PlayBeautiful

Player With Potential: Marko Marin

They say he’s not good enough. He’s not made for Chelsea. Just some other player who will disappear. Call me naïve, call me ignorant, but I refuse to believe he will never shine for our team. Never is a strong word and I believe there is always something possible even in the impossible. Who am I referring to? I’m talking about the one who wears the #21 jersey for the Blues. Marko Marin.

He has made only one start in the Premier League during the 2012/2013 campaign. It was a 1-0 home loss against Queens Park Rangers, a team fighting to survive relegation. This match happens to be one of Chelsea’s worst played games so far this season. It was obvious that Marin was nervous for his start because he ended up getting an early yellow card for a rash challenge. Right after this game, I was disappointed to read so many comments targeting Marin’s performance. People like to put the blame on the easy target, but they fail to understand it was not his poor showing alone. It was the WHOLE team who had a rather meek performance and not just a SINGLE player. It’s true his Premier League debut wasn't ideal, but that doesn't mean people should say we need to get rid of him or question why we bought him in the first place. Ever since he picked up a hamstring injury during Chelsea’s preseason, Marko has struggled to regain his fitness level to 100%. It’s astonishing to hear people say his career is over at just 23 years old. I don’t believe he is a lost cause though. At this age, he still has room to grow. However, this can only happen if he is given regular playing time to find his confidence. A coach who believes in him could do wonders for a player’s morale. Marko Marin can show his technical skills for Chelsea under the right circumstances. Piling pressure and not giving him proper chances will not make him go in the right direction. With Hazard given his ban and Moses at AFCON, now is the time to see if Marko can develop with our team. Also, sending him out on loan for the rest of the season is a plausible option to guarantee him more playing time. If we were patient with Torres, why can’t we be patient with Marin? It’s good to be realistic, but let’s not confuse realism with pessimism.


Written by: Goral Patel

Follow me on Twitter: @goralpatel 

Image via edenhazardy - Tumblr