Dubai: As France head towards what would be their fourth major title, it’s easy for Freddie Kanoute to question what might have been.
The 38-year-old UAE-based former African Player of the Year, who played for West Ham, Tottenham and Sevilla, was born in France and represented Les Bleus’ Under-21 side up until 1999.
After that, however, he was never selected for the senior team which went on to win Euro 2000, with the likes of Thierry Henry, Nicolas Anelka and David Trezeguet keeping him out.
Instead, he decided to switch his allegiance to Mali in 2004 once Fifa rules changed allowing players to represent the country of their parent’s birth.
“I can’t tell you how many times I would have been in the starting line-up, but I had the ability to play for France,” Kanoute told Gulf News on the sidelines of his Kafo Academy at Dubai Sports World on Sunday.
“I honestly don’t regret choosing to play for Mali though as I saw the bigger picture. I have always been a fan of African football and I wanted to bring something back to Mali and participate in the development of their football. In that way, what I could have brought to France by comparison was actually quite limited.
“Today when I go back to Mali, the way I am received and the way doors are opened for me, I wouldn’t have got that in France. Playing for France would have given me more exposure to possibly go on to play for bigger clubs but helping football get better in Mali was the best thing for me.
“I didn’t win anything at international level and I miss that part,” added Kanoute, who scored 23 goals in 39 appearances for Mali and reached the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations in 2004. “As a competitor you are never 100 per cent satisfied and looking back at my career some things could have been better but overall I’m happy.”
Kanoute also backed his former sides West Ham and Tottenham to continue their Premier League progress after finishing seventh and third respectively last season.
“The big clubs that messed up last season will be much stronger, but Spurs is a young squad that is only going to get better. I’m not saying they can win it but they will build upon what they achieved last year and stay up there for the next couple of years.
“West Ham too have passed a certain level and cannot drop back now, they move into a new stadium and this is a good time to pass the next level.” Asked about England’s Euro 2016 failure, given his experience in English football, he said: “I don’t want to point my finger at the manager but when you have these kind of players you have to do better.
“I don’t know whether it’s the management, the tactics or the system. But it’s important to pick the best team regardless of names, sometimes they pick the team around certain players,” he added in reference to Wayne Rooney.
“Maybe it’s about desire, not the money they are on, because you can be rich and still have desire because those feelings are nurtured in you by the staff around you and it’s a culture you build upon. But maybe it was a lack of desire because they really were poor and didn’t match the names on the teamsheet.”
Of Sevilla, with whom he won back-to-back Uefa Cup titles in 2006 and 2007 — and who have just won that trophy for a fifth time in ten years — he added: “I can’t think of another club as well managed as them.
“They may not have pushed on from the Europa League into Champions League contention, but I don’t think that’s their ambition. They realise they have to build slowly and it’s hard for them to compete with the resources of Real Madrid and Barcelona.”
