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Tiny Guadeloupe has good representation in Europe

June 3, 2007

Let's begin with a multiple-choice question.

Of the four teams that will play in CONCACAF Gold Cup group matches at the Orange Bowl beginning Wednesday, which has the most European-based players on its 23-man roster? A) Haiti; B) Costa Rica; C) Canada); D) Guadeloupe. The answer is Canada with 13, but Guadeloupe, surprisingly, is a close second.

Odd as it may seem, given its size (population 452,000) and the fact that it's not even a FIFA member, Guadeloupe will have 11 players currently signed to European teams when it opens against Haiti on Wednesday night. Granted, except for 41-year-old former French international Jocelyn Angloma, none has ever played in the upper reaches of La Liga or Serie A. Still, they aren't here on a lark.

Guadeloupe remains a French colony and the link with France has been amplified in recent years by soccer. In fact, if not for Guadeloupe, France might not have won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000, or reached the final of the 2006 World Cup.

At least six French internationals -- Thierry Henry, Lilian Thuram, Louis Saha, Mikael Sylvestre, William Gallas and Sylvian Wiltord -- trace their ancestry to Guadeloupe. It was Thuram who scored two goals that sent France past Croatia into the 1998 World Cup final. Wiltord scored in stoppage time as part of an overtime win against Italy at Euro 2000.

Guadeloupe's Gold Cup roster features seven players who played in France last season. Forward Auralien Capoue has played three seasons in Ligue 1 at just-demoted Nantes, while five others played in the second division. Three more players have First Division experience outside France.

The rest play on the island, including Angloma, whose late goal in a 2-1 win over Cuba qualified Guadeloupe to play in its first Gold Cup.

Typically when a player plays for one country, he's ineligible to play for another. Angloma is an exception, according to CONCACAF, which explained in an e-mail that "players who previously played for France are allowed to play for Guadeloupe since FIFA does not recognize Guadeloupe and therefore, these players are technically not playing for another nation."

CONCACAF has, however, stipulated that all 23 players on the Guadeloupe roster be born on the island. Technically, that would make Barcelona defender Thuram eligible. Maybe some day Thuram will return home to play. He vacations there regularly and considers it home. Until then, it appears the current team has enough to compete in its Gold Cup group, and maybe even win it.