Marko Marin (Serbian Cyrillic: Марко Марин, born 13 March 1989) is a German former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder and left winger. He was known for his acceleration, dribbling, agility, creativity, versatility, technical skill and playmaking ability.[4]

Marko Marin
Marin playing for Sevilla in 2013
Personal information
Full name Marko Marin[1]
Date of birth (1989-03-13) 13 March 1989 (age 35)[2]
Place of birth Bosanska Gradiška,
SR Bosnia and Herzegovina,
SFR Yugoslavia
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)[3]
Position(s) Attacking midfielder, winger
Youth career
0000–1996 SG 01 Hoechst
1996–2005 Eintracht Frankfurt
2005–2006 Borussia Mönchengladbach
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2007 Borussia Mönchengladbach II 16 (3)
2007–2009 Borussia Mönchengladbach 68 (8)
2009–2012 Werder Bremen 87 (8)
2012–2016 Chelsea 6 (1)
2013–2014Sevilla (loan) 18 (0)
2014–2015Fiorentina (loan) 0 (0)
2015Anderlecht (loan) 6 (0)
2015–2016Trabzonspor (loan) 24 (2)
2016–2018 Olympiacos 37 (11)
2018–2020 Red Star Belgrade 34 (9)
2020–2021 Al-Ahli 18 (1)
2021Al-Raed (loan) 10 (0)
2021–2022 Ferencváros 17 (2)
Total 341 (45)
International career
2004–2005 Germany U16 9 (0)
2005–2006 Germany U17 16 (5)
2006–2007 Germany U18 4 (2)
2007–2009 Germany U21 12 (1)
2008–2010 Germany 16 (1)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Germany
FIFA World Cup
Third place 2010 South Africa Team
UEFA European Under-21 Championship
Winner 2009 Sweden Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Marin previously played for Bundesliga clubs Borussia Mönchengladbach and Werder Bremen, before signing for Chelsea in 2012. He spent most of his time out on loan at four clubs in four countries before leaving for Olympiacos in 2016, then Red Star Belgrade in 2018.

A full German international from 2008 to 2010, he won 16 caps and represented the country at the 2010 World Cup, where they came third.

Early life

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Marin was born in Bosanska Gradiška, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia (modern-day Gradiška, Bosnia and Herzegovina) to Bosnian Serb parents, mother Borka Marin and father Ranko Marin.[5] Marin was only two years old when the family moved to Germany in 1991 due to his mother's job.[6] Growing up in Frankfurt, Marin began playing football with local clubs.

Club career

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Early career

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Marin began his footballing career as a youth player, first with SG 01 Hoechst and then with Eintracht Frankfurt.

Borussia Mönchengladbach

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Marin with Borussia Mönchengladbach in 2007

In 2005, Marin moved to the Borussia Mönchengladbach youth academy. After a year at Mönchengladbach's academy, he was promoted to the reserve team; he was offered a three-year contract which he signed and later went on to make his professional début with the club on 31 March 2007 against Eintracht Frankfurt. On 9 August 2008, Marin scored a hat-trick within the first 16 minutes of Mönchengladbach's 8–1 thrashing of seventh division club VfB Fichte Bielefeld in the first round of the DFB-Pokal.[7]

Werder Bremen

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Marin with Werder Bremen in 2009.

On 24 June 2009, Marin was sold for €8.2 million from Borussia Mönchengladbach to Werder Bremen.[8] He was a part of Bremen's attack comprising Aaron Hunt and Mesut Özil, which lit up the Weserstadion. In the 2010–11 season, he showed his quality, scoring four league goals and providing 11 assists.

Following the departure of Özil to Real Madrid in August 2010, however, Marin's form dropped noticeably, as he notched only one goal and five assists during Bremen's 2011–12 Bundesliga campaign.[9][10] Marin did show his skill in Bremen's eight goal game against SC Freiburg on 20 August 2011.[11] He provided assists for Claudio Pizarro, Marko Arnautović and Wesley as Bremen secured a 5–3 win.[12]

Marin's only goal of the Bundesliga campaign came on 18 February 2012, when he opened the scoring in the ninth minute of a 3–1 derby victory over Hamburger SV at the Imtech Arena.[13] In Marin's final game for Bremen, he provided the telling ball for Markus Rosenberg's goal, but this was not enough as his side succumbed to a 4–1 away defeat to VfB Stuttgart on 13 April.[14] Marin ended his time with the Bremen club after scoring eight goals in 87 Bundesliga appearances.[15]

Chelsea

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On 28 April 2012, Marin agreed a deal with English Premier League club Chelsea.[16] He signed a five-year deal with Chelsea, keeping him at the club until 2017.[17] Marko Marin was given the number 21 shirt, previously worn by Salomon Kalou, who left Chelsea for Lille OSC.[18]

2012–13 season

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On 18 July, Marin made his début for Chelsea in a pre-season friendly against Major League Soccer side Seattle Sounders FC, scoring Chelsea's third goal in a 4–2 win. Marin missed the Community Shield with a hamstring injury.[19]

Marin made his competitive debut for Chelsea in a League Cup match against Wolverhampton Wanderers on 25 September, coming on as a substitute as Chelsea cruised to a 6–0 victory.[20] He made his Premier League debut on 28 November, replacing Eden Hazard in the 82nd minute of a 0–0 draw in the West London derby at home to Fulham.[21] On 2 January 2013, Marin made his first start for Chelsea in a 0–1 loss to local rivals Queens Park Rangers.[22] On 9 February 2013, Marin scored his first Premier League goal for Chelsea, coming on in the 91st minute and scoring on his first touch with a header in the 92nd minute; as a substitute in a 4–1 home victory over Wigan Athletic.[23]

Loan to Sevilla

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On 28 June 2013, Chelsea confirmed that they had reached an agreement for the season-long loan of Marin to Sevilla, subject to the completion of legal documentation and a medical.[24] Marin scored his first goal for Sevilla in a 3–1 friendly win over Manchester United during Rio Ferdinand's testimonial. He netted two goals in Sevilla's first-leg Europa League play-off tie against Śląsk Wrocław, a 4–1 home win on 22 August.[25] Marin started on the bench in the Europa final, coming on late in the second half, and then substituted in extra-time as Sevilla beat Benfica 4–2 in penalties.[26] With this win, Marin won the Europa League in back to back seasons, winning it the year before with his home-club Chelsea.

Loan to Fiorentina

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On 18 August 2014, Fiorentina confirmed that they had reached an agreement for the season-long loan of Marin from Chelsea with an option to buy.[27] On 23 October, Marin made his début for Fiorentina in a Europa League match against PAOK.[28] Marin scored his first goal for the Italian side on 27 November 2014, in a Europa League match against Guingamp. In the sixth minute, Marin was able to pick up Aquilani's pass and clipped home the opening goal, as Fiorentina edges out the French side in a 2–1 win.[29] On 11 December 2014, Marin scored in a 2–1 loss against Dinamo Minsk.[30]

Although Marin was on the bench 12 times, he failed to make a single appearance in the league before ending his loan early in January.[2]

Loan to Anderlecht

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On 20 January 2015, after an unsuccessful loan spell at Fiorentina, Marin joined Anderlecht for the remainder of the season, with an option to buy at the end of the campaign.[31] Five days after moving to Belgium, Marin made his debut coming off the bench, replacing Maxime Colin in the 75th minute in a 2–0 loss to Standard Liège.[32] Marin was in the starting line-up of the Belgian Cup Final, although he was substituted in the second-half after suffering a hamstring injury as Anderlecht lost 2–1, with Lior Refaelov scoring a late volley.[33]

Anderlecht decided to pass on the option to buy Marin at the end of the season after he suffered a hamstring injury during the Belgium Cup final which ruled him out for several weeks.[34]

Loan to Trabzonspor

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On 25 August 2015, Marin joined Trabzonspor on a season-long loan, with an option to buy.[35] On 30 August, Marin made his début for Trabzonspor in a 2–2 draw against Akhisar Belediyespor coming on as a second-half substitute.[36] On 26 September 2015, Marin scored his first goal with the Turkish side in a 3–1 loss against Osmanlıspor.[37] On 15 February 2016, Marin scored in a 2–1 win over Kayserispor.[38]

In an interview with kicker, Marin showed his appreciation towards Chelsea for taking care of him since his move to London and also expressed no regrets with his move to Chelsea even though he acknowledge that his future is most likely going to be elsewhere.[39]

Olympiacos

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On 23 August 2016, Marin joined Greek side Olympiacos on a three-year deal.[40] On 11 September 2016, Marin made his debut in a 6–1 victory against Veria.[41] After being sidelined for about two months due to manager Paulo Bento not featuring him in his first-team plans, he returned to action on 5 January 2017, netting the winning goal in a 2–1 home comeback win over Asteras Tripolis.[42]

On 17 December 2017, thanks to an impressive long-range effort by the German attacking midfielder, Olympiacos won 1–0 against PAS Giannina. It was the sixth consecutive victory for team of experienced manager Takis Lemonis and the Reds climbed at first Super League position, with 32 points after 15 matches, one more than rivals AEK and PAOK.[43] On 7 January 2018, he opened the score in a 3–0 away win game against AEL, helping his club to achieve the 7th successive win in his rally to gain the eighth consecutive title.[44]

Red Star Belgrade

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After Red Star Belgrade qualified for the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League group stage (their first ever appearance in its current format), Marin signed a three-year contract with the club for an estimated transfer fee in the range of €700,000 and was registered in the last hour of the summer transfer window in Serbia.[45] Marin scored a goal on his debut with Red Star on 15 September 2018, in a 6–0 home victory against Radnik Surdulica.[46] Marin became the club's first ever goal scorer in the Champions League after giving Red Star a consolation goal in the 6–1 loss against PSG On 18 October 2018. Almost three weeks later, on 6 November 2018 to be exact, Marin was once again involved in Red Star's first ever Champions League campaign, this time by assisting Milan Pavkov's first goal in their historic 2–0 win against Liverpool. On 13 March 2019, Marin agreed to extend his contract with Red Star to the summer of 2021.[47] Marin was voted MVP in the 2018–19 season and was also therefore included in the team of the season.[48] Before the start of the 2019–20 season, Red Star's general director Zvezdan Terzić confirmed that Marin would become the new club captain.

Al-Ahli

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On 5 January 2020, Marin signed for the Saudi Arabian club, Al-Ahli a €6 million contract until the summer of 2022, for an estimated transfer fee in the range of €2.5 million.[49]

Ferencváros

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In September 2021, Marin transferred to Ferencváros.[50] The Hungarian league became his ninth top-flight league (in the Serie A he didn't feature when on loan at Fiorentina) in his career which ended in 2022.[51]

International career

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In 2010, Marin stated that he never received a call from Bosnia and Herzegovina or Serbia, so he decided to play for Germany.[6][52]

In 2007, Marin also received a call up to his under-21 national squad and has since played on nine occasions. On 16 May 2008, it was announced that Marin would be included in senior squad coach Joachim Löw's provisional 26-man squad for UEFA Euro 2008. He did not, however, make the final 23.[53] He made his debut on 27 May 2008 in a 2–2 draw against Belarus. Marin entered the game as a half-time substitution for Bastian Schweinsteiger. He was eventually cut from the final squad on 28 May 2008.

In the same year, on 20 August, he made his second appearance for Germany and scored his first goal in a friendly match against Belgium. Marin is a German under-21 international football player, also picked for the European team in the Meridian Cup.[54][55]

Marin was included in Germany's provisional squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa announced in May 2010, and following a string of impressive performances in warm-up games (most of which he played as a substitute),[citation needed] was named in the final 23-man squad. He would go on to play twice at the World Cup in South Africa, both as a substitute in Germany's 4–0 win over Australia and in the subsequent 1–0 loss to Serbia. After disappointing performances, however, notably in the game against his native Serbia,[citation needed] Marin was not selected for any more games, as Germany finished third in the tournament. His final caps came late in this World Cup year 2010.[56]

Career statistics

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Club

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Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[57][58][59]
Club Season League National cup League cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Borussia Mönchengladbach II 2006–07 Regionalliga Nord 16 3 16 3
Borussia Mönchengladbach 2006–07 Bundesliga 4 0 0 0 4 0
2007–08 2. Bundesliga 31 4 2 3 33 7
2008–09 Bundesliga 33 4 2 1 35 5
Total 68 8 4 4 72 12
Werder Bremen 2009–10 Bundesliga 32 4 6 1 12[a] 2 50 7
2010–11 Bundesliga 34 3 2 1 8[b] 1 44 5
2011–12 Bundesliga 21 1 1 0 22 1
Total 87 8 9 2 20 3 116 13
Chelsea 2012–13 Premier League 6 1 3 0 3 0 3[a] 0 1[c] 0 16 1
Sevilla (loan) 2013–14 La Liga 18 0 0 0 12[a] 2 30 2
Fiorentina (loan) 2014–15 Serie A 0 0 0 0 4[a] 2 4 2
Anderlecht (loan) 2014–15 Belgian Pro League 6 0 2 0 8 0
Trabzonspor (loan) 2015–16 Süper Lig 24 2 5 0 29 2
Olympiacos 2016–17 Super League Greece 14 4 5 0 4[a] 0 23 4
2017–18 Super League Greece 23 7 6 0 7[b] 1 36 8
Total 37 11 11 0 11 1 59 12
Red Star Belgrade 2018–19 Serbian SuperLiga 22 6 4 0 5[b] 1 31 7
2019–20 Serbian SuperLiga 12 3 1 0 14[b] 1 27 4
Total 34 9 5 0 19 2 58 11
Al-Ahli Saudi FC 2019–20 Saudi Pro League 9 0 2 1 6[d] 1 17 2
2020–21 Saudi Pro League 8 1 1 0 9 1
Total 17 2 3 1 6 1 26 3
Career total 313 43 42 7 3 0 75 11 1 0 434 61
  1. ^ a b c d e Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  2. ^ a b c d Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  3. ^ Appearances in FIFA Club World Cup
  4. ^ Appearances in AFC Champions League

International

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Scores and results list Germany's goal tally first, score column indicates score after Marin goal.
International goal scored by Marko Marin
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 20 August 2008 Frankenstadion, Nuremberg, Germany   Belgium 2–0 2–0 Friendly

Honours

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Borussia Mönchengladbach

Chelsea

Sevilla

Olympiacos

Red Star Belgrade

Ferencváros

Germany U21

Germany

Individual

References

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  1. ^ "FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2012 presented by TOYOTA – List of Players" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 December 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "M. Marin". Soccerway. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  3. ^ "Player Profile: Marko Marin". Premier League. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
  4. ^ "Joachim Low considering Marko Marin". Goal. 27 February 2012. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
  5. ^ "Introducing… Marko Marin". Goal. 22 August 2008. Retrieved 9 May 2010.
  6. ^ a b "Marin: Nikada me nisu zvali da igram za BiH" [Marin: They never called me to play for BiH] (in Serbo-Croatian). ljiljan.ba. 4 June 2010. Archived from the original on 9 June 2010. Retrieved 11 June 2010.
  7. ^ "VfB Fichte B 1 – 8 M'gladbach". ESPN Soccernet. 9 August 2008. Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  8. ^ "Marko Marin". Goal. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
  9. ^ "Marin to know". ST. 28 April 2012. Archived from the original on 22 May 2014. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
  10. ^ "Marko Marin". ESPN Soccernet. Archived from the original on 21 July 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
  11. ^ "Werder Bremen 5–3 SC Freiburg". ESPN Soccernet. 20 August 2011. Archived from the original on 16 July 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
  12. ^ "Bremen win eight-goal thriller, Dortmund back to winning ways". bundesliga.de. 20 August 2011. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
  13. ^ "Hamburg SV 1–3 Werder Bremen". ESPN Soccernet. 18 February 2012. Archived from the original on 15 July 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
  14. ^ "Stuttgart thrash sorry Bremen". ESPN Soccernet. 13 April 2012. Archived from the original on 19 July 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
  15. ^ Scott, Matt (29 April 2012). "Marin reveals he snubbed Tottenham in order to secure 'dream' Chelsea move". Goal. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
  16. ^ "Marko Marin to join Chelsea from Werder Bremen". BBC Sport. 28 April 2012. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
  17. ^ Holden, Kit (1 May 2012). "Marko Marin is a ridiculous signing by Chelsea". The Independent. Archived from the original on 14 June 2012. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
  18. ^ "New squad numbers announced". Chelsea F.C. Official Website. 12 July 2012. Archived from the original on 14 July 2012.
  19. ^ "Community minded: Barry, Richards and Marin all ruled out of Sunday showpiece". Mirror. 10 August 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  20. ^ "Ruthless Blues hammer Wolves". ESPNFC. 25 September 2012.
  21. ^ "Chelsea 0–0 Fulham". BBC Sport. 28 November 2012. Retrieved 29 November 2012.
  22. ^ "Chelsea 0-1 QPR". BBC Sport. 2 January 2013. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  23. ^ "Chelsea 4–1 Wigan". 9 February 2012.
  24. ^ "MARIN LOAN AGREED". Chelsea FC. 28 June 2013. Archived from the original on 30 June 2013. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
  25. ^ "Sevilla 4–1 Śląsk". UEFA. 22 August 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  26. ^ "Spot-on Sevilla leave Benfica dreams in tatters". UEFA. 14 May 2014.
  27. ^ "Fiorentina move for Marin". chelseafc.com. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
  28. ^ "PAOK vs. Fiorentina 0 – 1", Soccerway, 23 October 2014
  29. ^ "Guingamp 1–2 Fiorentina", ESPN, 27 November 2014
  30. ^ "Fiorentina vs. Dinamo Minsk 1 – 2", Soccerway, 11 December 2014
  31. ^ Wright, David (20 January 2015). "CONFIRMED: Chelsea flop Marko Marin joins Anderlecht on THIRD loan spell". Express. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  32. ^ "Standard Liège vs. Anderlecht 2 – 0". Soccerway. 25 January 2015.
  33. ^ "Club Brugge win Belgian Cup final thriller". UEFA. 22 March 2015.
  34. ^ "Marko Marin Rejected by Anderlecht". Bleacher Report. 25 March 2015.
  35. ^ "Marin moves on loan". Chelsea FC. 25 August 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  36. ^ "Chelsea here Chelsea there". Chelsea FC. 31 August 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  37. ^ "Osmanlıspor vs. Trabzonspor 3 – 1". Soccerway. 26 September 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  38. ^ "Trabzonspor vs. Kayserispor 2 – 1". Soccerway. 26 February 2016. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  39. ^ "Chelsea comeback for Marko Marin unlikely once Trabzonspor loan ends". ESPN. 15 February 2016. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  40. ^ "Player Olympiakos Marko Marin". Olympiacos. 23 August 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  41. ^ "Olympiakos 6–1 Veria". SkySports. 11 September 2016. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  42. ^ Η απάντηση του Μάριν!. sport-fm.gr (in Greek). 5 January 2017. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  43. ^ Ολυμπιακός – ΠΑΣ Γιάννινα 1–0 (in Greek). www.gazzetta.gr. 17 December 2017.
  44. ^ Επτά στα επτά ο Ολυμπιακός, πέρασε με 3–0 απ'τη Λάρισα (in Greek). www.sport24.gr. 7 January 2018.
  45. ^ "Marko Marin tri godine Zvezdin!". zurnal.rs (in Serbian). 31 August 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  46. ^ Milićević, Strahinja (15 September 2018). "SPREMNI ZA NAPOLI Zvezda "šesticom" deklasirala Radnik, rešetao triling novajlija". MaxBet Sport (in Serbian). Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  47. ^ Марин продужио уговор до лета 2021: У Звезди као код куће!. Sportski žurnal (in Serbian). 13 March 2019. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  48. ^ Srbije, Super liga. "Održana manifestacija Prvi tim, proglašeni najbolji akteri sezone 2018/19". Super liga Srbije (in Serbian). Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  49. ^ "Ex-Nationalspieler Marin wechselt nach Saudi-Arabien". Spiegel (in German). 5 January 2020.
  50. ^ "Ferencváros on Twitter". Twitter. 18 September 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  51. ^ Arnhold, Matthias (3 November 2022). "Marko Marin - Matches and Goals in Bundesliga". RSSSF.com. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  52. ^ "Nikad me nisu zvali da igram za reprezentaciju BiH" (in Serbo-Croatian). sarajevo-x.com. 7 July 2010. Retrieved 7 July 2010.
  53. ^ "Marin left out of Germany squad". BBC Sport. 18 May 2008. Retrieved 29 June 2008.
  54. ^ "Europe's Meridian squad selected". UEFA. 21 February 2007. Archived from the original on 19 February 2008. Retrieved 27 May 2008.
  55. ^ "U 21 Men Team". dfb.de. 5 February 2008. Retrieved 27 May 2008.
  56. ^ Arnhold, Matthias (3 November 2022). "Marko Marin – International Appearances". RSSSF.com. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  57. ^ Marko Marin at Soccerway
  58. ^ "Marko Marin". superleaguegreece.net. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
  59. ^ "Marko Marin (Crvena zvezda) - Profil igrača - Rezultati.com". www.rezultati.com (in Croatian). Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  60. ^ "Germany claim first Under-21 crown". UEFA.com. 30 June 2009. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  61. ^ "Germany pip Uruguay to third place". FIFA.com. 10 July 2010. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  62. ^ "ritz-Walter-Medaille wurde vor Länderspiel gegen Schweden verliehen" (in German). DFB. 18 August 2006. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  63. ^ "Ausgezeichnet! Diese Jungstars holten Gold" (in German). kicker.de. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
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