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Real Madrid legend Alfredo Di Stefano played for three different national teams…

Switching clubs for better opportunities and offers is a very common phenomenon for professional footballers during their playing career.

But switching national teams is not a very common practice for players yet some of the biggest names in world football have played for two or more national teams.

The practice of changing national teams have always been encouraged by FIFA yet there are certain guidelines which need to be followed in order to switch one's loyalty in international football.

While the rules were more lenient in the earlier days when players were allowed to represent more than two national teams, it has now become a lot more strict.

In 2020, FIFA announced at its 70th annual congress that the eligibility rules had been updated, in what administrators have described as the "first wholesale modernisation" of the rules, with added codification and clarification.

From Alfredo Di Stefano to Ferenc Puskas, Michel Platini and Diego Costa, here are some of the top players who represented two or more national teams.

Goal.comDiego Costa

Brazil: 2013

Spain: 2014-present

AdvertisementGettyAlfredo Di Stefano

Argentina: 1947

Colombia: 1949

Spain: 1957-1962

Getty ImagesFerenc Puskas

Hungary: 1945-1956

Spain: 1961-1962

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Getty ImagesMichel Platini

France: 1976-1987

Kuwait: 1988

Yorkshire’s fading hopes of reaching the quarter-finals of the NatWest T20 Blast were dealt another blow when they lost by four wickets to bottom-of-the-table Derbyshire in the North Group match at Chesterfield

ECB/PA12-Jul-2015
ScorecardWes Durston was named Man of the Match as Derbyshire beat Yorkshire•PA PhotosYorkshire’s fading hopes of reaching the quarter-finals of the NatWest T20 Blast were dealt another blow when they lost by four wickets to bottom-of-the-table Derbyshire in the North Group match at Chesterfield.They never recovered from losing three wickets to the offspin of Derbyshire captain Wes Durston in the first five overs and although Glenn Maxwell scored 45 from 29 balls and Jack Leaning 37 from 22, the visitors could only manage 146 for 9.Hamish Rutherford smashed 40 from 24 balls in front of a sell-out Queen’s Park crowd of 4500 and Wayne Madsen scored 41 from 38 balls as Derbyshire reached their target in the 19th over to end a run of seven consecutive home defeats against Yorkshire in T20 cricket.Yorkshire promoted Adil Rashid to open in place of Aaron Finch, who was ruled out with a foot injury, but made only 7 before he was stumped trying to hit Durston through the offside. Durston struck again in the same over when Alex Lees was bowled and Yorkshire were in serious trouble when Andrew Gale had his leg stump knocked back aiming to lift Durston over midwicket.Yorkshire’s first boundary did not come until Maxwell drove the last ball of the fifth over past mid-off and the batsmen struggled to get the ball away until Jonny Bairstow lifted Alex Hughes over long-off for six.Maxwell took two fours off fellow Australian Nathan Rimmington as Yorkshire reached 60 for 3 at the halfway point and he drove Hughes over extra cover for six before Bairstow was caught sweeping Greg Cork for 22. When Maxwell was bowled by Thakor , Yorkshire were 88 for 5 and in danger of falling well short of a competitive total and Tim Bresnan’s attempt to clear the ropes only ended in the hands of deep midwicket.Leaning and Liam Plunkett plundered 17 off the 18th over from Cork but three wickets fell in the final over leaving Yorkshire with what looked a below-par total on a small ground.Durston launched his team’s chase by lofting Maxwell’s second ball over midwicket for six and although Matthew Fisher knocked out his leg stump in the second over, Hamish Rutherford drove Maxwell over the pavilion in the fifth over.Chesney Hughes was lbw sweeping at Maxwell but the over cost 16, including five wides, and Rutherford took four fours from Josh Shaw’s first over as Derbyshire accelerated towards their target.The New Zealander drove a return catch back to Plunkett and although Shiv Thakor was run out, Derbyshire appeared to be cruising until Madsen was caught behind and Billy Godleman was needlessly run out in the 17th over. But Alex Hughes eased the pressure by pulling Plunkett for six and Derbyshire recorded only their second T20 win in 10 games at Queen’s Park with seven balls to spare.”That gives us a lot of confidence, to beat a strong Yorkshire side” Durston said. “I don’t think I could have gone through another meeting where we were talking about how we should have won. We know we’ve got the players to do it, it’s about having the belief and although I got the Man of the Match, that was for the team.”Yorkshire’s director of cricket Martyn Moxon said: “I felt we had a chance if we bowled and fielded well but we didn’t bowl well enough as a group, there were too many easy four balls and it was a pretty disappointing performance all-round. The bottom line is we are not playing well enough in this form of the game.”

Mahmudullah and Anamul Haque were picked for the Bangladesh ODI squad for the first two of the three matches against South Africa

Mohammad Isam07-Jul-20151:59

Isam: A spin-heavy Bangladesh squad for SA ODIs

Mahmudullah and Anamul Haque have been recalled in Bangladesh’s ODI squad for the first two of the three matches against South Africa. Rony Talukdar, Mominul Haque and the injured Taskin Ahmed made way in the 14-man squad.Mahmudullah had fractured his left index finger in June ahead of the India series and was out for more than a month. Chief selector Faruque Ahmed said that the physios had cleared Mahmudullah.Squad changes for SA ODIs

IN: Mahmudullah, Anamul Haque

OUT: Taskin Ahmed, Mominul Haque and Rony Talukdar

Anamul was out after injuring his right shoulder during the World Cup match against Scotland on March 5. He recovered from the shoulder operation to play three first-class matches for South Zone, scoring a hundred and three fifties. Mahmudullah, on the other hand, trained with the Bangladesh team during their T20 series against South Africa.Talukdar could count himself unlucky after he was picked for the ODIs against Pakistan and India but only got to play the second T20 against South Africa in which he made 21 off 22 balls on debut. He sat out for six ODIs. Mominul, too, was left out without having played an ODI since the World Cup, while Taskin is still recovering from a left side tear.Faruque said Anamul had discussions with the captain about his batting approach and would bat in the top order. But he said that Talukdar could still come back because he was among their preferred players. He added that although Litton Das and Anamul have similar roles, Litton was a better choice than Rony.”We think [Anamul Haque] Bijoy is in form,” Faruque said. “We need him for a particular position. We discussed with the team management before picking him. Bijoy will play in the top order.”Rony came in a circumstance where we didn’t have Bijoy and Mahmudullah. Soumya [Sarkar] was successful as an opener. We are thinking for these two matches, but it doesn’t necessarily mean he is out. He is among our best 17-18 players. He will return when we need him. Litton kept well against India, scored a couple of 30s in the ODIs and a 40-odd in the Test. Litton is more effective than Rony, so we kept him in the squad.”The team is spin dependent with Mahmudullah and Nasir Hossain to provide assistance to the specialist spinners. Mashrafe Mortaza will lead the pace attack alongside Rubel Hossain and Mustafizur Rahman.Bangladesh ODI squad: Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan (vice-captain), Sabbir Rahman, Nasir Hossain, Arafat Sunny, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Litton Das, Jubair Hossain, Anamul Haque, Mahmudullah.

Spin has been Kolkata Knight Riders’ tried-and-tested formula to win at home. It’s unlikely the surface for their next game will change too much, even though their opponents, Delhi Daredevils, possess a tasty spin attack themselves

The Preview by Karthik Krishnaswamy06-May-2015Match factsThursday, May 7, 2015
Start time 2000 local (1430 GMT)2:21

O’Brien: Daredevils should bat first

Big PictureSpin, spin, spin. It’s been Kolkata Knight Riders’ tried-and-tested formula to win at home, and their last match – a 35-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad – showcased it in exaggerated proportions. Perhaps the pitch they played on was a response to the slightly wobbly position they began that match in – a loss might have caused them to slip out of the top four.It’s unlikely the surface for their next game will change too much, even though they are in a far better position now, even though their opponents, Delhi Daredevils, possess a tasty spin attack themselves. Brad Hogg and Piyush Chawla (and possibly Johan Botha too), against Amit Mishra and Imran Tahir should make for an interesting contest.Daredevils have lost three of their last four games, and sit not too far above bottom-placed Kings XI Punjab. They are still in with a chance of finishing in the top four, but have only four games left, and cannot afford to take any time finding a way to win matches. A defeat to Knight Riders may just end any realistic hopes they have.Form guideKolkata Knight Riders WLWLL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Delhi Daredevils LLWLWWatch out for…He’s scored his runs at a strike rate of over 140, but he’s only faced 86 balls this season. From that stat it might seem like Angelo Mathews is batting too far down the order, but that hasn’t always been the case. In his last two innings, he came in with a reasonable number of overs left, got starts, and got out, finishing with scores of 16 and 12. Mathews will definitely want to contribute more substantially when he comes in with eight or nine overs to go.He isn’t spoken about in the same breath as Sunil Narine or Brad Hogg, but Piyush Chawla’s legspin has been a vital facet of Knight Riders’ success. This season, he has taken seven wickets while conceding only 6.96 runs an over. He gets a lot of help from the Eden Gardens surface, no doubt, but opposition teams haven’t really been able to go after him.Stats and trivia Robin Uthappa has 22 stumpings in the IPL, a record he shares with MS Dhoni. But he’s taken only 81 innings, to Dhoni’s 114, to reach the mark Four players likely to play this match – Gautam Gambhir, Amit Mishra, Piyush Chawla and Manish Pandey – feature in the top five of the ‘Most ducks in the IPL’ listQuotes”Brad Hogg has done a fantastic job in Sunil Narine’s absence. We wanted a spinner that we thought a lot of batters would struggle to pick. Certainly Brad is in that category. Even the players who play with him regularly find him difficult to pick.”

Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has revealed why Lionel Messi was not allowed to parade the World Cup at Parc des Princes.

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Argentina beat France in 2022 World Cup finalMessi did not parade the trophy afterwardsKylian Mbappe beaten in finalWHAT HAPPENED?

Messi won the World Cup with Argentina in 2022 but was not allowed to parade the trophy on the Parc des Princes pitch after his return to France, seemingly due to a fear of a backlash from fans. Of course, Argentina beat Les Bleus in the final and Al-Khelaifi has now revealed that he could not allow Messi to celebrate at Parc des Princes because his PSG team-mate Kylian Mbappe was on the losing side.

AdvertisementGettyWHAT AL-KHELAIFI SAID

During an interview with RMC TV, Al-Khelaifi said: "For me, like I said, if anyone talks about the fact that we didn't celebrate him enough after he won the World Cup, we're in France and he won against Kylian. We are a French club. I don't want the whole stadium to be against him either. I think we have to respect that."

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Messi's time in the French capital ended on a sour note, as he was booed by fans before his move to Inter Miami, and he has recognised that he caused a "rift" among the PSG fanbase. However, Al-Khelaifi has claimed that the World Cup winner does not "respect" the club, insisting he should not be speaking about them following his exit.

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(C)GettyImagesWHAT NEXT FOR MESSI?

Messi is currently waiting for the resumption of club football in the United States. Inter Miami face FC Dallas in a friendly on January 22nd, before heading to the Middle East for the Riyadh Cup, which will see Messi face his eternal rival Cristiano Ronaldo and Al-Nassr.

Wayne Rooney's Birmingham City were booed off by their own fans after a 0-0 draw with Rotherham as NFL legend Tom Brady watched on from the stands.

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Birmingham draw 0-0 with RotherhamOne win in eight under manager RooneyMinority owner Brady in attendanceGettyWHAT HAPPENED?

The Blues failed to beat 23rd-placed Rotherham United to continue their poor start under manager Rooney in the Championship. The hosts were fortunate to come away with a point as Rooney's tough start continued, with the West Midlands outfit winning just one of the eight games he has been in charge of. Seven-time Super Bowl winner Brady attended his second Blues game on Saturday, but the minority investor wasn't treated to the win he desired and even got to hear home fans booing his team after the final whistle.

AdvertisementGettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Birmingham sit 15th in the Championship, seven points outside the play-offs. When former manager John Eustace was sacked from his role in early October the Blues were sixth in the table. Rooney replaced him at the helm but the club has gone backwards since his arrival and fans are not happy with how things have been going. This could be an example of a team trying to make a statement signing before it ends up backfiring.

WHAT TOM BRADY SAID

Before the game, Brady checked in to St Andrew's and tweeted…

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WHAT NEXT?

Rooney's Birmingham travel to local rivals Coventry City in their next Championship game on Friday.

With Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang having been reunited at Arsenal, Goal looks back at other devastating pairings…

Getty ImagesDwight Yorke & Andy Cole (Manchester United)

First brought together early in the 1998-99 season, Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole combined to devastating effect as Manchester United won the treble under Sir Alex Ferguson, albeit with their back-ups – Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer – sealing the deal in the Champions League final.

Cole and Yorke started 36 matches together in that campaign, with the Red Devils losing on just one occasion. Between them, they scored 53 goals in all competitions and followed that up with 46 in the next campaign.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesFernando Morientes & Raul (Real Madrid & Spain)

During a period around the turn of the millennium, Fernando Morientes and Raul were one of Europe's most feared strike pairings, with their telepathic connection up front leading the Blancos into the 'Galactico Generation'.

Such was their close friendship, Raul was one of the witnesses at Morientes's wedding, while after Morientes was dropped for the 2002 European Super Cup following the arrival of Ronaldo, Raul wore his great friend's No.9 jersey as a show of solidarity.

Getty ImagesIan Rush & Kenny Dalglish (Liverpool)

Given his legendary status at Liverpool, it is hard to believe that Kenny Dalglish went on a 10-month scoring drought during 1981, with the Scot contemplating a move into midfield as he struggled for form in the aftermath of his 30th birthday.

That all changed when Ian Rush arrived on the scene, however, as Dalglish became more of a withdrawn forward in behind Rush, and the pair ran riot. Liverpool won the title in each of their first three campaigns together, with the deadly duo scoring 59 goals between them as the European Cup was also secured in 1983-84.

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Getty ImagesXavi & Andres Iniesta (Barcelona & Spain)

One of the greatest midfield partnerships of all time, Xavi and Iniesta changed the way the modern game is played with their precision passing for both club and country.

Together they won four Champions League titles among a whole host of other trophies at Barcelona, as well as helping lead Spain to two European Championships and their first World Cup, in 2010.

A round-up of the Group C Ranji Trophy games on February 1, 2015

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Feb-2015
ScorecardShahbaz Nadeem took a match haul of six wickets in Jharkhand’s first win of the season•ESPNcricinfo LtdLeft-arm spinner Syed Mohammad’s 5 for 27 set up a simple win for Assam, and kept them on top of the Group C table with 35 points.Andhra had started the day on 116 for 6, but were bowled out for only 198, Naren Reddy was their lone source of resistance with 51 of 163 balls, his maiden first-class fifty.With just 24 runs required for victory Assam reached the target in 13 overs without losing any wickets. Arun Karthik and Pallavkumar Das were unbeaten on 9 and 16 respectively.Assam’s Swarupam Purkayastha was adjudged the Man of the Match for his unbeaten 108 off 248 balls and six wickets in the match.
ScorecardJharkhand wrapped up their first win of the season in Porvorim and kept Goa winless. But the result did little help as both teams were knocked out.Following on, Goa entered the final day at 161 for 5, needing nine runs to take the lead. But they folded for 223, eight more than their first-innings total. Suraj Dongre was the first to depart for 12, perishing to Shahbaz Nadeem. Keenan Vaz, the other overnight batsman, top-scored for Goa with 45 off 111 deliveries, ensuring that Jharkhand had to bat again. No.10 Sagar Naik made 19 off 18 deliveries, but Goa could only extend the lead to 53.Legspinner Samar Quadri ended with figures of 5 for 82, extending his match tally to nine. Left-arm spinner Nadeem took three of the five Goa wickets to fall on the final day to end up with 4 for 60.Jharkhand had the opportunity to pick up seven points, but were reduced to 4 for 2 with Virat Singh and Shiv Gautam getting bowled by seamer Sagar Naik inside five overs. However, Ishan Kishan and Kumar Deobrat added 51 in 14.4 overs to help Jharkhand to an eight-wicket win.
ScorecardHimachal Pradesh allrounder Rishi Dhawan followed his career-best 7 for 43 with 4 for 92 as the visitors collected three points against Tripura in Agartala.Tripura began at 20 for 0, but openers Bishal Ghosh and Samrat Singha fell in quick succession. Thirty-nine for 2 soon became 59 for 4 before Rajesh Banik and Kaushal Acharjee added 55 runs for the fifth wicket.Offspinner Ankush Bedi broke the stand, but No.8 Manisankar Murasingh clubbed a rapid 47 in a 56-run eighth-wicket partnership with Saurabh Das and Rana Dutta made 28 off 30 deliveries to take Tripura towards 200. They were eventually bundled out for 239 as the game ended in a draw.Man-of-the-Match Dhawan went to the top of the bowling charts with 39 wickets this season, while Vikramjeet Malik and Pankaj Jaiswal bagged two wickets apiece. Allrounder Bipul Sharma, who claimed the last wicket to fall, had figures of 13.1-4-11-1.Himachal Pradesh are now placed second on the Group C table with 27 points, eight behind Assam. On the other hand, Tripura finish the season winless.Kerala v Services: Kerala wrap up first win of season

Alastair Cook has hailed James Anderson as “the most skilful bowler in the world” and the best “England have ever produced”

George Dobell14-Aug-2014Alastair Cook has hailed James Anderson as “the most skilful bowler in the world” and the best “England have ever produced”.Anderson comes into the fifth Test of the Investec series against India requiring just seven more wickets to equal Ian Botham’s England record of 383. Cook, the England captain, admitted that Anderson might not have the pace of South Africa’s Dale Steyn but suggested his ability to swing the ball both ways rendered him almost as dangerous.”He is the most skilful bowler in the world,” Cook said. “There have been some very good bowlers I’ve played with but, for pure out-and-out skill, there is no doubt. He is the best bowler England have ever produced.”No disrespect to Dale Steyn, but the way Jimmy can swing the ball both ways – I don’t think Dale can do that quite as well as Jimmy but Dale has the advantage of being able to bowl quicker. Dale has been the No. 1 bowler in the world for quite a long time in terms of the number of wickets he takes. He always picks up wickets. And those two are in the same class.”Anderson will soon be the leading wicket taker in Test matches for England. That is quite a glowing reference. It’s an amazing achievement. If he does it in this game, it will mean England are in a very strong position.”You saw his guts and determination last week at Manchester when he was bowling when he wasn’t very well. That was extraordinary. That pretty much tells me, tells everyone, what a bloke he is and to back it up with his talent and skill means he is a very fine bowler.”Cook also confirmed that Stuart Broad would play despite sustaining a broken nose during the Manchester game.”We think he’s going to be absolutely fine,” Cook said. “You don’t get a partnership like he and Jimmy Anderson have had without being a world-class bowler. They’ve taken over 500 wickets together. Any captain would want those two in the team if possible, so it’s great news for us as a team that Broady has come through that blow.”

Despite reassurances offered by Trinidad & Tobago Cricket Board that he has not been sacked, Denesh Ramdin, has reiterated that he was told he would be replaced as T&T captain

Nagraj Gollapudi07-Nov-2014Despite reassurances offered by Trinidad & Tobago Cricket Board that he has not been sacked, Denesh Ramdin has reiterated that he was told he would be replaced as T&T captain.He insisted that he was being “punished” for supporting the move by West Indies players to abandon the India tour last month. Ramdin said that the TTCB move was a “breach” of the agreement reached last week between the players, WICB and West Indies Players’ Association, where it was decided to set up a three-member task force to negotiate a deal between the three groups.Ramdin, the West Indies Test captain, said n a public statement issued on Thursday that things had been made “unnecessarily difficult and uncertain” for him since his return from India.Now Denesh Ramdin is sparring with the Trinidad & Tobago Cricket Board•Caribbean Premier League”I feel compelled to state that on my return from India I was restricted from attendance at a practice session with the Trinidad and Tobago team on Thursday, October 30, 2014,” Ramdin said. “Although I felt hurt and embarrassed, I knew that I should remain committed to my responsibilities.”Ramdin’s latest response is a direct contradiction to TTCB president Azim Bassarath confirmation to ESPNcricinfo on Wednesday that Ramdin remained the T&T captain. Bassarath also said that a decision over whether to replace him as captain for the regional competitions, one of the recommendations made by the selectors, would be taken at the board’s meeting this weekend.On Monday Ramdin met with Bassarath and executives of TTCB including Suraj Ragoonath (CEO), Arjoon Ramlal (secretary), Sukesh Maniam (treasurer), Patrick Rampersad (third vice-president) and Gus Logie (T&T coach). The meeting took place at the National Cricket Centre in Balmain, Couva in Trinidad where Ramdin said he was told Rayad Emrit would be his successor.”On Monday, November 3, 2014, I attended a meeting with the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board. At that meeting, I was told that since I did not demonstrate proper leadership in relation to the tour in India, I would be relieved of the captaincy and would be replaced by Rayad Emrit. I understood this to be a punishment contrary to the undertaking given by the WICB at the meeting on Friday, October 31, 2014.”I am also advised that this action is a breach of my rights having regard to the fact that the Task Force appointed by the WICB has not made any findings and has made no findings of misconduct against me,” Ramdin said.Both Bassarath and Rampersad had explained that since Ramdin was likely to be busy playing for West Indies in various international series between October and the World Cup which ends in March, the selectors had recommended that a new captain be appointed. Both men insisted a final decision on Ramdin’s future as T&T captain would be taken at the TTCB executive meeting this weekend, though a media release on the board’s website indicated otherwise.Titled “Heavy WI schedule rules Ramdin out”, the release said: “The unavailability of Denesh Ramdin for selection for nearly all of the 2014-2015 regional cricket season was the deciding factor in the decision to appoint a new national team captain. And Ramdin, the West Indies Test team captain who was among the players who recently pulled out of a tour of India, was told this at a meeting on Monday with officials of the T&T Cricket Board.”Ramdin pointed out that on October 31 he along with fellow Trinidadian and West Indies ODI captain Dwayne Bravo along with their legal counsel attended a meeting with WICB president Dave Cameron, and Emmanuel Nanthan (vice-president) and one of the WCIB directors Baldath Mahabir, who also sits on the TTCB executive board. WIPA president Wavell Hinds participated in that meeting via Skype. Also present were the Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Keith Mitchell, Prime Minister of Grenada. “At that meeting, the WICB gave an undertaking that the WICB would not in its selection policy victimise nor discriminate against any player who had gone on the tour to India,” Ramdin said.”I have been advised that it is improper for me to speak on the issue of the recent tour to India and that I must defer to the authority and deliberations of the Task Force appointed by the WICB to inquire into that tour. However, I wish to state that the circumstances that I have endured since my return to the Caribbean have been made unnecessarily difficult and uncertain,” Ramdin said.In a release issued on Tuesday the WICB listed what it called “updates” from the various meetings between the board of directors on October 30 and November 4. It stated that Michael Gordon QC would be chairman of the task force along with former West Indies fast bowler Wes Hall and Dennis Lalor.The WICB directors also decided after a conference call today to finalise the date next week to pick the squads for the South Africa tour, which starts in December.