Marko Marin was once lauded as a future Germany star and featured for the country at the World Cup. Now 30, he returns to Germany to take on Bayern Munich with Red Star Belgrade following a largely unfulfilled career.
Image: Getty Images/S. Stevanovic
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When Mesut Özil had his breakout season with Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga, just prior to a big-money move to Real Madrid, he wasn't even voted the club's best outfield player by Germany's popular football magazine, Kicker.
That accolade went to Marko Marin.
Voted the country's best player under the age of 18 in 2007, heading to a World Cup aged 21 in 2010, and sealing a lucrative move to then Champions League winners Chelsea in 2012, the bite-sized playmaker seemed destined for lofty heights.
Marin and Özil's careers could not have diverted much more drastically, however, and now, almost a decade and a string of failed stints around Europe later, Marin is back in Germany hoping to go back to the future.
Marko Marin's career started with a bang at Werder BremenImage: picture alliance/dpa
Forgotten man
The now 30-year-old returns to face Bayern Munich in the Champions League with Red Star Belgrade on Wednesday, having starred in the club's return to the competition after a 26-year absence last season – including two assists in a famous 2-0 victory over eventual champions Liverpool.
Red Star face a tough group in their continuing quest to rub shoulders again with Europe's top tier, paired with Bayern, last year's finalists Tottenham, and Olympiakos in Group B.
Bayern in particulary will be on Marin's radar. He played youth football with the likes of Manuel Neuer, Thomas Müller, and Jerome Boateng and will be relishing the chance to play on German soil for the first time since April 2012.
That summer Marin bid farewell to Werder Bremen and embarked on a new adventure in the Premier League with Chelsea, with greatness seemingly within his grasp. Instead, he faded into anonymity.
Marko Marin celebrates during Red Star Belgrade's 2-0 victory over Liverpool.Image: Getty Images/AFP/S. Stevanovic
Unfulfilled promise
"Maybe [my career] could have been better, for sure,” Marin told Omnisport before the Bayern clash.
"There are some reasons. Maybe I wasn't patient enough in some situations. Injuries didn't help to make it even bigger.”
Marin looked set to be a major part of Joachim Löw's plans when he made two appearances at the 2010 World Cup. But while Özil, Müller, Boateng, Mario Götze, and Andre Schürrle emerged as the country's new stars, Marin's spark diminished. His last cap for Germany was against Sweden in November 2010.
Injuries were certainly a crucial factor in Marin's stalled career. He arrived at Chelsea injured, failed to break into the first team, and proceeded to experience similar frustrating periods of time on the treatment table or bench during loan spells at Sevilla, Fiorentina, Anderlecht, and Trabzonspor.
A transfer to Greek outfit Olympiakos in 2016 finally saw Marin rediscover a semblance of form – scoring 11 goals and assisting seven in 37 league matches – before being shipped out to Red Star amid little media attention.
"Who knows what would've happened if I stayed longer in Germany?” Marin told Omnisport.
"But I wouldn't have this experience with Red Star if this didn't happen.”
Marko Marin playing for Germany against Australia at the 2010 World CupImage: picture-alliance/dpa
Return to his roots
Marin is now enjoying his best spell of football in close to a decade, captaining his boyhood club (he was born in the old Yugoslav town of Gradiška to Bosnian-Serb parents) in the Champions League and receiving plaudits again on the back of winning the Serbian SuperLiga's player of the season.
"To play Champions League with [Red Star] is even more special. It's a very nice experience to bring the Champion League back to Serbia after so many years,” Marin said.
"To feel what I feel at the moment, it's the best part of my career.”
Bayern goalkeeper Neuer has labeled Marin "the Messi of Belgrade" ahead of the Champions League opener and coach Niko Kovac has earmarked him as Red Star's danger man.
"They have very good footballers in their ranks. Marko Marin dictates the pace of play and is a key player," Kovac said.
Returning to Germany — the country he called home from the age of two — as a key player once again and leading Red Star to a famous result against the Bundesliga giants would be a fitting reunion.
It would go some way to writing a successful last chapter to a story that has been largely forgotten in his adopted homeland.
Memorable Champions League moments
As the group stage of a new Champions League season gets underway, we can look forward to many more memorable moments. Here's a look at some of the biggest so far in the history of Europe's top club competition.
Image: picture-alliance/empics/P. Noble
Ajax's dawn
In 1995, AC Milan were the dominant team in Europe. Their title defense against a youthful Ajax should have beenroutine, but the Dutch side (average age just over 23) surprised the Italian side and won it all. The face of the story: A 18-year-old Patrick Kluivert who scored the winner five minutes from time.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/L. Bruno
1997: BVB wear the crown
Even making the final was a sensational achievement for BVB, but the club went one better by winning the final. Against Juventus, the underdogs led 2-0 at the break thanks to two goals by Karl-Heinz Riedle. Alessandro Del Pierro's goal after the hour mark gave Juve hope but only for seven minutes. Lars Ricken scored a brilliant lob with his first touch in a memorable moment of a special final.
Shortly before kickoff for the semifinal between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, one of the goals fell apart when a fence, one that fans had climbed onto, broke – taking the goal with it. A good 76 minutes later, a replacement arrived. It remains one of the most curious moments in the competition's history.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/G. Breloer
1999: Crazy two minutes
Bayern Munich already had one hand on the champagne. Mario Basler's early goal looked enough to beat Manchester United, but then football sprinkled some magic. In the 91st minute, Teddy Sheringham scored from a corner. Then two minutes later, Ole Gunnar Solksjaer added a second to secure an incredible comeback and leave Bayern stunned –even to this day.
Image: picture-alliance/empics
2001: One too many
Wait a minute! That's not a starting 11! Who's the 12th man? It's Manchester United fan Karl Power (top row, left), who somehow outfoxed security at Munich’s Olympic Stadium for his team’s quarterfinal second leg against Bayern. Captain Roy Keane (top row, right) seems to have been the first to catch on to the fact that something is amiss.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Schrader
2004: Special before becoming the 'Special One'
The 2004 final was another one for the history books, with Porto and Monaco making up a final of underdogs. Porto secured a clear 3-0 win, completing one of the biggest coups the Champions League has seen. It also markedthe birth of a superstar, as just days later Porto head coach Jose Mourinho moved on to Chelsea where he announced himself as the "Special One."
Image: picture-alliance/Ulmer/Pic United
2005: The miracle of Istanbul
In the 2005 final, AC Milan were leading 3-0 after 44 minutes. A win looked certain, but Liverpool came back. Steven Gerrard scored, then Vladimir Smicer added a second. After Xabi Alonso put in his penalty rebound, Liverpool were on the home straight. The incredible comeback win was secured after a penalty shootout in one of the most dramatic finishes the Champions League has ever produced.
Image: picture-alliance/empics/P. Noble
2011: Stankovic's 50-meter rocket
Manuel Neuer likes to get involved in the outfield play, but in 2011, he was left looking silly. In the quarterfinals Neuer, then at Schalke, cut off an early Inter Milan attack by leaving his area to head the ball away from an approaching striker. However, his clearance landed right at the feet of Dejan Stankovic, who volleyed the ball straight back into Schalke's goal from 50 meters.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/D. Dal Zennaro
2012: The pain of the "Finale dahoam"
Bayern Munich were seen as the favorites in their final at home to Chelsea in the Allianz Arena. Thomas Müller looked to have won it with five minutes to go, but then Didier Drogba powered in a header to equalize. Arjen Robben missed a penalty in extra time and in the shootout, Ivica Olic and Bastian Schweinsteiger both missed. The home finale turned out to be another traumatic moment for Bayern.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/P. Kneffel
2012 Magical Messi
Lionel Messi has left many players in his dust over the years, but in 2012 he was a nightmare for Bayer Leverkusen. The Argentine scored five against an overwhelmed Bundesliga side, defeating them on his own. At the end of the night, Barcelona ran out 7-1 victors in one of the highest-scoring games in the tournament's history.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Cordon Press
2013: The German final
Germany's two heavyweights went head to head in the 2013 final, with Borussia Dortmund looking to spring an upset over Bayern Munich. In an open affair, Bayern took the lead through Mario Mandzukic after 60 minutes before Ilkay Gundogan equalized from the penalty spot. The match looked to be heading to extra-time, only for Arjen Robben to score the winner in the 89th minute.
Image: picture-alliance/imagebroker/U. Kraft
2013: Lewandowski's four-goal haul
Borussia Dortmund's Robert Lewandowski shows how many goals he scored against Real Madrid in a memorable home semifinal against Real Madrid in the 2012-13 season. BVB won 4-1 and secured a spot in the final despite a 2-0 loss in Spain. The final ended in defeat to Bayern, but Lewandowski's semifinal performance was one for the ages.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/F. Gambarini
2017: Barca's incredible comeback against Paris
Barcelona's exit looked confirmed after a 4-0 loss away in Paris, but in the second leg produced a spectacle. Edinson Cavani's goal just after the hour mark seemed to stop Barca's comeback in its tracks. Barca, 3-1 up, needed three more goals. Then Neymar scored a brace and in the 95th minute Sergi Roberto scored the winner in one of the most incredible comebacks in football history.
