Marc Crosas

Marc Crosas

Crosas with Volga in 2011
Personal information
Full name	Marc Crosas Luque
Date of birth	9 January 1988 (1988-01-09)
Place of birth	Sant Feliu de Guíxols, Spain
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Santos Laguna
Number	6
Youth career
2002–2006	Barcelona
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2006–2008	Barcelona B	34	(0)
2008	Barcelona	0	(0)
2008	→ Lyon (loan)	8	(0)
2008–2011	Celtic	36	(1)
2011–2012	Volga	26	(0)
2012–	Santos Laguna	2	(0)
National team
2004–2005	Spain U17	4	(1)
2006–2007	Spain U19	4	(0)
2009	Spain U21	1	(0)
2007–	Catalonia	2	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 10 January 2012. † Appearances (Goals).

This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is Crosas and the second or maternal family name is Luque.

Marc Crosas Luque (born 9 January 1988) is a Spanish footballer who currently plays as a central midfielder for Club Santos Laguna in Primera División de México.

Career

Early life

Born in Sant Feliu de Guíxols, Girona, Catalonia, Spain, Crosas came through the ranks at La Liga club FC Barcelona and signed a five-year contract in 2006.

Barcelona

On 7 November 2007, Crosas made his first-team debut in a Copa del Rey tie against CF Badalona, coming on as a substitute for Andrés Iniesta in the 76th minute. Crosas was named in the Barcelona squad which competed in the 2006 Club World Cup in December, in Japan where the club finished runners-up. On 12 December 2007, he played in his first Champions League match against Stuttgart at Camp Nou.

Crosas scored the winning penalty in the final of the 2007 Copa Catalunya in which Barcelona beat RCD Espanyol 5–4 on penalties after a 1–1 draw.

Lyon

On 11 January 2008, Barcelona and Ligue 1 club Lyon reached an agreement in which Crosas would play on loan for the French champions until the end of the season, because of the number of players competing for his central midfield position. However, he had not given up hope of playing for the Blaugrana, saying, "I leave with the intention to return. That is my objective." Crosas trained closely with Juninho Pernambucano in order to improve his development at Lyon.

Crosas made his Ligue 1 debut for Lyon on 20 January 2008 in a match against Lens, starting in place of Juninho, who was out with a dislocated toe. Unfortunately for him, Lyon suffered a disappointing defeat, losing 0–3.

When his loan was coming to an end, Jean-Michel Aulas told L'Équipe "It's possible that the player will stay with us. He had a good half season at the club and people like him. We were satisfied by his performances and when we've taken a decision on the new coach, we'll see if he can continue with us."

Celtic

In August 2008, Crosas joined Celtic for a fee of £415,000 rising to £1.6 million depending on appearances, and signed a four-year contract. Barcelona retained a £1.65 million buy-back option which took effect at the end of season 2009/10. He was paraded at Celtic Park before the match with St Mirren. He made his debut for the first team as a subtitute for Scott Brown against Falkirk at Celtic Park on 23 August 2008 and his first on 13 September against Motherwell at Fir Park. On 4 October, he was awarded man of the match for his performance against Hamilton Academical after completing his first full 90 minutes for Celtic. On 28 January 2009, Crosas scored in the penalty shootout of the Scottish League Cup semi-final against Dundee United. Celtic won the shootout 11-10. On 28 February, Crosas scored his first Celtic goal in a 7-0 home win against St Mirren; a powerful curving shot from 30 yards, which was later voted Celtic's Goal of the Season. He was also voted Celtic's Young Player of the Season in his first season with the club.

In the 2009–10 season, Crosas was not initially a regular starter in midfield as Massimo Donati and loan signing Landry N'Guémo were first picks. After Donati's transfer to Bari, Crosas got a chance to shine and forged a successful partnership with N'Guemo, becoming a staple of the Celtic starting eleven.

At the start of the 2010–11 season, Crosas fell out of favour under new Celtic manager Neil Lennon, but on 22 September he came off the bench to replace Joe Ledley in a 6-0 League Cup win over Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Despite his first team limited at Celtic, Crosas remained a popular figure among the Celtic support.

Volga

Crosas was transferred by Celtic to Russian Premier League side FC Volga in February 2011 for £300,000, signing a contract until December 2014. Crosas also joined Volga to kickstart his career with regular first-team football. Crosas made his debut in Volga shirt in a 2-0 victory over Tom Tomsk. Crosas went on to make 26 appearance and made 5 assist. Crosas also spend 11 months in Russia.

Santos Laguna

After having trouble adapting to life in Russia with FC Volga, Crosas signed a three-year deal with Mexican side Santos Laguna. Following his move to Mexico, Crosas revealed that his Celtic team-mate Efrain Juarez played a part in his surprise move to Mexico. Crosas was introduced to the supporters of Santos Laguna before the match between Santos Laguna and Jaguares which Santos Laguna won 1-0.

International career

Between 2004 and 2005, Crosas was capped eight times by the Spanish under-17 team. He was included in the Spain under-19 team in 2007, but pulled out through injury.

He also represents the Catalonia team from the region of Catalonia in Spain. The team, which is organised by the Catalonia Football Federation, is not affiliated to FIFA or UEFA, but regularly plays friendly matches against other nations.

He made his debut coming on in the 73rd minute to replace Sergio García during a 1–1 draw against the Basque Country and his second appearance against Colombia.

Personal life

Crosas was born and had always lived in Sant Feliu de Guíxols, until moving on loan to Lyon in 2008. His best friend is former FC Barcelona team-mate Bojan Krkić. He has a boot sponsorship deal with Nike. He is the younger cousin of Albert Jorquera.

Career statistics

As of 10 January 2012

Season	Club	Nat	Apps	Goals	Assists
2008–09	Celtic		22	1	2
2009–10	Celtic		26	0	4
2010–11	Celtic		3	0	1
2011	FC Volga Nizhny Novgorod		28	0	5
2012–	Club Santos Laguna		2	0	0
Total			81	1	12

Honours

Club

Lyon

• Ligue 1 (1): 2007-08
• Coupe de France (1): 2007-08

Celtic

• Scottish League Cup (1): 2008-09

Individual

• Clydesdale Bank Goal of the Season: 2008-09, vs St. Mirren

External links

• Marc Crosas French league stats at LFP.fr (French)
• Marc Crosas Blog
• Marc Crosas career stats Soccerbase