By Peter Jordens From Repeating Islands

Natalie Weiner of LargeUp states that “while no Caribbean teams made it to football’s most important match this year, there are still plenty of representatives of the islands out on the field.” She has identified eight football superstars with Caribbean roots who are present at the Football (Soccer) World Cup currently taking place in Brazil. They are:

Jozy Altidore, USA, Haitian roots

Leroy Fer, Netherlands, Curaçaoan roots

Nigel de Jong, Netherlands, Surinamese roots

Jeremain Lens, Netherlands, Surinamese roots

Georginio Wijnaldum, Netherlands, Surinamese roots

Jonathan de Guzmán, Netherlands, Jamaican roots

Raheem Sterling, England, born in Jamaica

Axel Witsel, Belgium, Martinican roots

Read brief profiles of these eight players at http://www.largeup.com/2014/06/12/a-caribbean-guide-to-the-world-cup

One could add to Weiner’s list:

Daniel Sturridge, England, Jamaican roots

Raphael Varane, France, Martinican roots

Michel Vorm, Netherlands, Surinamese roots

And even with these additions, the list is probably still incomplete. It also depends on how one defines ‘roots’. And of course, depending on one’s definition of the Caribbean, one could also count some if not all players of Colombia, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Mexico as Caribbean representatives in Brazil 2014 (all four of these countries are members of the Association of Caribbean States).

On Saturday June 14, in the match between England and Italy (final: 1-2), England’s 19- year-old Jamaican-born winger Raheem Sterling “was a breath of fresh air, attacking without fear, taking people on, going for goal,” according to the Daily Mail’s Rio Ferdinand. “His pass to Wayne Rooney that Rooney then crossed superbly to Daniel Sturridge for 1-1 was a peach. And his early shot on goal from distance that rippled the side netting rather than ending up in the back of the net was the kind of effort that makes you get out of your seat.” Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/worldcup2014/article-2657912/RIO-FERDINAND-Its-Uruguay-Luis-Suarez-blanked-Steven-Gerrard.html And according to The Guardian’s Barney Ronay, Sterling “gave a fine, nimble-footed display in the first hour and beyond, not just of driving speed and quick-footed dribbling but of measured passing and vision with and without the ball. Source: http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/jun/15/raheem-sterling-hodgson-england-italy

For more on this story go to: http://repeatingislands.com/2014/06/16/players-with-caribbean-roots-at-2014-football-world-cup-in-brazil/