasci: Yes. It is still something special when a player plays in a Top-League. Many people there though my decision was correct, some others were sad.

And what do you say to those disappointed turkish fans?

Serdar Tasci: I promise them that I will represent turkey well in the jersey of the German national team. I think of myself as a link to both cultures. That's a nice mission, isn't it?"
 
#2 ·
Nice interview. :thumbsup:
 
#4 ·
Not to say I am happy about him deciding to go with German over Turkey but congrats. Would have been nice to have some good young talent on the Turkish N.T. I hope he developes well for you guys.

After all it is a bit unfair that many of these players learn their trade in Germany and then end up playing for us. But I won't complain, you guys gave us Yildiray, Umit Davala and Ilhan Mansiz lol
 
#8 ·
DARK ANDY said:
Wow, another non-german playing for the NT.

Germany NT is looking less and less German by the year, pretty soon it will be German Immigrant NT.
It's only the same as in other countries like Holland, France or even England.
Unlike many dutch players of surinamese decent or french players with african roots, Tasci was even born Germany and spent his entire life here. And he is not a non-german !
 
#10 ·
DARK ANDY said:
Germany NT is looking less and less German by the year, pretty soon it will be German Immigrant NT.
what's wrong with that?

Not only here but on many other threads on XT, I see outsiders taking pot-shots at Holland, France or Germanys NT for this. Fact is I happen to have roots from outside Europe too, yet I've always been completely accepted , felt at home here and see myself as Dutch. That is the same for many others too. :cool:
 
#11 ·
Seeing yourself as something is nothing bad, but there is a vast difference between believing you belong to a nation, and representing that nation.

I have long believed, and will always believe that a National Team should represent that Nation's pure heritage, as in, that nation's ancestry, that nation's citizen, that nation's native language and so on.

Say, if I were a coach for the Hungarian NT, I don't think I would choose myself as a player, because for the past 17 years I have not lived in Hungary. It was not my choice, and I will be going back to Hungary in maximum 2 years, but the fact remains I have spent more than 75% of my life in Canada, not Hungary.

What it boils down to for me, is that there are many, many, many good German players who will never play for the NT because there are others who while play better and win more games for them, are not German. (Neuville,Klose,Podolski) these players, instead of playing for their own team, instead of representing their own people, their own heritage, their own ancestry, choose to take spots away in the team from true national players.

Winning isn't everything, and it will be a damn shame if the Italian NT accepts Amauri into their team, simply because he played 5 years in Italy.

Then nothing will stop David Beckham from playing for the Spanish NT, and so forth until the whole NT will be a farce, when the teams will be more akin to superstar CLUB teams with the mixing.
 
#12 ·
Hey, the guy is born in Germany.
So why shouldn´t he be allowed to play
for the NT of this country.
He can decide for which NT he plays
and he made a decision.

If everybody, whose forebears sometimes
immigrated to a country, is a foreigner for you,
then we are all foreigners.

Your nuclear weapon talk is also bullshit and
shows, that you have no arguments.
 
#13 ·
There are 4 million persons with turkish ethnicity in Germany. It would have been weird if those were not represented at some form in the German national team. It is also an important aspect when it comes to integration, especially for those young children who need rolemodels.
 
#14 ·
Eisenfuß Eilts said:
Your nuclear weapon talk is also bullshit and
shows, that you have no arguments.
This statement is pretty stupid.

I can use any analogy where if a few people do negative things, it will be all right for anyone else to do the same?

It is not right.

I guess nobody here will have any problems when you have Spanish NT 2008 has David Beckham on the squad, and Italy NT will have Amauri next year.

Gogo Beige people and 1 nationality in the near future!
 
#15 ·
If you talk about things you should at least have some knowledge, no matter what your point is. David Beckham can never play for another nationalteam because he already chose to play for England...

Anyway, back to your initial point. When is a player allowed to play for a country then? How many generations back do his ancestors have to have the citizenship? And since you don't want people how live outside the country, do we have to kick Ballack out of the team now? Where do you make the stop?
 
#16 ·
Ballack has spent the vast majority of his life in Germany, though.

And I think the requirements for entry into the NT should be :

Born in country
Native language is of country
Lives/d in country for majority of life
Both parents are of country's heritage*

*That is what I think is important, to just have both of the parents be, for example, german.

It is normal for every lineage have turns and twists into different nationalities, it's in every family. I just want both the father and the mother to be the same nationality.
 
#18 ·
DARK ANDY said:
Ballack has spent the vast majority of his life in Germany, though.

And I think the requirements for entry into the NT should be :

Born in country
Native language is of country
Lives/d in country for majority of life
Both parents are of country's heritage*

*That is what I think is important, to just have both of the parents be, for example, german.


It is normal for every lineage have turns and twists into different nationalities, it's in every family. I just want both the father and the mother to be the same nationality.
And that is, in my eyes, the point that counts the least. Your first three points are important.
 
#19 ·
The first one is unimportant too...

If you have been born during your parents holidays abroad for example with that logic you're not allowed to play in the nationalteam ;)
Or even if you have been born let's say in Turkey but your parents and you moved to Germany when you were 2-3 years old (that means it definitely won't be your decision :pp), both your parents and you take over the German nationality and you are still not allowed although you have cut all the roots to Turkey? Where is the logic in that?

And I give one more example: Let's say I marry a non-German and I have a boy, he won't be allowed to play for Germany nor his mothers country...

Ridiculous to say the least :wallbang:
 
#20 ·
Ok, you're right, Tigerheart. The first one is unimportant, too.
 
#21 ·
Starcraft said:
What do you feel about Klose and Podolski then?? They are of polish descent, but the polish culture is closer to the german one then for example the turkish one. Is that a factor for you??
That is not a factor in the least.

After learning about the german NT I subsequently do not like it anymore, because of Klose, and because of Podolski, and all the others.

Podolski is the dirtiest of the entire team, while Klose is also a Polish traitor, he at least has a backstory which involves changing his last name.
 
#22 ·
Tigerheart said:
And I give one more example: Let's say I marry a non-German and I have a boy, he won't be allowed to play for Germany nor his mothers country...

Ridiculous to say the least :wallbang:
Dang man, that is a compelling counterpoint.

All right, on one hand one could just say the person is unlucky, but he cannot play for either team because of the inter-national parents. That would be the black and white version.

But let's get into details.

How did this child grow up? lets hypothesize that the mother is Spanish, for a more jarring difference in nationalities.

So we have many factors in which nationality he would be more towards :

-Place of Birth
-Place of upbringing
-Native language
-Family name
-Culture

Say if that child was born in Germany, grew up in Germany, learned German first, has the family name of the German parent and grew up with a German household and values, then he could play for the NT. But if it is a mix of all these elements, then he should not play.

For example, if was born in Germany, grew up in Germany, learned Spanish first, has the german last name and grew up in a Spanish household, then no, he should not play.

Here with my Hungarian NT, we had a player who was half Nigerian I believe. His mother was the Nigerian, but he was born in, raised and spoke only Hungarian. His name was even written and stated the other way, first name first, then last name. While it was a personal choice on what to put on the birth certificate, the parents chose to have it the Non-Hungarian way of writing his name, because even though he was in ways a Hungarian, his 50% Nigerian lineage was not denied, thus he is not a real Hungarian, even if he himself grew up 100% Hungarian.

He doesn't play for the NT anymore, because frankly he was not good at all. And I mean dribbling a ball was beyond him.
 
#23 ·
With your definition 50% of all nationalteam players world wide wouldn't be allowed to play...

France, England and Holland have like 80% of their players with a background you wouldn't allow.

I guess most of us agree that cases like Dundee, Rink, Camoranesi, Deco etc. are not necessary, because those just choose the nationalteam for different reasons than because they feel for the country (for example not being able to play in their original homecountry), but what you want is too much.

After all, children can't decide how they have been brought up but they can decide how to live from a certain age on. And if they really feel closer to one country than another, they should play for that country.

I don't believe in the concept of allowing more than one nationality for people btw. One should decide.
 
#24 ·
I dont get how the french take pride in the France NT, the only French person is Ribery. Other than that its the African All-Star team. I find it wrong that a player chooses a nation like France over Algeria just so they can play in a bigger competition and actually win. Where is the pride in that? Betraying ur mother nation just so u can benefit. Filthy traitor.
 
#25 ·
Would you put a sock in it already, yes you only want ethnically "pure" people in national teams, WE GET IT. None of this immigration/integration nonsense, there's no reason for anyone to ever leave their own country, because it's who we are and who we'll always be.

Seriously, allow your mind to think outside the box once in a while.

If there's any doubt, I was only talking to firsttouch.
 
#26 ·
numerodix said:
Would you put a sock in it already, yes you only want ethnically "pure" people in national teams, WE GET IT. None of this immigration/integration nonsense, there's no reason for anyone to ever leave their own country, because it's who we are and who we'll always be.

Seriously, allow your mind to think outside the box once in a while.

If there's any doubt, I was only talking to firsttouch.
Mate i never said dont leave ur country. U should always do the best to represent ur true country, if at home or abroad. Africans or other races who have had families living in a country for decades and centuries i have no problem with. But haveing players who desert their own country just so they can play in a bigger tournament or have a better chance of winning or getting a better reputation is what disgusts me.