 Marek Hamšík of Napoli |
"When Marek plays in the Champions League he'll be on his way to winning the Ballon d'Or. For me he's the new Steven Gerrard, a champion of international stature"
Gianluca Nani, West Ham sporting director
"Hamšík is one of our jewels"
Pierpaolo Marino, Napoli sporting director
"Hamšík is skilful and very cheeky on the pitch, he’s a real talent"
Walter Novellino, Torino coach
Given the young age, capability and strong personality, Marek Hamšík is considered one of the hottest properties in European football.
Plays like an experienced veteran, the attacking midfielder is a creative player who always plays with his head up and never does spectacular tricks.
He plays the ball very efficiently and he seems to move through opposition effortlessly. His abilities include his sublime ball control and brilliant movement but while he's not super quick he can accelerate suddenly and effectively in short bursts.
He's got a stunning shot which he usually strikes sweetly with immense power, but his biggest strength lies in his decision making, positioning and overview of the field as his overall completed passes statistics is over 90%.
The Banská Bystrica-born star started playing for a small youth team called Jupie Podlavice in his hometown before signed with a major Slovak team Slovan Bratislava in 2002. He learned his craft in the youth ranks at Slovan and played for the A-team in one match, in which he scored a goal.
His talent were immediately noticed by Italian club Brescia, which in the summer of 2004, offered him a five-year professional contract and paid the Slovak side €500,000 in compensation.
Aged just 17 and 237 days, Hamšík made his professional and Serie A debut with Brescia in a 3-1 defeat against Chievo Verona on March 2005, becoming the third Slovakian to play in the Italian top flight after Ancona's Miloš Glonek and Vratislav Greško of Parma.
That marked his only taste of life in the big stage that time as Brescia were later relegated, but his progress has continued quickly in Serie B.
In 2005/06 season, Hamšík was an ever-present at the heart of Rondinelle midfield as the club finished 10th in Serie B, resurrecting his side after the retirement of Roberto Baggio. In the next season, he was able to score 10 goals in 40 appearances with Brescia.
And there was an interesting story attached to his name as he was scored a 56 consecutive penalties in a training session, without any of the three Brescia goalkeeper has been able to deny one of his spot-kicks!
Hamšík has represented Slovakia since the junior categories. He played for the Slovak U-17, U-19 and U-21 national team before handed his senior debut in a 2-2 friendly draw against Poland on February 2007.
On June 2007, newly-promoted Serie A club Napoli bought Hamšík from Brescia for €5.5 million with a contract until 2012.
Hamšík played his first competitive match for Napoli against Cesena in the first round of Coppa Italia, which they won 4-0 with Hamšík providing the opening goal and scoring the second goal himself.
He then scored his first Serie A goal in the match against Sampdoria on September 2007. The youngster ended his first season with Napoli as the club's top scorer, with nine goals from 37 games.
Hamšík, who is dreaming of emulating his hero Pavel Nedvěd, was named the 2007 Young Slovak Footballer of the Year while he was also voted second for the Slovak Footballer of the Year - behind Martin Škrtel.
A stunning season with Napoli has seen Hamšík become one of the highly regarded youngsters in Europe with many clubs chasing his signature, including Chelsea, Juventus and Liverpool.
Chelsea scouts are said to be hugely impressed by what they have seen of the Slovakian star, and have told Roman Abramovich to get his chequebook out.
Hamšík, though, is said to be on the verge of signing a new contract with the Partenopei, and has stated that he sees his long-term future at Stadio San Paolo.
Full name: Marek Hamšík
Date of birth: July 27, 1987
Birthplace: Banská Bystrica, Slovakia
Nationality: Slovakian
Height: 1.83 m
Weight: 73 kg
Club: Napoli
Position: Attacking midfielder
Number: 17
Related entries:
Technorati tags: Slovakia Napoli Marek Hamsík
Plays like an experienced veteran, the attacking midfielder is a creative player who always plays with his head up and never does spectacular tricks.
He's got a stunning shot which he usually strikes sweetly with immense power, but his biggest strength lies in his decision making, positioning and overview of the field as his overall completed passes statistics is over 90%.
The Banská Bystrica-born star started playing for a small youth team called Jupie Podlavice in his hometown before signed with a major Slovak team Slovan Bratislava in 2002. He learned his craft in the youth ranks at Slovan and played for the A-team in one match, in which he scored a goal.
His talent were immediately noticed by Italian club Brescia, which in the summer of 2004, offered him a five-year professional contract and paid the Slovak side €500,000 in compensation.
Aged just 17 and 237 days, Hamšík made his professional and Serie A debut with Brescia in a 3-1 defeat against Chievo Verona on March 2005, becoming the third Slovakian to play in the Italian top flight after Ancona's Miloš Glonek and Vratislav Greško of Parma.
In 2005/06 season, Hamšík was an ever-present at the heart of Rondinelle midfield as the club finished 10th in Serie B, resurrecting his side after the retirement of Roberto Baggio. In the next season, he was able to score 10 goals in 40 appearances with Brescia.
And there was an interesting story attached to his name as he was scored a 56 consecutive penalties in a training session, without any of the three Brescia goalkeeper has been able to deny one of his spot-kicks!
Hamšík has represented Slovakia since the junior categories. He played for the Slovak U-17, U-19 and U-21 national team before handed his senior debut in a 2-2 friendly draw against Poland on February 2007.
On June 2007, newly-promoted Serie A club Napoli bought Hamšík from Brescia for €5.5 million with a contract until 2012.
He then scored his first Serie A goal in the match against Sampdoria on September 2007. The youngster ended his first season with Napoli as the club's top scorer, with nine goals from 37 games.
Hamšík, who is dreaming of emulating his hero Pavel Nedvěd, was named the 2007 Young Slovak Footballer of the Year while he was also voted second for the Slovak Footballer of the Year - behind Martin Škrtel.
A stunning season with Napoli has seen Hamšík become one of the highly regarded youngsters in Europe with many clubs chasing his signature, including Chelsea, Juventus and Liverpool.
Chelsea scouts are said to be hugely impressed by what they have seen of the Slovakian star, and have told Roman Abramovich to get his chequebook out.
Hamšík, though, is said to be on the verge of signing a new contract with the Partenopei, and has stated that he sees his long-term future at Stadio San Paolo.
Full name: Marek Hamšík
Date of birth: July 27, 1987
Birthplace: Banská Bystrica, Slovakia
Nationality: Slovakian
Height: 1.83 m
Weight: 73 kg
Club: Napoli
Position: Attacking midfielder
Number: 17
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Technorati tags: Slovakia Napoli Marek Hamsík
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