Marko Marić (; born 3 January 1996) is a Croatian 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 ...

who plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

for

Bosnian Premier League The m:tel Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( bs, m:tel Premijer liga Bosne i Hercegovine / м:тел Премијер лига Босне и Херцеговине), also known as Liga 12, is the top tier football league in Bosnia and He ...

club

Zrinjski Mostar Zrinjski Mostar is a sports association from the city of Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was formed in 1905. Member clubs *Football: **HŠK Zrinjski Mostar *Basketball: **HKK Zrinjski Mostar (men's) **ŽKK Zrinjski Mostar (women's) *Han ...

. Born in Austria, he has represented Croatia internationally at youth level.

Club career

Rapid Wien

Marić began his career in for

Post SV Wien Post Sportverein Wien is a multi-sports club from the city of Vienna in Austria, and today operates in addition to football another 23 sections, including handball, field hockey, tennis, basketball, volleyball, futsal, table tennis, bowling, brid ...

in 2002. In 2004, at the age of eight, he joined the

Rapid Wien Sportklub Rapid Wien (), commonly known as Rapid Vienna, is an Austrian football club playing in the country's capital city of Vienna. Rapid has won the most Austrian championship titles (32), including the first title in the season 1911–12, ...

youth ranks. Marić was promoted to Rapid Wien II for the 2011–12 season. He made his professional debut on 4 May 2012, getting the start for Rapid Wien II in a 4–0 win over SV Mattersburg II in Regionalliga Ost match He made the match day squad 12 other times that season. The 2012–13 season saw Marić make nine appearances for Rapid Wien II. He also made the match day squad for the Rapid Wien first team three times during the season, but did not appear in a match. On 11 May 2014, Marić made his first team debut in a 5–2 win over

SV Ried SV Ried is an Football in Austria, Austrian association football club from Ried im Innkreis, Upper Austria. The team plays its home matches at Josko Arena, a stadium with a capacity of 7,680. After being relegated from Austrian Football Bundesli ...

in the final

Austrian Bundesliga The Austrian Football Bundesliga (german: Österreichische Fußball-Bundesliga, italic=no , "Austrian Football Federal League"), also known as Admiral Bundesliga for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Austrian football league system. Th ...

match of the season. He also made 7 appearances with Rapid Wien II during the season. He made his first appearance of the 2014–15 season on 14 February 2015, a 3–0 win over SV Ried. Marić served primarily as the second choice goalkeeper for the season, making 7 league appearances and one in the

Austrian Cup The Austrian Cup (german: ÖFB-Cup), known as UNIQA ÖFB Cup for sponsorship purposes, is an annual football competition held by the Austrian Football Association, the ÖFB. During the 2008–09 season, Austria Wien won the tournament for 27th t ...

while making the bench for 21 other times. He also made 9 appearances for the second team during the season. On 19 June 2015, it was announced that Marić would be leaving Rapid Wien after he was unwilling to sign a contract extension.

Lechia Gdańsk

Marić signed with German

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

club

TSG 1899 Hoffenheim Turn- und Sportgemeinschaft 1899 Hoffenheim e.V., or simply TSG 1899 Hoffenheim or just Hoffenheim () is a German professional football club based in Hoffenheim, a village of Sinsheim municipality, Baden-Württemberg. Originally founded in 1899 ...

on 30 June 2015. He was immediately loaned to Polish

Ekstraklasa Poland Ekstraklasa (), meaning "Extra Class" in Polish, named PKO Ekstraklasa since the 2019–20 season due to its sponsorship by PKO Bank Polski, is the top Polish professional league for men's association football teams. Contested by 18 cl ...

club

Lechia Gdańsk Lechia Gdańsk () is a Polish football club based in Gdańsk. The club was founded in 1945 by people expelled from Lwów, who were supporters of Poland's oldest football team Lechia Lwów, founded in 1903. The club's name comes from Lechia, a ...

for the 2015–16 season. On 17 July 2015, he made his debut for Lechia in a 1–0 defeat to KS Cracovia in the opening match of the Ekstraklasa season. He started the first 23 league games of the year for Lechia before losing the starting job to

Vanja Milinković-Savić Vanja Milinković-Savić ( sr-Cyrl, Вања Милинковић-Савић, ; born 20 February 1997) is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Italian club Torino. Born in Spain, he represents the Serbia national team. ...

. Marić made 24 league appearances and one appearance in the Polish Cup for Lechia, keeping 7 clean sheets.

Hannover 96

On 31 January 2017, Marić was sent on loan to

Hannover 96 Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96 (), Hannover, HSV or simply 96, is a German professional football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony. They played in the Bundesliga for a total of 30 years betwe ...

, who were playing in the

2. Bundesliga The 2. Bundesliga ( ) is the second division of professional football in Germany. It was implemented 11 years after the founding of the Fußball-Bundesliga as the new second division for professional football. The 2. Bundesliga is ranked below ...

. He did not make any appearances with the Hannover first team, rather spending time with

Hannover 96 II Hannover 96 II is a German association football team from the city of Hannover, Lower Saxony. It is the reserve team of Hannover 96. The team's greatest success has been winning the now defunct German amateur football championship on three occa ...

in the

Regionalliga Nord The Regionalliga Nord ( en, Regional League North) is the fourth tier of the German football league system in the states of Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein, Bremen and Hamburg. It is one of five leagues at this level, together with the Regional ...

. Marić made his first appearance for Hannover 96 II on 11 February in a 2–1 loss to SV Eichede. He made 13 appearances with Hannover 96 II during the loan.

Lillestrøm SK

On 1 August 2017, he went on loan to Norwegian

Eliteserien Eliteserien () is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion ...

club

Lillestrøm SK Lillestrøm Sportsklubb is a Norwegian professional football club from the city of Lillestrøm, just outside of the capital Oslo. Lillestrøm SK is a Norwegian football club based in Lillestrøm, playing in Eliteserien. The club was founded in 1 ...

until the end of the 2017 season. Marić made his debut for LSK on 24 August 2017, a 3–0 loss to

Rosenborg BK Rosenborg Ballklub, commonly referred to simply as Rosenborg () or RBK, is a Norwegian professional football club from Trondheim that plays in Eliteserien. The club has won a record 26 league titles, a shared record 12 Norwegian Football Cup ti ...

. On 24 November 2017, Marić's loan was extended until 2019. Marić made his first appearance of the 2018 season on 11 March 2018, getting the start in a 3–1 defeat to Bodø/Glimt in the opening match of the season. He made 25 appearances in the Eliteserien as he helped LSK finish in 12th place, three points above the relegation zone. Marić also made five appearances in the

Norwegian Cup The Norwegian Football Cup ( no, Norgesmesterskapet i fotball for herrer) is the main knockout cup competition in Norwegian football. It is run by the Football Association of Norway and has been contested since 1902, making it the oldest football ...

to help LSK reach the semifinals, where they lost 3–0 to

Strømsgodset Strømsgodset is a former municipality in Vestfold county (from 1964 Buskerud county), Norway, today a part of the city of Drammen. History Strømsgodset was originally a small rural annex to the city parish of Bragernes (Drammen). But since th ...

. On 1 April 2019, Marić made his first appearance of the 2019 season in a 1–1 draw with Stabæk in matchweek 1. He made 30 starts in the Eliteserien as Lillestrøm finished in 14th place, sending them to the

relegation playoffs In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

. Marić played both legs of the playoff matchup with

IK Start Idrettsklubben Start (or simply IK Start, translates to The sports club Start ) is a Norwegian football club from the city of Kristiansand that currently plays in the 1. divisjon, the second tier of the Norwegian football league system. The clu ...

. LSK won the first leg 2–1, but lost the return leg 4–3, being relegated on away goals. Marić started 34 of the 35 matches for LSK in the 2019 season, the only one he failed to appear in being a Norwegian Cup first round matchup with

Gjelleråsen IF Gjelleråsen Idrettsforening is a Norway, Norwegian sports club from Gjelleråsen in Nittedal, founded 6 March 1935. It has sections for association football, floorball, human swimming, swimming, gymnastics and skiing. Their club colours are gree ...

Houston Dynamo

On 13 January 2020, Marić signed with

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

side

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo FC (formerly officially, but still commonly, called the Houston Dynamo) is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The Dynamo compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Establi ...

. On 29 February 2020 Marić made his Dynamo debut in a 1–1 draw against

LA Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began pl ...

. He recorded his first clean sheet for the Dynamo on 21 August in a 0–0 draw with

Texas Derby The Texas derby is a soccer rivalry (derby) between the Houston Dynamo FC and FC Dallas, recognizing the best club in the state for the season until 2021 when Austin FC joined MLS. The two squads play a series of games with the series winner tak ...

rivals

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise be ...

. In a shortened season due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

Marić played in 23 games and had three clean sheets, playing every minute of the season for Houston. The season was a disappointment for Houston, finishing last in the Western Conference and missing out on the playoffs. Marić started the first 21 games of the 2021 season for the Dynamo. During that stretch, he was named to the MLS Team of the Week for week ten after making seven saves in a 1–1 draw against

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in 20 ...

on 26 June. Marić missed the next ten games due to a left leg injury. On 24 October, he returned from his injury in a 2–1 loss to Austin FC. Marić was credited with an own goal in the game after Cecilio Dominguez's

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

bounced off of the post, off of Marić's back, and into the net. Marić did not appear in Houston's final two games of the season. He ended the season with 22 appearances and three clean sheets during another disappointing season for the Dynamo, finishing last in the Western Conference for the second consecutive season and failing to qualify for the playoffs. Following the 2021 season, Marić's contract option was declined by Houston.

Atromitos

On 31 January 2022, he joined

Atromitos Atromitos (Greek: Ατρόμητος, "fearless") may refer to: * Atromitos F.C., a football team based in Peristeri, Athens, Greece * Atromitos Piraeus, a football team based in Piraeus, Athens, Greece * Atromitos Yeroskipou, a football team curr ...

on a free transfer, signing a contract until the summer of 2023.

International career

Marić played for the Austria U-16 team in a friendly in 2011. In 2012, Marić decided to represent Croatia and filed a one-time switch with

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

. He would represent Croatia at the U-16, U-17, U-18, and U-19 levels, making 29 appearances for the various Croatian youth national teams. Marić made 3 appearances for Croatia at the

2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup The 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup was the fifteenth tournament of the FIFA U-17 World Cup. The tournament was held in the United Arab Emirates between 17 October and 8 November. Nigeria won the tournament after defeating Mexico 3–0 in the final, cla ...

Personal life

Marić was born and raised in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

to two

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

n parents. He and his family are

Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Career statistics

Honours

Lillestrøm SK *

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

References

External links