Because the French team has a number of African players, the French team is also jokingly called the African second team by fans. In fact, some players, although of African descent, are down-to-earth Frenchmen. Because they were born in the overseas territories of France. In particular, Guadeloupe and Martinique, located in the Caribbean, have provided France with a large number of football talents.
Among them, Guadeloupe, located in Central America and the Caribbean, has sent a large number of football talents to the French team. Examples include former France internationals Henry, Virtoude, Thuram and Gala, as well as current internationals including Kingsley Coeman, Martial, Lemar and Lacazette.
In addition to these French stars, Guadeloupe has many stories worth exploring. Among them, the most famous story is the story of pirates of the Caribbean.
Guadeloupe: Once a hiding place for pirates
For football fans, Guadeloupe is famous because of stars such as Henry, Virtode, Koeman and others. For movie lovers, Guadeloupe has a story, which is where Hollywood movies, the Pirates of the Caribbean series, were filmed and where the stories took place.
Guadeloupe is the largest island in the Leeward Archipelago of the West Indies of the Caribbean Sea, bordering the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the Caribbean Sea to the west, the Guadeloupe Strait to the northwest, and the Dominican Strait to the south.
Guadeloupe and the Strait of Sale are divided into two parts, the east and west, the volcanic island in the east and the limestone island in the west.
Guadeloupe was once inhabited by Indians and lived in isolation. In 1492, after Columbus's fleet arrived, Western colonists set off a frenzy to divide the American continent, and Spain occupied most of the American colonies, including the Caribbean islands including Guadeloupe.
The name Guadeloupe is derived from the Spanish aristocratic name. The center of Spanish colonial rule was the larger islands of the American continent and the Caribbean islands, such as Cuba, Haiti (east), and Puerto Rico. Due to its small size, Guadeloupe was not valued by the Spanish colonists.
The Caribbean sea is rich in products and is the main transportation route from the Americas to Europe. It was not only a place where colonists' ships frequented, but also pirates. Anarchy, Guadeloupe became an ideal hideout for pirates. Among the Pirates of the Caribbean here, the most famous is Edward Titch. He was haunted, causing headaches to European colonial powers such as Britain, France, Spain, and the Netherlands.
Today, the story of the colony is gone. But Edward Titch's story was teleported. The novel of "Pirate Republic" came out, and it attracted many people to come here to find out. After salvaging Edward Titch's ship, the Queen's Revenge, they used it as a backdrop to create the image of Captain Jack.
When we see Captain Jack of Pirates of the Caribbean, maybe a lot of people want to come to Guadeloupe to take a look. Not only can you enjoy the tropical island atmosphere here, but you can also find the story of pirates of the Caribbean.
Guadeloupe – The gold mine of French football also has its own team
Historically, Guadeloupe was a hiding place for Pirates of the Caribbean and an area contested by two colonial powers, Britain and France. It was not until 1816 that the French formally occupied Guadeloupe, ending the anarchy of Guadeloupe. The French became the masters of Guadeloupe.
Beginning in the 19th century, France established an empire that never sets on the world, including most of the African continent, the Caribbean islands including Asia and Guadeloupe, and French Guiana in South America, as well as small islands in Oceania.
After World War II, French colonies in Asia and Africa successively moved to independence and established nation-states. France's colonies in the Caribbean, France and the Pacific did not move toward independence. Among them, Guadeloupe became an overseas province of France in 1946, with the right to vote for the French president and part of the European Union.
The inhabitants of Guadeloupe, including Henry, Virtoude, Thuram, Kingsley-Koeman and others, are French and have French passports. They are fully qualified to play for the French national team.
For example, the French team that won the runner-up at the 2006 World Cup in Germany was not optimistic. Seven of the 23-man roster are from Guadeloupe, and of the regular 11-man starters, Guadeloupe contributed four players. It can be said that Guadeloupe is the gold mine of French football. For example, in the quarter-finals of the 2006 World Cup, Henry, who cut five-star Brazil down.
The current France international, playing for the Bundesliga giants, and southern star Bayern Munich striker Kingsley Koeman is also from Guadeloupe.
In addition to the French team, Guadeloupe also has its own representative team - Guadeloupe representative team. They are only members of North and Central America and the Caribbean, but not members of FIFA. As a result, Guadeloupe does not participate in FIFA rankings and cannot participate in the World Cup qualifiers for North America and the Caribbean.
They can compete in regional competitions in North and Central America and the Caribbean – the Gold Cup and the Central and American Nations League. They first competed in the Gold Cup in 2007 and made it all the way to the final four. In the semi-finals, they were blocked out by Mexico, one of the hegemons of Central and North America, and missed the final.
In both 2009 and 2011, Guadeloupe participated, but it was impossible to replicate the courage of 2007. Currently, they play in the B division of the Central american and American Nations League, in the same group as Cuba, Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda. Currently, 4 wins, 3 wins and 1 draw are second with a goal difference disadvantage.
Guadeloupe, despite its abundance of stars, is unable to achieve results in Central and North America for the simple reason – they are not members of FIFA. This doomed them to not be able to represent Guadeloupe at the highest level of football – the World Cup.
For the islanders, the way they want to compete in the World Cup is to follow France to the World Series. The level of economic development of the islands is much lower than that of mainland France. As a result, many islanders moved to France early. Many islanders, who have received the training of French football youth training early on, have become the standing force of the French national team. Some have followed france to win the World Cup and the European Championship. For example, Henry, Viltoed.