Football player profile: Marko Marin
It’s not even been a month that the football transfer window closed, and there already are speculations in the market about new possible transfers.
Manchester United and Arsenal both have their midfield woes clear to all and sundry; Arsenal due to their injuries, and United due to the ageing of stalwarts like Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs.
Both the Title-rivals are reportedly getting ready to fight a battle outside the pitch, as Wenger and Alex Ferguson are speculated to have it head-to-head over the transfer of German hotshot Marko Marin, who plays for Werder Bremen.
Marin is an unknown name in football outside Germany but he has been pivotal in his team, as his marauding forward runs on the wings and a keen eye for goal are highly-rated by Werder.
Here is an attempt to know the teen sensation a little better.
Marko was born on the 13th of March 1989 in Bosanska Gradiska, Yugoslavia. Despite being born in what is now the Bosnian-Serbian region, Marko Marin opted to play his international football for Germany. Only recently it appeared in the newspapers
that Marko was forced to play for Germany, as the country of his birth never gave him an international call.
Marin was only two years old when his family moved to Germany because of his mother’s work. His family relocated to Frankfurt, where he played for various local clubs, giving him a head start for his career.
Marin gives a new meaning to the word versatile, as he is capable of playing anywhere in the attack. Only for Bremen he has played as a winger, striker and in a central attacking role.
Marin has often been criticized for the lack of his physical strength, and this was the only reason for him to be forced out of the Frankfurt youth academy, where the coaches felt he lacked the necessary attributes to be a football player.
Marin did not give up after being kicked out of the Frankfurt academy and luck was on his side when Borussia Mönchengladbach picked him up and offered a three-year contract. Marin made his professional debut for Borussia Mönchengladbach on 31st
of March 2007, and it was only ironic that his debut match was against Eintracht Frankfurt.
For Monchengladbach, he had a string of great performances and bagged his first hat-trick for the club against VfB Fichte Bielefeld. Werder snapped up Marko Marin for 8.5 million Euros in the June of 2009, as they had firm belief in his capabilities.
Marin’s international career had already kick-started when he signed for Bremen in 2009, as he was called up for the international duty for the German under 21s in 2007. Marin made nine appearances for the under 21s before Jogi Low called him for the provisional
26-man squad for 2008 qualifiers.
Marin missed out on the senior squad in 2008, but Low could not overlook him when the time came to select the squad for the 2010 World cup in South Africa. Germany impressed all and sundry in South Africa, and the Werder made only two appearances but left
an indelible mark against Australia and Serbia. Although Marin spend the World Cup under the shadows of more illustrious youngsters like Sami Khedira and Maust Ozil, but his trickery and skill caught the eyes of many scouts around the world.
Since the World Cup, Werder have already lost Ozil to Real Madrid and will not be looking forward to any bids from anywhere for their prodigious talent.
English fans may remember Marin from the Spurs V Bremen match, when he tormented the Redknapp’s boys with his trickery and skills in their opening match of the champions League. Marin grabbed Bremen’s equalizer in the second half, and tormented Vedran Corluka
with his sublime pace.
Marin will be a valuable addition to the Premier League, if Arsenal of United are able to lure the attacker to the Premier League. However, Bremen are not willing to let go of their star man that easily.
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