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International Soccer

NEUTRALISE: Snubbed Brazilian & Mamelodi Sundowns star Lucas Ribeiro a genuine option for Bafana Bafana?

One of the longstanding trolls in world football revolves around France’s senior team, who have a squad that screams rainbow nation as a number of French stars are of African descendance.

Lucas Ribeiro

One of the longstanding trolls in world football revolves around France's senior team, who have a squad that screams rainbow nation as a number of French stars are of African descendance.

Two women looking excitedly at cellphone

For a while, The Blues have been labeled as an external African team as the two-time Fifa World Cup champions boast of players such as N’Golo Kante and Kylian Mbappe, who have Motherland veins running through them.

The blame could be easily pointed to the crisscrossing of players from country-to-country, as Fifa rules allow footballers to represent another country than their native one.

Players like Kalidou Koulibably (born in France, plays for Senegal), Alfonso Davies (born in Ghana, plays for Canada) Raheem Sterling (born in Jamaica, plays for England), all had the option to represent a different nation other than the one they turn out for now.

READ: ‘I don’t think a lot of those players know the enormity and the history of Kaizer Chiefs’ – Neil Tovey on Amakhosi’s struggles

France

This is a global phenomenon where even some of the most popular players in the world don the flags of nations that don’t earth their umbilical cords.

In South Africa, however, this has not been regular practice. There is an isolated case of one Pierre Issa, who was part of Bafana Bafana’s 1998 and 2002 Fifa World Cup squads and had a disastrous showing. Issa was born in Germiston, Gauteng, and is believed to be of Lebanese descendance.

Recently, one player who has been caught in the web of choosing his allegiance is Kaizer Chiefs attacker Gaston Sirino – who Hugo Broos has shown no interest in.

Sirino is not the only foreigner whose name is bandied about with a possible adoption. Mamelodi Sundowns star Lucas Ribeiro is eligible to represent South Africa and his native Brazil.

However, Ribeiro has been ignored by the Brazilian Football Confederation, possibly because they are not convinced by the Premier Soccer League’s level of competitiveness.

One other factor is that Brazil boasts of a star-studded squad where Real Madrid duo Vinicius Junior and Endrick, Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli, and Raphinha of Barcelona, are all favourites upfront as they have been called up for the upcoming 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers.

ALSO READ: ‘Gaston Sirino is not the player I want’ Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos makes decision on Kaizer Chiefs star

Ribeiro has never hidden his appetite to play for the Samba Boys, but if that dream does not materialize, he is open to plan-B.

“The perspective of playing for the national team is another story because it is also difficult,” Ribeiro said through a translator.

“We know the quality of the national team players who are playing at Brazil is high-level but if I one gets an opportunity, that would be a life changing opportunity from where I am, at the level where I am playing freely and enjoying South African football, I play with joy, which is every key for every player, I am at that level where I can demonstrate those qualities.

“At this point in time I have not received that offer to play for Bafana but it would actually be a pleasure to represent them, not only because I am playing in South Africa but because the national team is also doing well, it is a high level for any football player to be in that space.

Lucas Ribeiro, Sundowns

“Bafana have many players from Sundowns who are playing there and if that opportunity were to present itself, it would be great. If that request comes to my door, I anticipate it would be positive rather than negative. At the moment there is no offer.”

Ribeiro has been in Mzansi for less than a year and a half, and he admits that he was taken aback to see quality of players still loitering around in the PSL

“It was actually a surprise to see players of high quality playing in the league. I anticipated that such quality would be playing in Europe because there are many players who possess high quality.

“There are many players with high quality, like Ronwen Williams, I feel sad for him that he is not in Europe because by him going there opens more doors for South Africa players to tap into that space,” Ribeiro explained.

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