Rajiv van la Parra. His name looks Indian and he plays for Huddersfield Town. I thought he was Indian but he has Netherlands citizenship. His parents are Black and from Surinam. They named their son Rajiv because Indira Gandhi was very famous in Surinam because of Indian Aid. So they decided to name their son Rajiv after Indira's son. No India connection at the end.
Could also be that most people in Suriname has mixed African and Indian heritage.. As it was a former Dutch colony they get Dutch citizenship. If India allowed dual citizenship major portion of Surinamese people would have got that also.. Connections between India and Suriname began in the late 1800s when many people from UP, Bihar went to work there. Many of their descendants went to Netherlands after Suriname became independent in 1975.. One such example is the father of Lazio striker Ricardo Kishna
Yeah but this Rajiv Van la Parra heritage is completely Black African Surinamese. We do have many Dutch Surinamese players with Indian heritage such as Luciano Narsingh.But for these 1800s migration, we are looking beyond Grandparents connection and I am not sure what the FIFA rules are. I thought that either parents or grandparents are supposed to be born in that country or one should have lived for 5 years in the country that they wish to represent. Passport will also be required. Some African countries are looking for their colonial connections also. When they were not independent and France, Spain, Portugal were ruling them, they have found such players whose parents or grandparents were born there. I wonder if we can find any British or Portuguese player whose grandparent was born in India??? I am talking about White British/Portuguese and not necessary Indian origin!!!! FIFA rules will make them eligible but not India Origin Surinamese who immigrated in 1800s.
Constantine said there was a time when Chopra would've added a lot of value to the team's cause, but the striker never showed much enthusiasm. "If he really wanted an international career, he had the chance in 2002. I had given him a call and spoken about how he could add value to our team then. He didn't take it up and that's that," he said.
He was once compared to Micheal Owen. Even 5 years ago he used to dominate League Championship. At the age of 32 he should have been something, but in life you need discipline, without that you are going nowhere.
Oscar Sonejee: A Champions League footballer, who was India's loss and Andorra's gain
"I’m as Andorran as I’m Indian, actually. I speak fluent Hindi and Catalan, but struggle a bit with English. Nothing has given me more joy than representing my country for so many years.”
Oscar admitted, “If India came calling then I probably might have said yes, because most of my faily is very close to India and I wouldn’t have said no to them because I would have loved to go and play for them. No one contacted me about this during the time.
"My father did bring it up whether I should go to India and have a chat. I used to keep going to India as well, for some wedding or the other. But since I saw nobody was interested, I decided to continue playing for Andorra, and obtained that passport.”
In 2008, a few Indian clubs such as East Bengal and Churchill Brothers came to know about ‘the Indian playing in Andorra’, and jumped for his signature.
“I was approached by both these clubs just after one of my UCL matches; a couple of Indian agents based in Germany approached me regarding a move. My family and I were really excited and as it turns out, two clubs were interested in me. I signed for East Bengal in the beginning, but after much deliberation, we decided for a Goa move, because the culture was more European there, would be easier for me to adjust," he said.
But there was a twist in the tale that would end up preventing the dream move from ever coming to fruition. "The previous contract was not officially cancelled, and I ended up having a double contract. So the situation kept moving along forward, to a point where I decided to sign for an Andorran club FC Santa Coloma. I (probably) should have stuck with East Bengal, but no regrets,” he added.
Comments
Some African countries are looking for their colonial connections also. When they were not independent and France, Spain, Portugal were ruling them, they have found such players whose parents or grandparents were born there. I wonder if we can find any British or Portuguese player whose grandparent was born in India??? I am talking about White British/Portuguese and not necessary Indian origin!!!! FIFA rules will make them eligible but not India Origin Surinamese who immigrated in 1800s.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Ranjitsingh
Greg Ranjit Singh
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/football/top-stories/Michael-Chopra-to-play-for-India-No-chance-Constantine/articleshow/54364679.cms
Oscar Sonejee: A Champions League footballer, who was India's loss and Andorra's gain
"I’m as Andorran as I’m Indian, actually. I speak fluent Hindi and Catalan, but struggle a bit with English. Nothing has given me more joy than representing my country for so many years.”
Oscar admitted, “If India came calling then I probably might have said yes, because most of my faily is very close to India and I wouldn’t have said no to them because I would have loved to go and play for them. No one contacted me about this during the time.
"My father did bring it up whether I should go to India and have a chat. I used to keep going to India as well, for some wedding or the other. But since I saw nobody was interested, I decided to continue playing for Andorra, and obtained that passport.”
In 2008, a few Indian clubs such as East Bengal and Churchill Brothers came to know about ‘the Indian playing in Andorra’, and jumped for his signature.
“I was approached by both these clubs just after one of my UCL matches; a couple of Indian agents based in Germany approached me regarding a move. My family and I were really excited and as it turns out, two clubs were interested in me. I signed for East Bengal in the beginning, but after much deliberation, we decided for a Goa move, because the culture was more European there, would be easier for me to adjust," he said.
But there was a twist in the tale that would end up preventing the dream move from ever coming to fruition. "The previous contract was not officially cancelled, and I ended up having a double contract. So the situation kept moving along forward, to a point where I decided to sign for an Andorran club FC Santa Coloma. I (probably) should have stuck with East Bengal, but no regrets,” he added.
http://www.sportskeeda.com/football/oscar-sonejee-a-champions-league-footballer-who-was-indias-loss-and-andorra-gain
He is of Sindhi Community.