Re: New Paper: FT is the way to go
Take France as an example - they have a chunk of second generation FTs. Of the 23 players on the 1998 WC winning team, the squad featured players who could trace their origins to Armenia, Algeria, Guadeloupe, New Caledonia, Argentina, Ghana, Senegal, Italy, French Guyana, Portugal, Spain, Martinique and the Basque Country with the patriarch of the team being Zinédine Zidane, who was born in Marseille to Algerian immigrants. But the objective was not just that particular tournament. Post 1998, France has continued to groom both local and adopted FTs. Current batch of second gen FTs are Samir Nasri, Hatem Ben Arfa, and Karim Benzema but look at the emergence of local lads like Cabaye and Ribery.
Note the same with the German soccer team. Under Joachim Löw, the German team reflected the changing demographic of Germany. It was significantly multicultural, as 11 of the players in the final 23-man World Cup Finals roster were eligible to play for other countries, despite 10 of the 11 being born or raised in Germany. The 11th, Cacau, arrived from Brazil in his late teens. But the idea has been continuation rather than one-off glory.
The local football scene is quite in a contrary in terms of approach.