Mohammed Tchite is likely to sigh and look warily heavenward if asked to fill citizenship details in a form. Born in Burundi to a Rwandan father and a Congolese mother, Tchite went to Belgium on a Congolese passport in 2003 after a Standard Liege scout spotted him playing for the Rwandan club, Mukura Victory Sports.
He received a Rwandan passport in 2006 and a Belgian one this July, having qualified through playing for Liege from 2003 to 2006 and Anderlecht in the 2006-07 season. FIFA rebuffed his desire to represent the Belgian national side after he was picked for a 2010 World Cup qualifier against Estonia in September this year, ruling that he was only eligible to play for Rwanda. Adding further convolution to all this is the fact that he represented Burundi in the under-20s.
Tchite now plays for Racing Santander in the Spanish Primera Liga; he sealed a transfer from Anderlecht last September. And in the latest round of La Liga matches, the 24-year-old striker gave every European football reviewer the chance to spin his footballing journey around readers’ heads by toppling Valencia from the top of the table with a hat-trick in Santander’s 4-2 win.
Valencia — whose searing start to the season had already slowed somewhat in its previous game following a 1-1 draw at Recreativo — is now in third position. It is tied on 20 points with fourth-placed Real Madrid and a point behind Villarreal in second.
On top of the table and in a blistering run of form is Barcelona, which extended its winning streak in the league to seven in a row with a 4-1 win at Malaga. The Euro 2008 Player of the Tournament, Xavi Hernandez, netted twice for Barcelona in the match.
The brooding-eyed midfield schemer later indicated that he wanted to tie up a long-term contract soon so that he can retire at the club where he has spent his entire career.
“I am sure that we will reach an agreement because we both want it to happen,” he said in an interview to the club’s official website. The Barcelona vice-captain’s current contract extends to June 2010.
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