Goran Marić Govorcin (

Serbian Cyrillic The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet (, ), also known as the Serbian script, (, ), is a standardized variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language. It originated in medieval Serbia and was significantly reformed in the 19th cen ...

: Горан Mapић; born 23 March 1984) is a

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

n former

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 lea ...

who played as a striker. He spent most of his professional career in Spain, almost exclusively in the lower leagues with

Celta de Vigo B Real Club Celta de Vigo Fortuna or simply Celta Fortuna is a Spanish football team based in Vigo, Pontevedra, in the autonomous community of Galicia. Founded in 1927, it is the reserve team of Celta Vigo and competes in the . They play their ho ...

Football career

Early years / Celta

Born in

Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; #Name, see below for other names) is the List of cities in Serbia, second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pannoni ...

Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

, Marić moved to Spain in his teens, going on to play for three clubs as a youth, including

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...

and

RC Celta de Vigo Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta Vigo, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Nicknamed ''Os Celestes'' (The Sky Blues), the club was fou ...

. He made his senior debut with the latter's reserves and scored regularly for the

Segunda División B Segunda División B (English: second division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish ...

side, notably netting 21 goals in 32 games in the 2007–08 season (best in his group, second overall); however, he only appeared once for the main squad in

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

, his output consisting of 30 minutes in a 1–2 home loss against

CD Castellón Club Deportivo Castellón, S.A.D. is a professional List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Castellón de la Plana, in the Valencian Community. Founded on 20 July 1922, it currently plays in , holding home games at ''Nou E ...

on 2 February 2008. In 2008–09, Marić was loaned to another team in the third level,

FC Barcelona B FC may refer to: Businesses, organisations, and schools * Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India * Finncomm Airlines (IATA code) * FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC * Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Paki ...

. In June 2009, he was released by the

Galicians Galicians ( or ''pobo galego''; ) are an ethnic group primarily residing in Galicia, northwest Iberian Peninsula. Historical emigration resulted in populations in other parts of Spain, Europe, and the Americas. Galicians possess distinct cu ...

Norwich City

Marić joined

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

on trial in the summer of 2009, touring with the club during its pre-season in Scotland and scoring twice in three matches, against

Airdrie United Airdrieonians Football Club is a Scottish professional football team in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, who are members of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and play in the . They were formed in 2002 as Airdrie United Football Clu ...

and St Johnstone. Afterwards, manager Bryan Gunn confirmed he had been impressed well enough to offer the player a contract, with the one-year deal being signed on 30 July. Marić made his official debut for the Canaries against Yeovil Town, for the campaign's

Football League Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

, appearing as a substitute. His first start came in the

2009–10 Football League Trophy The 2009–10 Football League Trophy, known as the 2009–10 Johnstone's Paint Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is the 29th Football League Trophy, a knockout competition for English football clubs in Leagues One and Two, the third and fourth ti ...

against

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

(1–0 win) but he was almost always fifth-choice during his spell, behind the habitual Grant Holt and

Chris Martin Christopher Anthony John Martin (born 2 March 1977) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and producer. He is best known as the vocalist, pianist and co-founder of the rock band Coldplay. Born in Exeter, Martin went to University Colleg ...

but also

Jamie Cureton Jamie Cureton (born 28 August 1975) is an English semi-professional footballer who plays as a striker; he is currently employed as the player-manager of Cambridge City. He began his career at Norwich City in 1994, and after the club's relega ...

and Cody McDonald; subsequently, he left the side after his link was terminated by mutual consent, on 3 December 2009.

Return to Spain / Hungary

For the second part of 2009–10, Marić returned to Spain and its division two, signing with

Real Unión Real Unión Club, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Irun, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country, in the province of Gipuzkoa, near the border with France. Founded on 15 May 1915 it currently plays in Primera División RF ...

. He appeared rarely during the season (less than one half of the league matches), also suffering team relegation. Marić spent the better part of the following years in

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, in representation of Lombard-Pápa TFC.

Personal life

Marić's father,

Zoran Zoran ( sr-Cyrl, Зоран) is a common South Slavic name, the masculine form of Zora, which means ''dawn, daybreak''. The name is especially common in Serbia, North Macedonia, Croatia and to some degree in Slovenia. Notable people with this g ...

, was also a footballer and a striker. He too spent many years working in Spain, mainly with Celta.

References

External links

*
Celta de Vigo biography
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maric, Goran 1984 births Living people Footballers from Novi Sad Serbian men's footballers Men's association football forwards Segunda División players Segunda División B players RC Celta Fortuna players UD Las Palmas players RC Celta de Vigo players FC Barcelona Atlètic players Real Unión footballers Norwich City F.C. players Nemzeti Bajnokság I players Pápai FC footballers Kazakhstan Premier League players FC Zhetysu players Serbian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Hungary Expatriate men's footballers in Kazakhstan Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Serbian expatriate sportspeople in England Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Hungary Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Kazakhstan Serbia and Montenegro men's footballers Serbia and Montenegro expatriate men's footballers Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in Spain 21st-century Serbian sportsmen