Rui Marques
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Manuel Rui Marques | ||
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Leeds United | ||
| Number | 5 | ||
| ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 12:00, 21 June 2006 (UTC) | |||
Manuel Rui Marques (born 3 September 1977, also known as Rui Manuel Marques) is an Angolan footballer player from Luanda, Angola but he moved to Portugal as a child. He is currently playing for Leeds United. He plays as a defender.
Marques began professionly in Germany's SSV Ulm 1846 in the 1999-2000 season but then moved to Hertha BSC in Berlin, Germany's capital and one of their top clubs.
Marques then moved to VfB Stuttgart where he played four seasons at the German club. In the 2004-05 season he moved to CS Marítimo of Madeira, Portugal. After struggling to break into the first team, Marques was subsequently released by Marítimo after just one season and in the 2005-06 season Marques moved to Leeds United in England on a Bosman transfer[1]. Marques made one appearance for Leeds in the 2005-06 season in the Carling Cup against Oldham, in which he was clearly very nervous and uncomfortable playing at right-back, Marques did not feature again for Leeds that season and at the end of 2005-06 he went to Hull City on a short-term loan[2], which was cut short due to injury.
The 2006-07 campaign again saw Marques over-looked by manager Kevin Blackwell, and again by the new Leeds manager Dennis Wise, who made it clear Marques would not feature under his leadership and was told he was free to leave the club[3], along with a number of other squad and fringe players. However, Marques has never once complained about his isolation from the first team and has worked hard to try and prove himself, being included in a number of different match-day squad listings and on a couple of occasions making the substitutes bench.
Marques' hard-work and persistence was rewarded when he was called up to the first team squad for Leeds United's 2-1 victory against Coventry City on 1 January 2007, where he turned in a very solid performance at centre back. This performance saw Marques being rewarded with a long run in the starting lineup at Elland Road. Marques stated that he would prefer to concentrate on Leeds' relegation battle than signing a new deal. He was an instant hit with the fans, who dubbed him a "Sex machine".[4]. However, Leeds were relegated to League One, but Marques showed his commitment to the club and signed a new deal on the 7th August 2007. Marques is now a regular in the first team and scored his first goal for the Elland Road outfit on 18 August 2007 in the 4-1 drubbing of Southend United in the dying minutes of the match. Marques scored his second goal for Leeds in the 3-0 victory over Northampton on 5th January 2008 and he will now link up with Angola in the African Cup Of Nations
References
- ^ James Pearson (2007-07-29). "Leeds land Marques". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2007-06-22.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ James Pearson (2007-03-23). "Tigers land Leeds stopper". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2007-06-22.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Phil Hay (2007-11-23). "Wise considers transfer option". Yorkshire Evening Post. Retrieved 2007-06-22.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ James Pearson (2007-04-17). "Marques putting Leeds first". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2007-06-22.
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External links
Rui Marques at Soccerbase
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