Higuain wins Argentine citizenship (3 Feb 2007 00:19 GMT)
Gonzalo Higuain, a French-born soccer forward with Argentine parents who plays for Spanish league team Real Madrid, has been given Argentine citizenship and is now qualified to play for the Argentine national soccer team, his agent told Wednesday's Argentine press.
Higuain, 19, turned down a request by Raymond Domenech, the manager of the French national soccer team, to play for France, who came second in the World Cup in 2006.
Higuain was born in Brest when his father, Jorge, was playing at the French town's soccer team, but he has lived the bulk of his life in Argentina and began his sporting career in the junior league teams that are part of River Plate, the Argentine soccer giants.
Norberto Recassens, Gonzalo Higuain's agent, told Buenos Aires daily Clarin that Argentina's consulate in Madrid had told Jorge Higain about the citizenship.
"Gonzalo now has double citizenship, because as an adult he does not lose his French passport. He will remain a citizen of the European Union and will not occupy one of the foreign players' places on the Real Madrid squad," said Recassens.
The European Union soccer authorities limits the number of non-EU citizens that can play for an EU team.
Alfio Basile, who manages the Argentina national soccer team, said at the start of the week that he would be considering Higuain for future national soccer team games.
source : Xinhua