Christopher Marustik (10 August 1961 – 12 August 2015) was a Welsh professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

international.

Club career

The son of a Czech immigrant, Marustik began his career at his hometown side

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club (; cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Dinas Abertawe) is a professional football club based in Swansea, Wales that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their ho ...

, making his way through the club's youth system. He made his professional debut for the club in August 1978 at the age of 17 in a 2–2 draw with

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in the second round of the

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. He was forced to wait seven months before he made his league debut against

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. Marustik went on to become a regular in the Swansea lineup before leaving the club in October 1985 in a swap deal with Swansea's local rivals

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

which saw

Roger Gibbins Roger Graeme Gibbins (born 6 September 1955) is an English former professional footballer. He represented England at Schools level. Career Having represented Enfield, Middlesex and London at schools level, Gibbins began his career as an appren ...

move in the opposite direction. He made his debut against Gillingham before scoring his first, and what would later turn out to be his only, goal for the club on his home debut in a 3–2 win over

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

. His time at

Ninian Park Ninian Park was a football stadium in the Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales, that was the home of Cardiff City F.C. for 99 years. Opened in 1910 with a single wooden stand, it underwent numerous renovations during its lifespan and hosted fixture ...

was hampered by injuries and, after two years at the club, he left to play non-league football for Barry Town and Newport County before moving to Australia.

International career

Marustik made his debut for Wales on 24 March 1982 in a 1–1 draw with

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and went on to play in the next five matches for Wales, making his final appearance on 22 September of the same year in a 1–0 win over

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Personal life and death

In December 2008, Marustik was arrested for drunk driving after testing nearly four times over the legal limit. During the court hearing he admitted to suffering from alcohol addiction. He was later banned from driving for three years. He has three daughters: Danielle, Isobelle and Natasha. Marustik died on 12 August 2015, aged 54, following a short illness

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marustik, Chris 1961 births 2015 deaths Welsh footballers Footballers from Swansea British people of Czech descent Welsh people of Czech descent Wales international footballers Wales under-21 international footballers Swansea City A.F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Newport County A.F.C. players Barry Town United F.C. players English Football League players Association football midfielders