English, Dutch, Danish, American, Malian, Belgian, Bulgarian, Austrian, Czech, Moroccan, and St Lucian is the nationalities that make up the current Aston Villa senior squad. Given such a mix, one may be forgiven for assuming it is the roster for a UN peace keeping force, but in this day and age most premier league squads are made up of a number of nationalities.
Of course the league as a whole has greatly benefited from the influx of foreign players with magicians like Gianfranco Zola, Dennis Bergkamp, Eric Cantona, Thierry Henry, and Cristiano Ronaldo entertaining the football masses down through the years.
Of course many will argue, perhaps rightly, that for every Zola there has been a Bosko Balaban, and that the international flavour of England’s top division has been of significant detriment to the national side. However, what I often wonder is whether there is a correlation between nationalities on the pitch and performance & harmony of a squad. In short, does it matter if players come from Belgium or Birmingham?
In the past, Aston Villa’s team has mainly been made up of a British backbone sprinkled with the odd player of Irish heritage – this was painfully evident during the Martin O’Neill era, a time when many criticised the the manager for not looking further afield with regard to player recruitment. Who knows Radamel Falcao may have been signed instead of Emile Heskey if O’Neill was a little open to more exotic flavours in his squad.
Hindsight, however, is a wonderful thing, but in this moment in time is adopting Villa’s cosmopolitan recruitment strategy a good thing or a bad thing? Or is it little more than the club being forced to shop where prices are cheaper because of the board’s plans?
The reality is that one must take into account the financial restraints that Villa operates under, and it is no secret British players are vastly overpriced. However, with every foreign signing comes risk – the player may not settle, some come not even speaking the language, culture shock may have an impact, homesickness can affect al players (in particular younger ones), or the player may have been scouted inadequately.
These are just some of the factors that might affect an individual player. However, it isn’t just individuals who are effected – sometimes a player having issues can have knock on effects in the dressing, meaning a risk of disruption to the harmony & performance of the squad as a whole. In addition, if your manager or captain or star player all speak different languages how can a unit be successful?
Newcastle at the moment are made up of an obvious French flavour, just like the infamous “Arsenal Invincibles” before them, so would Villa have better luck if they targeted a particular nation or region specifically?
Of course, scouting is an essential component to a successful foreign recruitment drive and,in this aspect, I think the club is missing a trick. Why? Villa are fortunate to have alumni of former foreign players from varying countries that could be utilised as scouts.
This summer Stiliyan Petrov recommended one of his fellow countrymen to the club in Aleksander Tonev, the jury remains out on Tonev. With that said though, Petrov himself experienced a lull in performance levels when he first for the Villa but turned out to be a solid player.
It isn’t just Petrov who could have an input though. In recent days former Villa battering ram John Carew suggested Villa should sign one of Norway’s brightest upcoming stars midfielder, Stefan Marius Johansen. However, at this moment in time the player is said to be closing in on a switch to Celtic, a scenario that Villa may or may not live to regret.
Going forward, I think it would make a lot of sense for the club to tap into a scouting network littered with the loyalty and expertise former players can bring. A small list of people we could look at asking are:
Martin Laursen (Denmark)
Juan Pablo Angel (Colombia)
John Carew (Norway)
Olof Melberg (Sweden)
Luc Nilis (Belgium)
Benito Carbone (Italy)
Wilfred Bouma (Netherlands).
These former players all have an affinity with the club and are well respected in their home nations. So, in my view, if Villa are to continue with their approach of recruiting players from abroad, I believe it would make a lot of sense to use those who have been there and done it already in claret and blue.
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