Blatter warns of risk that Brazilians will dominate all national teams

From The Canadian Press:

DURBAN, South Africa - FIFA president Sepp Blatter stepped up his crusade against foreign players at club and country level Sunday, warning that Brazilian players threaten to comprise half the national soccer squads in the next 10 years.

Blatter has long campaigned for a maximum quota of five foreign players at club level - a move which would contravene European labour laws.

At a news conference Sunday ahead of the 2010 World Cup preliminary draw, Blatter said he was unhappy that national laws granting citizenship through marriage or naturalization after as little as two years threatened to change the character of international soccer.

Specifically, Blatter said that Brazil - which boasts 60 million active soccer players - threatened to flood other national squads.

"If we don't take care about the invaders from Brazil, not only toward Europe but toward Asia and Africa, then the next World Cups in 2014 and 2018 out of the 32 teams - you will still have national teams - but we will have 16 full of Brazilian players," he said.

"It is a danger, a real, real danger."

Former Brazil coach Carlos Alberto Parreira, who is now in charge of 2010 World Cup host South Africa, said Brazil is likely to export 1,200 players this year. Over the past five years, more than 5,000 Brazilian soccer players have gone abroad.

One of Portugal's stars, Deco, was born in Brazil and grew up playing locally before being granted Portuguese citizenship. He said he made the move after realizing he would not have an opportunity to play on Brazil's national team.

Brazilian-born midfielder Antonio Naelson made a similar move, seeking Mexican citizenship so he could play for that country. Barely known in Brazil, Naelson was included in coach Ricardo Lavolpe's Mexican squad for last year's World Cup.

At the World Cup, Japan selected midfielder Alessandro Santos, who was born in Brazil and became a regular starter on Zico's team. Tunisia included Brazilian striker Jose Clayton, a key player in the African team's campaign to qualify for its second straight World Cup.

Croatia striker Eduardo da Silva was born in Brazil but moved to Croatia when he was 15 and gained citizenship there in 2002.

In 2004, Brazilian striker Ailton, who played in the German Bundesliga then, tried to become a citizen of Qatar. Midfielder Lincoln also considered switching nationalities so he could play for Germany.

Parreira said the success of Brazilian soccer lay in the combination of "mass production" with high quality thanks to well-structured training clubs which nurture young talent.

"Everybody wants to be a football player," he said.

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