The Dutch football championship 2009 was won by AZ, a small-town team consisting mainly of young players, led by the well-known coach Louis van Gaal. The defence was hard to beat, tactics were shrewd and highly effective. The player who scored most goals for the champions in this past season was Mounir El Hamdaoui, a 24-year old player who holds both a Dutch and a Moroccan passport.
Star
The dethroned champions were PSV Eindhoven, who ended the competition in a disappointing fourth place. Their star player Ibrahim Afellay also holds dual Moroccan and Dutch nationality. Though he played well throughout the season, he couldn't lift PSV's meagre performance all by himself.
So will we see these two outstanding players conquer the hearts of football fans, when the World Cup takes place in South Africa next year?
Regrettably, the chances are slim.
Rules
Because of their dual nationalities, both El Hamdaoui and Afellay were allowed to choose which country to represent as a football player. However, according to rules of the international football federation FIFA, once you have played for a representative team of one nation as a senior (aged 18 or older), you are not allowed to switch to a different ‘football nationality'.
When still very young, Mounir El Hamdaoui chose to represent Morocco and played a couple of matches in the nation's red shirt. But he had some trouble with the Moroccan football authorities and until recently was not recalled for the national team.
Ibrahim Afellay made the opposite choice. He turned down an invitation from Morocco and decided to put his many talents at the disposal of the Dutch ‘Orange' team. He made his debut in 2007 and one year later played some matches at the European Championships, though mostly as a substitute.
Dilemma
So here's the dilemma: Mounir El Hamdaoui will have a hard time even qualifying for the World Cup in South Africa. Morocco will have to survive a tough group with Cameroon, Togo and the surprisingly strong team from Gabon. And if the team qualifies, historically they have had great difficulty getting through the group stages at the final tournament itself.
Ibrahim Afellay will probably qualify with the Dutch team, but seems condemned to the bench, because, as an attacking midfield player, he has to compete for one place in the squad with established world stars like Real Madrid's Sneijder and Van der Vaart and Arsenal's Robin van Persie.
Sadly enough, the two most attractive players in the Dutch competition are unlikely to make their mark on the world's most alluring football tournament.
Tags: 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa , AZ Alkmaar, Ibrahim Afellay, Mounir El Hamdaoui, PSV Eindhoven