Ibrahim Maza: Algeria's multicultural kid from Berlin
Key takeaways
- Ibo Maza had his choice of three different countries.
- By then, it had dawned on Julian Nagelsmann — along with 80 million armchair coaches across Germany — that a player like Maza could be a useful asset for the men's national football team.
- Maza was already cap-tied with Algeria, the country his father left as a young man to make a new life in Germany.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
Ibo Maza had his choice of three different countries. Instead of his native Germany, the Bayer Leverkusen forward is representing Algeria, the country of his father, at the World Cup in North America.
https://p.dw.com/p/5Eu Y0Image: Anke Waelischmiller/Sven Simon/picture alliance Advertisement"I'm a multicultural kid with three different nationalities: Germany, Algeria, and Vietnam," said Ibrahim Maza earlier this year. By then, it had dawned on Julian Nagelsmann — along with 80 million armchair coaches across Germany — that a player like Maza could be a useful asset for the men's national football team.
However, by then it was too late. Maza was already cap-tied with Algeria, the country his father left as a young man to make a new life in Germany.