World Cup qual. - Almunia: 'I feel English'

Eurosport - Thu, 23 Oct 14:41:00 2008

Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia has claimed that he "feels very English" and is more likely to play for England than Spain.

FOOTBALL Arsenal England Manuel Almunia - 0

The Spaniard will qualify to play for England next summer under the five-year residency rule, and even admitted to developing an interest in British culture and history since moving to London.

With the likes of Iker Casillas, Jose Reina, Andres Palop and Victor Valdes ahead of him in the queue for the Spanish side, Almunia is resigned to never representing his homeland.

England, on the other hand, have a long-standing problem with the goalkeeper's position.

Current number one David James, 38, is error-prone, and his back-ups lack either experience or recent form.

"The opportunity is there and I'll follow it for as long as the possibility of playing for England remains open" he told The Sun. "I don't think playing for Spain is an option - they have enough keepers - it's not their biggest problem.

"If I got a British passport then I would be able to play for England and, at the moment, I feel very English.

"I am very happy living in this country. The people are always very welcoming and I have made many friends."

Almunia added that he has been swotting up on British culture which, if he applies for a UK passport, would be useful as he would need to pass a citizenship test first.

"I started off watching films, but have got more and more into the subject in the last few years," he said.

"I've read a lot of factual history books, watch documentaries and like to visit as many museums as I can. I think it's good to have an interest that's very different from football as our job is very intense and it can help for you to switch off, especially as a goalkeeper.

"The players are aware of my hobby, but haven't shown too much interest and let me get on with it. I don't know what they do when they go back to their rooms when we're away."

Reda Maher / Eurosport

Comment 2 - 21 of 21

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  1. Do you mean that you feel more money? That's what it's really about in the end. You shall always be a fukcing foreigner to the British no matter what you feel.....never forget that.

    From sappercommando25, on Sun 26 Oct 4:48AM

  2. joe hart all the way for england almunia is not a bad keeper but joe hart is what we need to suceed

    From chris, on Fri 24 Oct 6:02PM

  3. Or lets be PC and make the whole team Fat,black and female.

    From , on Fri 24 Oct 12:37PM

  4. Well,thats great news....this means we can sack all the England team,starting with John Terry,and replace them with cheaper labour like we did the builders..!!

    From , on Fri 24 Oct 12:32PM

  5. Don't deceive yourself, the english are too proud to concede that they are lacking in a department where another country has a surplusage, besides Alumnia is not better than David James he just has a slightly better and younger cover

    From Aop, on Thu 23 Oct 5:35PM

  6. come on guys, lets the manager do the job. Almunia(31 year old) wont choose Spain because he will be the 3rd choice in front of Casillas(27) and Reina(26). He will rather choose English because he has the chance to be the no 1 in England. Just look at Camoranesi(Argentina), world cup winner for Italy. If Almunia is good enough then let Capello to decide.

    From cs t, on Thu 23 Oct 5:05PM

  7. Typical English answers to this. And you wonder why you were never made it to Euro and will bomb out of 2010 world cup - @#$% football players who think that they are the best in the world. The English team have a FAR too high opinion of themselves and by instantly blanking out Almunia because he is from Spain is arrogance.

    If you want to win your games you'll do anything. But England don't have that mentality when they are paid millions whether they win or lose.

    From Heine, on Thu 23 Oct 5:02PM

  8. This man is proud to English man, I believe is good enough to play. Let us give a chance to proof himself.
    Ayotunde

    From ayomoshe2, on Thu 23 Oct 4:38PM

  9. show me a descent ENGLISH goalie @ d moment, you f**king IDIOT............So cos our Goalies are having a hard time of it lets pick someone from a different country......The point of International football is you pick from what you have available..........Otherwise it might as well be club football.............If every country begins to do this it will be the death of the international game and one step nearer to a European super league........

    From james b, on Thu 23 Oct 3:06PM

  10. So cos my opinion doesn't count i'm not allowed to comment on it you thick tw*thall we stop Newpapers/Radio shows having an opinion cos at the end of the day they don't pick the squad.........Oh and well done on thinking of nasty words that start with b.......Tw*t..........

    From james b, on Thu 23 Oct 3:02PM

  11. james brown, james blunt or guess ur name must be 'JAMES BULL*CKS'...
    wat d hell are u chatting about? go back and read the article or get sum1 to help you read if ur too dumb to understand ow ALMUNIA has bin learning the english way of life and culture.
    give the man a chance if cos he deserves it!
    by d way u said u dnt want to see almunia in goal, do u think ur f**king opinion counts u STUPID IDIOT....
    CAPELLO decisides! if u want me to remind u again. if a foreign coach can do the job while not a foreign/british keeper.
    u and rio ferdinand (drug addict) can go to hell 4 all i care...
    U F**KIN RETARDS...........

    From arsenalboy79, on Thu 23 Oct 2:47PM

  12. arsenalboy79 Stop being an idiot......lets just say "England" fielded a team of 11 "englishmen" that only qualified cos they had lived there for a bit......we then won something.......so you not think it would take a bit of the glory away from it?......I know this has happened for years with other teams but i wouldn't want it happening with England........Senna, Deco, Eduardo etc........I want England players to hold a british passport is there anything wrong with that?........Not to become available for a country because they can't get in there own countries squad........I repeat an earlier Question.......Do you honestly think given the choice Almunia would pick England before Spain if he was called up to both Squads?! Not A Chance.

    From james b, on Thu 23 Oct 2:15PM

  13. Almunia is a @#$% @#$%. why choosing England over ur own country, the fact that u r not playing for ur country now doesnt mean u wont play for them forever. man! u need to be patient, dont be tempted with this England stuff coz they will use you and drop u later on. A L M U N I A B E W A R N E D !!!

    From Taiwo, on Thu 23 Oct 12:49PM

  14. f**k off 'SUPERTRIN47' or watever u name is. if alumnia deserves to play for england and his eligible why cant he be given the chance to proove himself.
    the fact that u wer born in england doesnt mean his less of a brit than u afterall he knows more about ur country,s history, culture and way of life than u.
    less i 4get show me a descent ENGLISH goalie @ d moment, you f**king IDIOT......

    From arsenalboy79, on Thu 23 Oct 12:25PM

  15. 1 - speak for yourself, I want to see england field the best-performing players possible, regardless of where they were born or their motivation.

    From JONATHAN, on Thu 23 Oct 12:22PM

  16. supertrin47...I agree with you!

    From Ahmet, on Thu 23 Oct 12:22PM

  17. How many other foreign players have been in England more than 5 years, and therefore eligible for a passport? We might as well replace the whole team!

    From rookbodini, on Thu 23 Oct 12:09PM

  18. Imagine, a footballer being self-interested and mercenary! Rather Almunia for England than Joihn Terry or Ashley Cole. At least he's a decent human being.

    From Mark Casarotto, on Thu 23 Oct 12:08PM

  19. Come on mate we need u

    From Leafy S, on Thu 23 Oct 12:08PM

  20. Another great keeper who has lived here for 5 years already is Carlo Cudicini. Way ahead of the current bunch and not even first choice at Chelsea.

    From Terry Neale, on Thu 23 Oct 12:02PM
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