Marek Andrezj Szmid (born 2 March 1982) is an English retired 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 ...
who played as a
midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
.
Early life
Szmid was born in
Nuneaton, Warwickshire.
Club career
Manchester United
Szmid signed for
Manchester United as a youth trainee in July 1998.
He made his first appearance for United in the
friendly against the
San Diego Nomads
Nomads Soccer Club (formerly San Diego Nomads) is an American soccer club based in San Diego, California. From 1986 to 1990, the club fielded a professional senior team, but has since operated as an amateur and youth club.
History
The Nomads we ...
in August.
He scored his first goal for the club in the
FA Premier Academy League
The Premier Academy League (sometimes abbreviated as FAPAL) was the top level of youth football in England before it was to be replaced by a new league proposed by the Elite Player Performance Plan in 2012, which was accepted by the 72 member ...
under-17 match against
Derby County
Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group.
Founded in 188 ...
on 12 September.
United won the game 4−0.
On 5 December, Szmid made his first appearance for the
reserves; he replaced
Lee Roche
Lee Paul Roche (born 28 October 1980) is an English former professional footballer. He played as a right sided full-back but could also play on the right of midfield.
Club career Manchester United
Roche started his career as a trainee at Manche ...
in the friendly against a
Major League Soccer under-21 side.
He featured in the NIVEA Junior Football Tournament in April 1999 and played against the likes of
Bayern Munich and
VfB Stuttgart
Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's football team is currently part of Germany's first division, the Bundesliga. VfB S ...
as United were runners-up.
In July, he played in every game as United participated in the
Milk Cup
SuperCupNI, formerly called the Northern Ireland Youth Soccer Tournament and the Dale Farm Milk Cup, is an international youth football tournament held annually in Northern Ireland. The cup matches are mainly played in the North Coast area o ...
in Northern Ireland.
They lost 2−1 to
Crewe Alexandra
Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...
in the final.
Szmid played in the Jersey Tournament in August 1999; he took part in the win versus
Rangers and the defeat against
Benfica.
On 21 September, he signed his first professional contract with United.
He played in the 2−1 defeat against
Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...
in the
FA Youth Cup third round at
Gigg Lane
Gigg Lane is a football ground in Bury, Greater Manchester, England, built for Bury F.C. in 1885. The first match was played on 12 September 1885 between Bury and a team from Wigan. One of the world's oldest professional football stadiums, G ...
.
Szmid made 20 appearances as United finished third in Group B before falling to
West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
in FA Premier Academy League under-19 playoffs.
Post season he was part of the squad that took part in the International Youth Tournament hosted by
Real Sociedad.
He started all three group games against
Sevilla
Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...
,
Osasuna, and
Real Sociedad, but United failed to qualify for the final.
In August 2000, Szmid played in the
Bayern Munich Centenary Youth Tournament; he featured in four games and scored in the 2−2 draw with
IFK Göteborg
Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna Göteborg (officially IFK Göteborg Fotboll), commonly known as IFK Göteborg, IFK (especially locally) or simply Göteborg, is a Swedish professional football club based in Gothenburg. Founded in 1904, it is the ...
.
He scored for the reserves in the friendly against
Bristol City
Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...
in September.
The game, a
testimonial for City's Buster Footman, finished 4−0 at
Ashton Gate.
He featured throughout United's run to the
Manchester Senior Cup
The Manchester FA Senior Cup (originally known as the Manchester and District Challenge Cup, later the Manchester Cup) is an annual football tournament held between the clubs of the Manchester Football Association which was first played in 1885 ...
final but was an unused substitute in the final defeat to
Manchester City at
Old Trafford in May 2001.
He was released by United on 30 June. Szmid spent just over three years at United but failed to make a senior appearance.
Southend United
Szmid signed for
Third Division club
Southend United
Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...
in November 2001. His first involvement with the first team was as an unused substitute in the defeat at
Shrewsbury Town
Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mo ...
on 24 November.
On 23 February 2002, he made his debut when he replaced
Brian Barry-Murphy in the 80th minute of the 5−1 defeat against
Hartlepool United
Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system.
They were founded i ...
.
Szmid was involved in several other matchday squads before the end of the season,
but he only made one more appearance for United when he started the defeat against
Leyton Orient
Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profession ...
in March.
This was his final appearance for Southend and he left the club in the summer.
Later career
Szmid later played non-league football with
Sutton Coldfield Town and
Marine.
In the same season he moved to play for
Nuneaton Griff. In 2004, he played for
Nuneaton Borough. The next season saw him playing for
Vauxhall Motors
Vauxhall Motors LimitedCompany No. 00135767. Incorporated 12 May 1914, name changed from Vauxhall Motors Limited to General Motors UK Limited on 16 April 2008, reverted to Vauxhall Motors Limited on 18 September 2017. () is a British car compa ...
. That season saw him suffering a bad injury which caused him to retire from playing football. After retiring, he attended
Liverpool John Moores University where he graduated with a B.A. in Sports Development in 2007. Whilst studying he suffered a severe injury which caused his playing career to stop. The following year he attended the
University of Chester
, mottoeng = "He that teacheth, on teaching"
, former_names =
, established = (gained university status in 2005)
, type = Public
, endowment = £395,000 (2018)
, budget = £118.3 million
, chancellor = Gyles Brandreth
, vice_chancell ...
where he took part in the GTP (Graduate Teacher Programme). He started teaching Physical Education at Ashton-on-Mersey School in Trafford in 2008. In September 2010 he started work as the Assistant Head of Education and Welfare at Manchester United F.C.
International career
ESFA U15
Szmid represented
English Schools' Football Association (ESFA) under-15s and the team reached 3rd place of the mini World Cup at the Montaigu Tournament in France. He was in the last ESFA under-15 team when they beat Germany 1–0 at the
Olympic Stadium
''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...
in Berlin, before
The Football Association
The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world a ...
took over the running of Schools' Football.
England U16
Szmid represented
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
at
1999 UEFA European Under-16 Championship
The 1999 UEFA European Under-16 Championship was the 17th edition of UEFA's European Under-16 Football Championship. Czech Republic hosted the championship, from 24 April to 7 May 1999. 16 teams entered the competition, and Spain defeated Poland ...
in the Czech Republic. He featured in the quarter final defeat against the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
on 2 May 1999; he played 61 minutes before being replaced by
Jay Bothroyd
Jay Bothroyd (born 7 May 1982) is a former English professional footballer who last played as a striker for J1 League club Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo.
A product of the Arsenal Academy, he left in 2000 and signed with Coventry City, spending t ...
as England lost 1−0
after extra time
Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...
.
England futsal
Szmid was called up to the
England national futsal team for the Four Nations tournament in March 2005. On 9 March, he made his debut against
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
and scored a penalty in the 5−2 defeat in
Villeneuve-d'Ascq
Villeneuve-d'Ascq (; pcd, Neuvile-Ask) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. With more than 60,000 inhabitants and 50,000 students, it is one of the main cities of the Métropole Européenne de Lille and the largest in area (2 ...
, France. Two days later, he played in the loss against
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
as England finished last place in the tournament.
Career statistics
References
External links
*
Marek Szmidat SouthendUnited.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Szmid, Marek
1982 births
Living people
English men's footballers
Manchester United F.C. players
Southend United F.C. players
Sutton Coldfield Town F.C. players
Marine A.F.C. players
Nuneaton Griff F.C. players
Nuneaton Borough F.C. players
Alumni of Liverpool John Moores University
Alumni of the University of Chester
Vauxhall Motors F.C. players
English Football League players
Men's association football midfielders
English people of Polish descent
Footballers from Nuneaton
English men's futsal players