Weiser on potential Algeria switch: A "world without borders" and the "universal language of football."
Speaking with Tim Lüddecke of Germany's Kicker Magazine, Werder Bremen's Mitchell Weiser has commented extensively on his potential switch to the Algerian national team.
Amid some other comments issued since the sensational story of the switch to the Algerian national team broke on Tuesday, Bundesliga veteran Mitchell Weiser saved some of his most soul-searching quotes for Tim Lüddecke of Germany's preeminent footballing publication. The 28-year-old has essentially committed to representing the Fennecs provided that they are interested in him and he can be issued a passport in time.
"I've made my decision," the former Bayern, Köln, Hertha, and Leverkusen man confided to Lüddecke, "I don't have all that much time left in my career and I want to make the most of it. I don't want to think back later on an opportunity missed."
For Weiser, the notion of suiting up for a country which he's never visited poses no problem. The player's maternal grandfather lives in Algeria and Weiser remains in contact. Moreover, his proficiency in the language renders the new potential adventure tenable.
"I don't know the culture, I don't know what it's like to live there," Weiser conceded, "But I like adventure and I like to face situations that challenge me. I don't not feel attracted to a specific country. I see the world without borders".
"It always fits together on the pitch and off the pitch," Weiser continued with reference to his journeyman career, "It's worked out everywhere I've been so far. You help each other out - it won't be any different there. Football is a language spoken the same way all over the world."
Assuming that Weiser can get an Algerian passport in time, and that national team trainer Djamal Belmadi wishes to give him a call up, the Troisdorf native could be available to represent the north Africans during the coming international break.