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Kalou: "Thank God I'm Not Dutch"
Wednesday 17 September 2008
Chelsea winger Salomon Kalou was
on the verge of acquiring a Dutch passport in 2006 in
order to join Oranje, but saw his request denied by
the ministry of immigration.
The talented youngster had an
impressive stint at Feyenoord from 2004 until 2006 and
even attracted the interest of Holland boss Marco van
Basten.
However, his application for a
Dutch passport was denied.
Kalou refused to react to the situation
when it all happened, but has finally spoken up about
the situation, expressing his delight about being able
to play for Ivory Coast.
“Afterwards, I have to admit
that I’m very happy that I failed to acquire a
Dutch passport,” the winger told FIFA. “It
was my destiny to play for Ivory Coast and it feels
great to play for my country.
“It was a really difficult
period for me. I was a young player and it was better
to focus on my football career instead of being busy
with other things. All the publicity surrounding the
whole procedure made it even worse.
“It was a very hard time for
my family, too. They didn’t understand why I wanted
to play for a strange country, like the rest of Ivory
Coast. However, it seemed like the right thing to do
to support my career back than,” lamented the former
Feyenoord star.
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