Marek Hamsik: An under-rated Slovak
Perhaps one of the most promising prospects in the game today, Marek Hamsik has been pretty much away from the limelight.
Club Career
Born in 1987, this guy is a powerhouse of talent. He started out young, playing for a small team called Jupie Podlivace. In 2002, he was signed on for the youth side of Slovan Bratislava. He played for three years at the club, and even scored a goal for the A-side at a very young age.
Then came the turning point in his career. His performances were noticed by European scouts and soon, he was snapped up by Brescia of the Italian Serie A. Unfortunately, Brescia finished 19th and was relegated to Seria B. He had an impressive run with Brescia in Serie B where he played 40 games and scored 10 goals, apart from playing a pivotal role in the midfield.
In 2006-07, he moved to Seria A side Napoli, signing a five-year deal for a transfer fee of 5.5 million euros and had an immediate impact. The first match he played was for the Italian Cup and Napoli won 4-0.
Hamsik made one goal and scored one himself. The next season, Hamsik soon established himself as Napoli’s key man, when he scored nine goals and topped the club goal scorers list.
He went on to become top scorer for his club in the following season. Till date, he has scored 30 goals in 106 games for Napoli, which is an excellent record for a midfielder. He is a favourite among fans of Napoli.
International Career
Hamsik had already represented Slovakia at junior levels, at the UEFA Under-17 and Under-19 European Championships qualifiers. Marieko, as he is called, was immediately noticed when he started playing for Naples.
The then Slovak coach Jan Kocian called him up for national duty. Hamsik earned his first cap in February 2007 in a friendly against Poland. He soon became a regular for Slovakia and scored his first international goal a few months on, in a game against San Marino.
Strengths
He generally plays as a left or cenral attacking midfielder. He is an excellent distributor of the ball and can create goal scoring moves. He is a good decision maker and can is also good at long-range shots.
Apart from his attacking prowess, he is also good at tracking back and holds the reins for Slovakia’s playmaking. All of twenty two, he is already the captain of the national team.
Though there are more experienced players than him in the team, he was chosen by coach Vladimir Weiss because of his balanced approach to the game and his consistent performances.
He considers Pavel Nedved as his idol. He won the Slovak Young Player of the Year during his Brescia days, and was runner-up—behind Martin Skrtel, who plays for Liverpool—and repeated his win of the Slovak Young Player of the Year.
Hamsik’s strong performances and confidence, all at such a young age, is what has caught the eyes of many agents across Europe. He is said to be in the reckoning for a move to England, with clubs like Chelsea and Manchester City wanting to procure his signature. After his performance this FIFA World Cup, one can surely expect some news at the end of the tournament.
Slovakia take on the Dutch in the pre-quarters of FIFA World Cup and Hamsik has admitted that it will surely be a mammoth task. It doesn’t make matters easy for him that he plays in Napoli and played a part in Italy’s exit from the World Cup.
Remember Ahn-Jung Wahn? He scored the winning goal against Italy in the 2002 World Cup and was immediately fired the next day by his club AC Perugia. Hamsik has cast doubts over his future at Napoli, but he has the Oranje to deal with as of now.