Óscar de Marcos

Óscar de Marcos Arana (Basque: [os̺kar de maɾkos̺ aɾana]; Spanish: [ˈoskaɾ ðe ˈmaɾkos aˈɾana];[lower-alpha 1] born 14 April 1989) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Athletic Bilbao usually as a midfielder but also as a full back (right or left).

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is De Marcos and the second or maternal family name is Arana.

Óscar de Marcos
De Marcos playing for Athletic Bilbao in 2018
Personal information
Full name Óscar de Marcos Arana
Date of birth (1989-04-14) 14 April 1989
Place of birth Laguardia, Spain
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Playing position(s) Midfielder / Full back
Club information
Current team
 Athletic Bilbao
Number 18
Youth career
Alavés
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2009 Alavés B 16 (4)
2008–2009 Alavés 20 (3)
2009– Athletic Bilbao 297 (21)
2010 Bilbao Athletic 1 (0)
National team
2009 Spain U20 3 (0)
2009 Spain U21 1 (0)
2012 Spain U23 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16 July 2020

He spent most of his career at Athletic Bilbao, making over 390 official appearances.

Club career

Alavés

Born in Laguardia, Álava, de Marcos made his professional debut for nearby Deportivo Alavés. He first appeared in the second division in the home fixture against CD Tenerife on 21 December 2008, coming on as a late substitute in a 1–2 loss.[2]

De Marcos eventually played in 20 games with the first team, as they dropped down a level at the season's end. He started his career as a forward.[3]

Athletic Bilbao

In July 2009, de Marcos went straight into La Liga, penning a four-year deal with Athletic Bilbao for about €350,000. He made his club debut on 6 August in a 2–1 win at BSC Young Boys in the UEFA Europa League (2–2 aggregate, victory on the away goals rule), as a starter;[4] ten days later he opened the score against FC Barcelona for the season's domestic Super Cup,[5] as the Basques eventually lost 1–2 at home and 1–5 in total.[6]

Having been signed initially for the reserve squad, de Marcos had more impact than expected – as did 16-year-old Iker Muniain – making 29 official appearances during the 2009–10 campaign and scoring three goals. He played his only match with the B-team on 14 April 2010 against Zamora CF, in a season where they narrowly avoided relegation from division three.

De Marcos appeared less in his second season, but was also used as a full back by manager Joaquín Caparrós, finishing the year with 15 games in all competitions. The following campaign, under Marcelo Bielsa, he played in that position and also in central midfield.[7][8]

On 17 December 2011, de Marcos played roughly one hour of the league fixture against Real Zaragoza (2–1 home win) with a tear in his scrotum, which later required 25 stitches.[9][10] On 4 January of the following year he extended his contract with the Lions until June 2016, with a release clause of €32 million.[11]

De Marcos playing in a Europa League match in 2012

De Marcos netted in both legs of the 2011–12 Europa League round of 16 against Manchester United, as Athletic won both games and went through 5–3 on aggregate.[12][13] He also scored in the next round against FC Schalke 04,[14] playing in a total of 15 ties to help his team reach the final;[15] they also made it to the decisive match in the domestic cup, losing to Barcelona.[16]

On 13 October 2014, de Marcos agreed to a new three-year extension until 30 June 2019, with a buyout clause being set at €40 million.[17] He also featured in all ten matches in both the UEFA Champions League and Europa League, but did not take part in the 2015 Spanish Cup final due to suspension[18] (once again the result was a defeat to Barcelona, and his inexperienced replacement Unai Bustinza struggled to cope with the skill of Neymar);[19] he did play the full 180 minutes of the 2015 Supercup, in which his club finally overcame the same opponent.[20][21]

Following the departure of veteran Andoni Iraola, de Marcos became the regular right-back in Ernesto Valverde's line-ups.[22] In November 2016, he suffered an injury to his left foot which caused him to miss two months of action.[23] On his first start since recovering on 22 January 2017, he scored in a 2–2 draw at home to Atlético Madrid,[24] regaining a starting place for the remainder of the season.[25] On 20 August he received another significant injury, a sprain to his left ankle in the opening fixture of the domestic campaign against Getafe CF;[26] three months later he returned, starting in a 2–2 draw away to Deportivo La Coruña on 26 November, although he lasted less than an hour before being substituted with an injury once more – this time a problem with his right foot.[27]

In July 2019, de Marcos reached the milestone of ten years with the same club.[28][29] An injury to his left ankle ligaments forced him to miss much of 2019–20, but he was able to return after the delay caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain.[30]

International career

In November 2015, de Marcos and Nacho were called up into the Spain squad as replacements for the injured Sergio Ramos and Juanfran, ahead of friendlies against England[31] and Belgium.[32] De Marcos did not play either match, with the latter in Brussels being cancelled due to the city's lockdown.

De Marcos also featured for the unofficial Basque Country regional team.[33]

Personal life

Outside football, de Marcos is known for his humanitarian work, including non-publicised visits to see sick children in local hospitals on a weekly basis and frequent charity visits to Africa and South America,[34][35] in addition to occasionally offering lifts in his car to supporters who attended training sessions at Lezama on foot.[10][36]

In 2019, he authored a short book in collaboration with Athletic Bilbao's community foundation, describing the high and low points of his first year at the club which were followed by a trip to the West African country of Togo (the book's title) which helped him put his newfound fame as a sportsman in perspective.[37][38]

Career statistics
As of 27 June 2020[39][40]
Club Season League Cup Europe Other[41] Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Alavés B 2008–09 Tercera División 16400––164
Total 16400––164
Alavés 2008–09 Segunda División 20300––203
Total 20300––203
Bilbao Athletic 2009–10 Segunda División B 10–––10
Total 10–––10
Athletic Bilbao 2009–10 La Liga 191108111293
2010–11 13020––150
2011–12 34481144–569
2012–13 3662081–467
2013–14 3554000–395
2014–15 35170101–522
2015–16 3415113020542
2016–17 2710050–321
2017–18 2110071–282
2018–19 30140––341
2019–20 8000––80
Total 292213326583139332
Career total 329283326583143039

Honours

Athletic Bilbao

Notes
  1. In isolation, De Marcos is pronounced [de ˈmaɾkos].

References
  1. "De Marcos". Athletic Bilbao. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  2. "El Tenerife se estrena en Vitoria y se mete en la pelea" [Tenerife get first in Vitoria and enter scrap]. Marca (in Spanish). 21 December 2008. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  3. Orio, Iván (1 October 2011). "Bielsa descubre a otro De Marcos" [Bielsa finds another De Marcos]. El Correo (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  4. "Muniaín se erige en salvador" [Muniaín turned saviour] (in Spanish). UEFA. 7 August 2009. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
  5. Herguedas, Miguel Á. (16 August 2009). "Todo sigue igual en el Barcelona" [Everything the same at Barcelona]. El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 May 2017.
  6. F. Sanchidrián, David (23 August 2009). "Dos goles de Messi dan al Barça la Supercopa de España" [Two Messi goals give Barça Spanish Supercup]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 May 2017.
  7. "De Marcos: "Está bien lo de ser comodín, he jugado más que el año pasado"" [De Marcos: "I'm fine with joker role, i've played more than last year"] (in Spanish). Canal Athletic. 12 September 2011. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
  8. Beato, Rafa (13 September 2011). "Bielsa dejará de volver loco a su equipo" [Bielsa will no longer make team loco]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 January 2012.
  9. Cuenca, Nika (19 December 2011). "De Marcos jugó una hora con el escroto desgarrado" [De Marcos played one hour with tear in scrotum]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 January 2012.
  10. McTear, Euan (22 July 2019). "Óscar de Marcos and the torn scrotum". These Football Times. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  11. "De Marcos signs new Athletic deal". UEFA. 4 January 2012. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
  12. "Enterprising Athletic stun United at Old Trafford". UEFA. 8 March 2012. Retrieved 15 March 2012.
  13. "Athletic see off United with room to spare". UEFA. 15 March 2012. Retrieved 15 March 2012.
  14. "Schalke stunned by late Athletic fightback". UEFA. 29 March 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  15. Atkin, John (9 May 2012). "Falcao at double as Atlético march to title". UEFA. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  16. Lowe, Sid (26 May 2012). "Barcelona end Guardiola era with Copa del Rey win over Athletic Bilbao". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  17. Velasco, Juanma (13 October 2014). "De Marcos renueva hasta el 2019" [De Marcos renews until 2019]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  18. Beltrán, Javi (4 May 2015). "Bustinza gana enteros para Valverde" [Bustinza a better option for Valverde by the day] (in Spanish). El Desmarque. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  19. "Lionel Messi stars as Barcelona win Copa Del Rey final against Athletic Bilbao". Eurosport. 30 May 2015. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  20. "Athletic Bilbao 4–0 Barcelona: Aduriz hits hat-trick in Supercopa shocker". Goal. 14 August 2015. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  21. "Athletic Bilbao hold off Barcelona to claim Spanish Super Cup". The Guardian. 17 August 2015. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  22. Zubieta, Jon (14 February 2017). "Los leones actuales son más 'europeos' que los míticos" [The current lions are more ‘European’ than the legends]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 November 2017.
  23. Basic, Robert (27 November 2016). "El largo túnel de Óscar de Marcos" [The long tunnel of Óscar de Marcos]. El Correo (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  24. "Athletic Bilbao 2 Atletico Madrid 2: Griezmann magic rescues point". FourFourTwo. 22 January 2017. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  25. Stratmann, Edward (18 April 2017). "Right-back Oscar De Marcos enjoys season despite injury setbacks". Soccer Box. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  26. Suso, Ramón (3 October 2017). "De Marcos aún deberá esperar para reaparecer" [De Marcos must still wait to reappear]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  27. Iranzo, Pedro (26 November 2017). "Deportivo 2 – Athletic 2: resumen, resultado y goles del partido" [Deportivo 2 – Athletic 2: summary, result and match goals]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 November 2017.
  28. "Óscar de Marcos: "It's a luxury to be here for ten seasons"". Athletic Bilbao. 16 July 2019. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  29. "Oscar De Marcos "I'm starting my eleventh year with a lot of pride"". Inside Athletic. 16 July 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  30. "De Marcos returns to Athletic's call". Juniper Sports. 13 June 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  31. McNulty, Phil (14 November 2015). "Spain 2–0 England". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  32. "Juanfran y Ramos, baja; De Marcos y Nacho, altas en la convocatoria" [Juanfran and Ramos, out; De Marcos and Nacho, in the selection] (in Spanish). Royal Spanish Football Federation. 9 November 2015. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  33. "Euskal Selekzioa 6–0 Perú" [Basque XI 6–0 Peru] (in Spanish). Basque Football Federation. 28 December 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  34. Velasco, Juanma (29 August 2018). "The humanitarian work of Athletic Club's Oscar de Marcos". Marca. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  35. "Athletic Bilbao star Oscar de Marcos and Inaki Williams to visit Ghana for charity". Ghana Soccernet. 1 September 2018. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  36. Santos, Eric (29 August 2018). "El gesto de De Marcos: visita a niños enfermos de cáncer en un hospital cada viernes" [De Marcos's gesture: visit children with cancer in a hospital every Friday]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  37. Lowe, Sid (2 November 2019). "Proud Athletic Bilbao are on a journey to find ways to win beyond ball games". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  38. Segura, Arnau (9 January 2020). "Óscar de Marcos, de Laguardia a Togo" [Óscar de Marcos, from Laguardia to Togo] (in Spanish). Panenka. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  39. Óscar de Marcos at Athletic Bilbao
  40. "De Marcos". Soccerway. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  41. Includes other competitive competitions, including the Supercopa de España, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup.
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