[TheBoiledEgg]

I heard this yesterday

He's taken Italian Citizenship thru his grandmother who is Italian.

He's done it to make it easier for himself.

not seen any official reports though

 

[Jorge]

If he did it, was just to get the european passport, very convenient if you spend six months playing at Europe by year. But he will play always for Argentina.
a couple of years ago The Tennis Federation of Monaco asked him to play for Monaco instead for Argentina, but he didn't accept the proposal.

 

[ys]

No, if he is going to be listed as Italian in tournaments ( i.e. like Eggy put it in the subject line ), he won't be able to play for Argentina any more. In three years though he'll be eligible to play for Italy. Given that Italy has no really good prospects currently, it might be a reasonable choice.

 

[Lindsayfan]

yes he got italian passport,but he already said that he wont play Davis Cup for Italy.
btw welcome here David!

 

[Jorge]

If i am not wrong he will have the "double citizenship" not only the italian citizenship. just exactly as the football players does, they have the double citizenship but they play for their homeland, just like that.
Nalbandián never will play for Italia, he is Argentinian, he will play for Argentina having the double citinzenship. If he can't play by Argentina i guess that he wouldn't ask for the european passport

batistuta, balbo, Crespo, López, etc, all of them and more have double citizenship´, but they play by Argentina, is soccer but the laws are the same

 

[ys]

batistuta, balbo, Crespo, López, etc, all of them and more have double citizenship´, but they play by Argentina, is soccer but the laws are the same

The law is quite far from being the same for football and other sports. In football you choose your country once and for all, and it can be changed only because of exceptional circumstances ( such as political changes like break up of USSR ). In tennis and some other sports (like rugby ) you can change your country of representation at will. In tennis, you have to stay away from international competitions for three years and then you are eligible to play for any country of your choice ( provided, you are granted a citizenship of that country ). I think in rugby it is the same. In footbal and ice hockey you chose only once. Then either you play for the country you chose, or you don't play in international competitions at all. Double citizenship has nothing to do with that.

 

[Jorge]

i meant the laws of the EU, not the laws of tennis, got it?

he will get (maybe) the european passport (according to the EU laws) but to use the argentinian passport for all the legal issues with ITF.

let's see but i am quite sure that Nalbandián won't become an italian player, actually the new coach of Argentina Gustavo Luza, have in his plains to call David to play the Davis against Germany

 

[Chloe le Bopper]

Well unless he has to get rid of his argentine citizenship to do this, I fail to see why he has to play for Italy.

We dont have evidence that says he is going to play tournaments as an Italien or anything.

 

[Ma. Estefania]

He can do whatever he wants, but I just hope that he plays for Argentina: it's his country!
It would be hard for me to watch him playing for Italy.
Anyway, there's no too much information here in Latinamerica about that, and we(latinamericans) should be the first ones in knowing that.....
So, I don't believe it yet.

 

[Chloe le Bopper]

Ma. Estefania - that is my thought as well. If he renounced his citizenship, you guys would be the first to know (you would think).

David was quite happy to represent Argentina in the past, so I don't see why his views would have changed in the past month or so.

We'll just have to wait and see

But I suspect that it is more of what Jorge is describing, than the other alternative.

 

[Ma. Estefania]

I agree with Luis(Jorge) and you Rebecca.
I also watched in the past that David was like very proud of representing Argentina....so if this is true....come on, what's going on with him???!

 

[Catriel]

Jorge is right

It is only to make things easiest to him. Remember that Clarisa Fernandez (Argentinian) couldn´t play the tournaments previous the US Open cause she had trouble with her visa.

But some years ago, when he still was a junior PRINCIPE RAINIERO offered him to become a Monaco´s citizen and then play Davis Cup for Monaco.
That was the oportunity of his life, and he rejected it, saying he will always play for Argentina.
But as Jorge said, he spends the major part of the year in Europe, so he can use this passport to have no troubles in like an "european citizen"

But he has also said that he loves car racing and he will run a car in Argentinia Tourism championship (called TC = Turismo de Carretera) when he quit playing tennis.
So, we can be sure he´ll keep living here!!

 

[Chloe le Bopper]

THankyou for the news Catriel