Marius Obekop (born 19 December 1994) is a Cameroonian 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 plays for Al-Diriyah 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 ...

Career

Early career

Obekop spent the majority of his youth career with Arsenal de Yaounde before joining Renaissance FC de Ngoumou in the

Elite One The Championnat du Cameroun de football (also known as MTN Elite One since 2007 for sponsorship reasons) is the top division of association football in Cameroon, governed by the Cameroonian Football Federation since its establishment in 1961. ...

, Cameroon's top division. He made his debut with Renaissance on 19 December 2010 in a match against Caiman Douala scoring on a shot from outside the box. Upon joining the club Obekop forced his way into the starting lineup and was a key player in helping Renaissance maintain its top flight status. In the 2012 season Obekop played 18 games for Renaissance in the league while also scoring five goals.

New York Red Bulls

In November 2012 scouts from Major League Soccer in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

went to observe the top young Cameroonian players as selected by the Cameroonian Football Federation. Obekop impressed the American talent evaluators and earned a trial with

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...

in January 2013. On 18 March 2013 the Red Bulls announced that they had agreed to terms with Obekop. Obekop then made his professional debut with the team on 17 April 2013 against Sporting Kansas City.

New York Red Bulls II

Obekop was loaned to affiliate side

New York Red Bulls II New York Red Bulls II is an American professional soccer team based in Montclair, New Jersey. They are the reserve team of the New York Red Bulls and play in MLS Next Pro, the third tier in the American soccer pyramid. History Red Bull New Yor ...

during the 2015 season and made his debut as a starter for the side in its first ever match on 28 March 2015 in a 0–0 draw with

Rochester Rhinos Rochester New York FC, formerly known as the Rochester Rhinos, are an American professional soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. Founded in 1996, as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, they changed their name to Rochester Rhinos t ...

. On 4 April 2015 Obekop scored his first goal for New York Red Bulls II, converting from the penalty spot to help the club to a 4–1 victory over

Toronto FC II Toronto FC II is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Toronto, Ontario, who play in MLS Next Pro, a third tier league of the United States soccer league system. It is the reserve team and minor league affiliate of Toronto FC as well a ...

, the first victory in club history. On 27 June 2015 Obekop scored the opening goal for the club in a 4–1 victory over

Saint Louis FC Saint Louis FC was an American professional soccer team based in St. Louis, Missouri. The team was founded in May 2014, and competed in the USL Championship. The team played their matches at West Community Stadium, a venue inside the World Wid ...

. On 2 August 2015 Obekop scored the first goal of the match for New York in a 2–1 victory against

. On 29 August 2015 Obekop scored his fifth goal of the season for NYRBII in a 2–0 victory over

Wilmington Hammerheads FC Wilmington Hammerheads FC was a semi-professional American soccer team based in Wilmington, North Carolina. Founded in 1996, the team last competed in the Premier Development League, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid in 2017. History ...

Orlando City B

On 13 January 2016, Obekop signed with

United Soccer League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...

Orlando City B Orlando City B (or OCB for short) is an American soccer club that began play in 2016 and currently plays in MLS Next Pro. Owned by Orlando City SC and based at the Orlando City training facility in Kissimmee, the club plays its home games at Osce ...

. In his one season in Orlando Obekop appeared in 19 matches for the side.

International career

Obekop has represented Cameroon at the Under-17 and Under-20 levels. In 2010, he made his debut with the U-17s and scored 12 goals in 15 matches. The following year he appeared in 15 U-17 Cup of Nations qualifiers and scored 4 goals. In 2012, he appeared in 2 matches for the U-20s.

Career statistics

References

External links

*
WestAfricanFootball.com profile
1994 births Living people Cameroonian footballers Cameroonian expatriate footballers Renaissance FC de Ngoumou players New York Red Bulls players New York Red Bulls II players Orlando City B players FC Zimbru Chișinău players Nantong Zhiyun F.C. players China League One players Masafi Club players Al-Diriyah Club players Major League Soccer players USL Championship players Moldovan Super Liga players UAE First Division League players Saudi First Division League players Association football midfielders Sportspeople from Yaoundé Expatriate footballers in Moldova Expatriate footballers in China Expatriate soccer players in the United States Expatriate footballers in the United Arab Emirates Expatriate footballers in Saudi Arabia Cameroon youth international footballers Cameroon under-20 international footballers Cameroonian expatriate sportspeople in China Cameroonian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Cameroonian expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates Cameroonian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia {{Cameroon-footy-midfielder-stub