Marco Russ

Not to be confused with Marco Reus or Marco Rose.

Marco Russ
Personal information
Date of birth (1985-08-04) 4 August 1985 (age 39)
Place of birth Hanau, West Germany
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Centre-back, defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Eintracht Frankfurt (match analyst)
Youth career
1989–1996 VfB Großauheim
1996–2004 Eintracht Frankfurt
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2011 Eintracht Frankfurt 163 (13)
2011–2013 VfL Wolfsburg 24 (1)
2013 → Eintracht Frankfurt (loan) 10 (1)
2013–2020 Eintracht Frankfurt 111 (9)
Total 308 (24)
International career
2006 Germany U20 1 (0)
Managerial career
2020– Eintracht Frankfurt (Match Analyst)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Marco Russ (born 4 August 1985) is a German former professional footballer who played as a centre-back or defensive midfielder,[1] spending most of his career in the Bundesliga with Eintracht Frankfurt.

Club career

Born in Hanau, Hesse, Russ advanced through the youth system at nearby Eintracht Frankfurt.[2] He made his debut in 2004, and on 29 April 2006 played in the DFB-Pokal final, a 1–0 loss to Bayern Munich at the Olympiastadion in Berlin.[3]

On 26 September 2009, he received a straight red card in the 33rd minute of a 3–0 home loss to VfB Stuttgart at the Commerzbank-Arena for a foul on Sami Khedira.[4]

In July 2011, after Frankfurt's relegation to the 2. Bundesliga, Russ became a transfer target for VfL Wolfsburg manager Felix Magath.[5] On the 16th, he became the second player that summer to make the move from Frankfurt to the Volkswagen Arena, joining Patrick Ochs by signing a three-year deal for a fee of around €3.5 million.[6]

After two seasons in Lower Saxony, Russ returned to his former club in June 2013 after an earlier loan.[7] He competed with the team in that season's UEFA Europa League, making eight appearances in all; on 19 September he scored from Tranquillo Barnetta's corner kick in a 3–0 group stage home win over FC Girondins de Bordeaux.[8]

In May 2016, Russ took a routine anti-doping test which showed high levels of the hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), which can be produced either by anabolic steroids or cancer. After consulting a doctor on the 18th, it was confirmed that he had a malignant tumour. However, he put himself forward to play their promotion/relegation play-off against 1. FC Nürnberg the following day.[9] In the match, he scored an own goal from Sebastian Kerk's free kick in a 1–1 home draw;[10] Frankfurt stayed up 2–1 on aggregate with Russ absent from the second leg.[11]

Russ returned to the pitch after undergoing therapy on 28 February 2017 in a DFB-Pokal quarter-final against Arminia Bielefeld, coming on in place of Aymen Barkok at the end of the 1–0 win at the Commerzbank Arena.[12] In the next round on 25 April away to Borussia Mönchengladbach, he came on in extra time of the 1–1 draw and scored the shot that took the penalty shootout to sudden death, with his team prevailing.[13] He was an unused substitute in the final, a loss by a single goal to Borussia Dortmund.[13]

Although not a first-team regular under manager Niko Kovač, Russ scored the first goal since his cancer diagnosis on 10 February 2018 in a 4–2 home win over 1. FC Köln.[14] He played all six matches of their 2017–18 DFB-Pokal conquest, with every minute of their first five games,[13] and sixteen in place of Jonathan de Guzmán at the end of the 3–1 final win over Bayern on 19 May.

Russ announced his retirement from playing in June 2020[15] and was immediately hired as Match Analyst for Eintracht.[16]

International career

Russ played one friendly for the Germany U20 national team in 2006.[17]

Honours

Eintracht Frankfurt

References

  1. ^ "Russ, Marco" (in German). kicker.de. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  2. ^ "Eintracht Frankfurt's Marco Russ diagnosed with tumor". Deutsche Welle. 19 May 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  3. ^ "Deutlich knapper als erwartet". Fussballdaten (in German). Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  4. ^ "Schiebers Doppelpack leitet ungefährdeten VfB-Sieg ein". kicker. 26 September 2009. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  5. ^ Zocher, Thomas (5 July 2011). "Wolfsburg target Russ". Sky Sports. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  6. ^ Witney, Clark (16 July 2011). "Official: Wolfsburg sign Marco Russ from Eintracht Frankfurt". Goal. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  7. ^ "Hoffenheim's Schröck stiffens Eintracht midfield". UEFA. 27 June 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  8. ^ "Europa League: Eintracht Frankfurt ease to 3–0 victory over Bordeaux". Sky Sports. 19 September 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  9. ^ Stephan Uersfeld (19 May 2016). "Frankfurt's Marco Russ to feature in playoff despite tumour diagnosis". ESPN FC. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  10. ^ "Marco Russ: Eintracht Frankfurt captain scores own goal day after diagnosis". 20 May 2016. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  11. ^ Hallam, Mark (23 May 2016). "Frankfurt survive Bundesliga relegation playoff against Nuremberg". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  12. ^ ""Einfach nur froh": Russ ist zurück auf dem Rasen". kicker.de (in German). 28 February 2017. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
  13. ^ a b c d "Marco Russ: The semi-final specialist". DFB. 18 April 2018. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  14. ^ "Russ krönt starke Leistung mit erstem Tor nach Krebserkrankung" (in German). OP. 11 February 2018. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  15. ^ Gottschalk, Melanie (25 June 2020). "Eintracht Frankfurt: Urgestein beendet überraschend seine aktive Karriere". Frankfurter Rundschau (in German). Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  16. ^ Marco Russ hört auf und wird Frankfurts Analyst, kicker.de, 26 June 2020
  17. ^ "Marco Russ Personenprofil".
  18. ^ "Bayern Munich 1-3 Eintracht Frankfurt". Whoscored.com. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  • Marco Russ at Eintracht Frankfurt's Official Website (in German)
  • Marco Russ at eintracht-archiv.de (in German)