Rui Marques

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Rui Marques
Personal information
Full name	Manuel Rui Marques
Date of birth	September 3, 1977 (1977-09-03) (age 30)
Place of birth	Luanda, Angola
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position	Defender
Club information
Current club	Leeds United
Number	5
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1998–1999 1999–2000 2000–2001 2001–2004 2004–2005 2005– 2006	FC Baden SSV Ulm Hertha Berlin VfB Stuttgart Maritimo Leeds United → Hull City (loan)	27 (0) 32 (0) 01 (0) 47 (0) 08 (0) 50 (3) 01 (0)
National team2
2006–	Angola	08 (0)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20:46, 17 March 2008 (GMT). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 17:11, 13 June 2008 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

Manuel Rui Marques (born 3 September 1977 in Luanda, Angola), more commonly known as Rui Marques, is an Angolan footballer, currently playing as a defender for Leeds United. Although born in Angola, Marques moved to Portugal as a child, hence the name Manuel.

Marques began professionly in Germany's SSV Ulm 1846 in the 1999-2000 season but then moved to Hertha BSC in Berlin, Germany's capital and one of their top clubs.

Marques then moved to VfB Stuttgart where he played four seasons at the German club. In the 2004-05 season he moved to CS Marítimo of Madeira, Portugal. After struggling to break into the first team, Marques was subsequently released by Marítimo after just one season and in the 2005-06 season Marques moved to Leeds United in England on a Bosman transfer^[1]. Marques made one appearance for Leeds in the 2005-06 season in the Carling Cup against Oldham, in which he was clearly very nervous and uncomfortable playing at right-back, Marques did not feature again for Leeds that season and at the end of 2005-06 he went to Hull City on a short-term loan^[2], which was cut short due to injury.

The 2006-07 campaign again saw Marques over-looked by manager Kevin Blackwell, and again by the new Leeds manager Dennis Wise, who made it clear Marques would not feature under his leadership and was told he was free to leave the club^[3], along with a number of other squad and fringe players. However, Marques has never once complained about his isolation from the first team and has worked hard to try and prove himself, being included in a number of different match-day squad listings and on a couple of occasions making the substitutes bench.

Marques' hard-work and persistence was rewarded when he was called up to the first team squad for Leeds United's 2-1 victory against Coventry City on 1 January 2007, where he turned in a very solid performance at centre back. This performance saw Marques being rewarded with a long run in the starting lineup at Elland Road. Marques stated that he would prefer to concentrate on Leeds' relegation battle than signing a new deal. He was an instant hit with the fans, who dubbed him a "Sex machine".^[4]. However, Leeds were relegated to League One, but Marques showed his commitment to the club and signed a new deal on the 7th August 2007. Marques is now a regular in the first team and scored his first goal for the Elland Road outfit on 18 August 2007 in the 4-1 drubbing of Southend United in the dying minutes of the match. Marques missed several matches in January 2008, linking up with Angola for the African Cup Of Nations.

On his return, Marques established himself as fourth-choice captain at Leeds^[5], taking up the armband for most of March 2008 whilst Alan Thompson, Jonathan Douglas and Andy Hughes were out injured. Marques picked up an injury and was replaced by Paul Huntington on Leeds' starting line-up. Due to Huntington's fantastic form, Marques was kept out of the side for the rest of the season, only being limited to occasional substitute appearances.

Before he left the club, manager Dennis Wise stated he would offer Marques a new contract. Upon his arrival, new manager, Gary McAllister offered Marques a new contract, however, talks are currently stalled with the length of the contract appearing to be the deciding factor in Marques' decision^[6]. It has been speculated that several other clubs such as Sunderland, Watford and Crystal Palace are monitoring his situation at Elland Road. However as of 20th May 2008 he signed a new contract with Leeds United contracting him to the club for a further two seasons.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Rui Marques career stats at Soccerbase

v • d • e Angola squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup 1 João Ricardo • 2 Marco Airosa • 3 Jamba • 4 Lebo Lebo • 5 Kali • 6 Miloy • 7 Figueiredo • 8 André • 9 Mantorras • 10 Akwá • 11 Mateus • 12 Lamá • 13 Édson • 14 Mendonça • 15 Rui Marques • 16 Flávio • 17 Zé Kalanga • 18 Love • 19 Titi Buengo • 20 Locó • 21 Delgado • 22 Mário • 23 Marco Abreu • Coach: Gonçalves