Marko Marin

[bluephoenix 1,125]

what number would we give him?

[RollingPapers 194]

Great signing so happy!

[Wilson 358]

------------Romeu---------

-------Mata-----Kagawa---

Hazard----Cavani---Marin

Not sure about Kagawa or Cavani. I would personally prefer Higuain and Hamšik

[petr.breu 1,618]

I am very suprised, but not sure about that sign... But I hope Marko will change my opinion... Good luck...

[Melanicus 5,208]

Finally a smart move by the club. Who do you think Marin signing is? Di Matteo's, Emenalo's, Roman's?

[NiclasCFC 2,582]

Marin - Chelsea a dream club

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11668/7712560/

[LucasPiazon 6]

what number would we give him?

zero,

[Melanicus 5,208]

Marko Marin, the Winger, Is No More: How Schaaf's Formation Is Remodeling Marko.

During the 2009-10 Bundesliga season, Thomas Schaaf found himself with three supremely talented attacking midfielders, Mesut Ozil, Aaron Hunt and recently signed winger Marko Marin.

Marko Marin was at that moment probably the most hyped up players amongst the three and with good reason some might say. His talent was being talked about much before his move to Bremen. He was a surprise selection in Joachim Low's preliminary squad for Euro 2008, when Marin was just 19. After playing two warm-up matches prior to the final selection, he was then deemed a surprise omission from the squad taken to the tournament.

The 2009-10 season was one of success and excitement for Bremen as, after coming a disappointing 10th in the previous season, they reached the third spot in the Bundesliga table and the DFB Pokal final.

The excitement was for what the future was to hold for the young Bremen side, especially for the trio of Hunt, Ozil and Marin, who together combined for fantastic statistics of 23 goals and 32 assists during the Bundesliga season. Marin especially was in unstoppable form in the second half of the season, where he had to carry Bremen much of way since the form of Ozil and Hunt had drained after the winter break. Prophecy's were made and labels of 'New Messi' were given. All in all, Marin was on his way to the top.

The key to the success of the trio was the formation Thomas Schaaf had input.

Different from his customary 4-1-2-1-2 formation used for his previous successful squads, Schaaf saw the talent of all three players when played in their favoured positions and went forward with a 4-2-3-1 formation with Marin and Hunt on opposite wings while Ozil played behind the lone striker with some rotation amongst the three, showing that Marin had a little versatility to play across the front three.

All three players were irreplaceable so when it was announced that Ozil would be leaving Bremen, much was discussed as to who would fill the central playmaker position.

The answer seemed to come from either the new signing Marko Arnautovic or Aaron Hunt. Needless to say, neither of them worked in that role.

The early part of the season proved chaotic for Thomas Schaaf as his tactical plans all went undone with a combination of inconsistent performances from players and the horrific amount of defensive injuries. There never seemed to be a fixed formation used throughout the opening few months, with rotation between the 4-2-3-1 from last season and Schaaf's favoured 4-1-2-1-2 formation being common.

All of that proved very detrimental to Marko Marin's performances.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=TMs6dhMn0eE

While still playing in his favoured left wing position, Marin was now expected to fill the playmaking role that Ozil had left behind, something that Marin wasn't and frankly never was capable off. He was strictly a winger who attacked full backs and tied them into knots.

Without a proper passer in the middle of the part, Marin was forced to move much deeper in order to get possession of the ball and from there was often crowed out from being able to do anything productive.

With Marin's failings in the winger position and the general lack of form of the team, Schaaf slowly moved away from the 4-2-3-1 formation. He made a conscience decision in the 2nd half of the season to adopt the diamond shaped 4-1-2-1-2, which had no use for a winger. Marin was therefore dropped and confined to a few minutes for the first few months during which the formation was adopted.

With Bremen's form not getting much better (one win, three draws and three defeats), Schaaf decided to try and play Marin at the tip of the diamond. After a match-winning performance off the bench against Freiburg with a goal and assist, Bremen's first win in six matches, Marin was the given a start in the Bremen's next away match against Nurenberg, also a win.

That sparked an impressive end of season for Bremen which ultimately took them into 13th place after flirting with relegation for much of the campaign.

Marin started the final eight matches of the season at the tip of the diamond, contributing three assists to Bremen's three wins and three draws. While his performances were inconsistent, there had always been signs that Marin was getting more used to the role and returning to his form of old.

Even though he was being played as a central playmaker by position, Marin was given the freedom to roam the final third from left to right in order to find space to attack. As the video of his performance against Frankfurt shows, Marin was seen regularly along the wings as much as he was in the center. His creativity allows him to find space but what was usually missing was the final pass, which brought about his inconsistency, something which previous Bremen playmakers like Diego, Micoud and Ozil had in abundance.

The post season saw a lot of new arrivals, most important of which was the signing of Bayern Munich's Mehmet Ekici, a bona fide attacking playmaker to play at the top of the 4-1-2-1-2 formation.

But after Ekici was injured for much of the preseason, Marko Marin started off once again as the head playmaker. He showed impressive form, especially in the last match against Freiburg where Marin contributed with three assists.

While still having his ability to dribble the ball at will, Marin is now also contributing to the build up of the play. When there is a better option available, he is playing shorter passes more often rather then directly dribbling at his opponent. A good sign for the future if he is to continue to play in that position.

The graph of his passing performance against Freiburg shows the positions where Marin was usually finding the ball. Not only does it again show the freedom Marin is being given in the final third but also his growing eagerness to pass the ball. Out of the 61 touches Marin had in the game, he performed 38 passes with an 84% success rate, seven of which created chances. A superb contribution overall and hopefully a sign of things to come.

There was much talk of Marin moving away from Bremen but Schaaf and Marin himself consistently said that there were no plans to move away from Bremen.

That could only mean that both the coach and the player believe in the new role being set out for Marin and that the potential is there for Marin to fulfill his potential and become a World Class player, albeit in a position completely different to one he was set out for.

Source: http://tinyurl.com/chhpg5a

[TacticalBlues 2,817]

a

[didierforever 7,349]

does that mean no hazard/caavani. also with kdb and marin, i think its goodbye to kalou n malouda.

[FranklyFrank 103]

does that mean no hazard/caavani. also with kdb and marin, i think its goodbye to kalou n malouda.

Doesn't necessarily mean no hazard/cavani. I thought hazard was a long shot since the beginning but I'm sure we still have our sights set on cavani.

[Superblue 6,331]

Two important aspects that I consider with this signing -

The first is that I have said a number of times that the club need to look at buying players at the first source as opposed to the second. What I mean by this is that despite a player like Ramires being a superb signing, we paid three times the amount that Benfica paid for him just a year later. This signing seems to show we may be finally doing this. it may be more of a risk, but the player is purchased much cheaper. Romeu has shown he will continue to develop as a bargain buy, and hopefully Marin will be the same. In previous years Marin would have ended up moving to a team like Valencia or Porto and then we would buy him another season or two later for £15-20m, so I'm glad the board are looking at this.

The second thing is that, perhaps for the first time during Abramovich's reign, I fully trust the board and Emenalo with the signings the club are looking to make. The signings of David Luiz, Ramires, Mata, Romeu, Lukaku, Courtois, De Bruyne and Cahill have proven to be exceptional for an immediate impact in the first team for most and great vision for long term planning. This is another sign of that. They have seen something they like with Marin and spotted an opportunity given the price, and I trust our transfer business this summer will be excellent, well thought out and take us on to the next era of the club.

I just wonder whether Robbie has had any say on this transfer? Hopefully this has been made on his recommendation, and he will be managing us next season.

[BlueLyon 9,359]

Mikel-Moutinho/Ramires

Mata

Hulk-Torres-Marin

KDB should stay, Lukaku dont know, Kakuta stay, Josh loan, Bertrand stay, buy Azpi and that is it.

Would like to see Hazard in aswell, but if Marin will prove himself, he should be starter and then we dont need Hazard at all.

Hamšik wouldnt fit in, since Mata is already playmaker. Moutinho would pair Hulk great, since they know each other well.

All that hype about super-top-class-expensive-240mio players and now we got Marin for start? I am happy, but all you dont expect more than two top players to come. IF they come. My choice would be Hulk and Moutinho or Hazard. We need new holding midfielder and Moutinho is great at attacking actions and tracking back. Hulk knows how to score goals if our strikers fail. Personaly, I would wait with buying a new stiker this season. In winter perhaps, if Torres still struggles to find consistant form. I have feeling our board counts on Marin, wouldn't expect us to buy another winger on LW.

Besides, we have Ramires, who proved on both wings against barca.

That means: RB Azpi - 12mio

Creative holding midfielder Moutinho - 25mio

2 wingers Marin and Hulk - 8mio and 35mio

We should wait with striker until winter, but in this case we lost Hazard...we wont get hulk (needed because of his strenght) and Hazard, along Marin...

Selling Ferrerira and Bosingwa, Malouda...keep Drogba one year, Lampard, Mikel/Essien, Kalou?

I know this is list of four good players, but already about 80mio. And that is max we will spend. Forget about Cavani, Hazard, Hamšik and Hulk in one team...

[FranklyFrank 103]

Marin is a total beast on football manager

[chrismada9 1,948]

what number would we give him?

I'd give him the number 14 shirt

[NiclasCFC 2,582]

I'd give him the number 14 shirt

That is Luka's number

[chrismada9 1,948]

That is Luka's number

exactly .. plus, it's a free number, and no-one has used it since Claudio Pizarro some 3 years ago!

[Superblue 6,331]

Different from his customary 4-1-2-1-2 formation used for his previous successful squads, Schaaf saw the talent of all three players when played in their favoured positions and went forward with a 4-2-3-1 formation with Marin and Hunt on opposite wings while Ozil played behind the lone striker with some rotation amongst the three, showing that Marin had a little versatility to play across the front three.

This makes me wonder if Robbie had some input into this. It's clear he prefers to play 4-2-3-1 to get Mata in the middle, but we really lack the players to play out wide. I think it's a good signing. He has been forced to play out of position since Ozil left, and that won't happen at Chelsea - Mata is and will remain the main man in the middle for us. With a couple of genuine wide men, this formation will be the beginning of the evolution of our football club.