Marco Grujic is a young and promising midfielder from Serbia, who has already managed to become a world champion with his youth national team (under 20 years old). It shows good results, and therefore attracts the attention of famous clubs.
How did his career begin? Where is he playing now? This and another will now be discussed.
early years
Marco Gruich was born in Belgrade on April 13, 1996. He began to get involved in football early, learned the basics and improved his skills at the academy at FC Crvena Zvezda.
In 2013, he entered into his first professional contract with this club. Until 2016, he defended the colors of the Red Star, played 31 matches in the national championship and scored 5 goals.
And his debut took place on May 26, 2013. Other clubs quickly became interested in him, and in 2014 he began to play for the Serbian club Kolubara. But at the same time he also played for Red Star - it was a double contract. He played 5 matches for Kolubara and scored 2 goals.
In 2015, the Italian club Roma became interested in him, then there were Hamburg, Benfica and Sampdoria. But the leadership of the Red Star rejected these invitations. As a result, Marco Gruich, whose photo is presented in the article, extended the contract with the Serbian club until 2018.
Troubled transition to Liverpool
In December 23, 2015, footballer Marko Gruich left the Red Star. No one broke the contract - they simply leased it to Liverpool for 5.1 million pounds. It just turned out, everything is not so simple.
On the same day, Marco's father - Goran Gruich - announced that he would not let his son go to England, and took his passport. He said:
I will not allow the leadership of Crvena to destroy my son. They were left without money and decided to find a way out by selling Marco. They call him 10 times a day, persuade him to sign a contract, put pressure on him even in the locker room. Some players are sure that the payment of debts to them depends on the transition of Marco. We negotiated with people from Anderlecht and Udinese, and then Liverpool appeared.
Where did Father Marco Gruich get such hostility towards the Premier League? The man explained everything. He said:
Marco became the world champion, striving to win the championship with the Red Star. Our players in England do not survive, an example of this are Lyayich, Toshich, Markovich. No one gets the opportunity to prove themselves. And Ivanovich and Vidich are another story, because they came there by experienced footballers.
Then Goran said that he had taken his passport from his son, and therefore he would not go anywhere. And he noted that he knows that Marco can play in the Premier League, but this league is not for him.
Relocation to England
But still, Marco Gruich became a player in Liverpool. The club management had to make some efforts to agree with his father. Goran was personally called by the team's coach, Jürgen Klopp. And then Zeljko Buvac, his assistant, flew to Belgrade to talk with the player’s family.
In the end, everything worked out. Marco Gruich was happy about this, because he is a fan of English football and he wanted to try himself one day in the Premier League.
After a conversation with Klopp, who said he saw him on the field somewhere between the tenth and sixth number (box-to-box), the young man’s desire only intensified. And in early January, he became a player in Liverpool.
Another rental
Continuing to consider the career and biography of Marco Gruic, I must say that he played 8 matches in the Premier League. He spent the rest of the 2016/2017 season being rented by the Red Star. And then he went to Cardiff City. Going there, the young man hoped to get regular playing practice.
He said his career at Cardiff City was a turning point for him. He thanked Jurgen Klopp for this, who had been encouraging him for many months. In Cardiff, the young Serb eventually spent 13 matches for the national league, scoring one goal.
Then there were rumors that the transition of Marco Gruich to CSKA is likely. The Moscow club was really interested in the Serb, but he chose Hertha. And so, from the beginning of the 2018/19 season, the young man moved to Germany. So far in the Bundesliga he has played only one match.
Last news
Unfortunately, most recently, Marco Gruich received his first serious injury. In his first and so far only match for Hertha, which was held against the Mönchengladbach Borussia, he received an ankle ligament tear. At the 72nd minute of the game, the young man left the field. Hertha, by the way, won with a score of 4: 2.
Recovery from this kind of damage can last for months. But Gruich will be treated at Hertha. The club’s general manager, Michael Prez, said that Marco had become an extremely important figure for them in such a short time span.
But because the whole club is incredibly saddened by what happened. Now they will look after him, help him recover and wait for his return to the field.
Play style
Marco Gruich is a rather tall footballer (192 cm). Despite this, he is quite fast, and he also has a great long-range strike. Marco feels confident with the ball, gives accurate passes. He may well play not only in the center of midfield, but also close to the line of attack.
Many coaches say he should be more likely to attack. Marco is able to become a great winger! It is difficult to name a young man a leader, but he is not lost in important matches.
Interestingly, it is sometimes called a copy of Matic. After all, he plays either a defensive midfielder or a central one. It was because of this position on the field, and also because of its growth that they began to compare it with Nemanja Matic.
But he, indeed, is an example for Marco - he himself said so. Gruich monitors his games, how he acts on the field.
By the way, after Gruich moved to Liverpool, they began to compare him with Stephen Gerrard. However, the Serb has not yet chosen a favorite position for himself.
What will happen next?
It must be recalled that Marco is still a contracted Liverpool player. The young man himself once said that he wanted to play at the highest level in the Premier League.
His dream is to enter the field of the famous Anfield, to feel the support of the most passionate European fans, to feel the atmosphere of other stadiums. He says that under pressure demonstrates his best game.
Marco also intended to improve his physical fitness and improve technique in defensive actions in order to achieve the best success in his career. Now it remains to wish the young man the fulfillment of his plans, as well as a speedy recovery and easy recovery after the injury.