Mario Marinică
This biographical article is written encyclopedic . (June 2020) |
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Mario Marinică | ||
Date of birth | 13 December 1964 | ||
Place of birth | Romania | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
Rocar București | |||
1987 | Dinamo București | ||
Steaua București | |||
Managerial career | |||
2001–2002 |
Rocar București (assistant) | ||
2003 |
Argeş Piteşti | ||
2003–2004 |
Cimentul Fieni (caretaker) | ||
2008–2009 | Gloria Buzău (interim) | ||
2009 |
Black Leopards | ||
2010–2012 |
Sportul Studenţesc (technical director) | ||
2013 | Kaposvári Rákóczi (assistant) | ||
2014–2015 | Rapid București | ||
2015–2016 | Azam (director of football) | ||
2016 |
Zakho (assistant) | ||
2017–2019 | Concordia Chiajna (assistant) | ||
2019–2021 | Kerala Blasters (Youth) (technical director) | ||
2021–2023 | Malawi | ||
2024– | Liberia | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Mario Marinică (born 13 December 1964) is a Romanian football manager and former player who is currently the Head Coach of the Liberia national football team.
He holds the
Playing career
Mario Marinică featured most notably in the youth and reserve teams at Rocar București, Dinamo București and Steaua București, eventually retiring from playing in 1993.[1] In a 2009 interview with Sport Magazine he commented "I started at Dinamo, then I moved to Steaua. I played as a central midfielder. I also played for Rocar, Mecon and Girueta" [2]
Coaching career
His coaching career commenced in 1993 at Leyton Orient FC. In a varied coaching role, he directed "Football in the Community" courses, and developed players both at the School of Excellence and first team; working closely with Grant Cornwell, John Sitton and Chris Ramsey.[3]
During the 1998–1999 season he coached
From 1999 to 2001, Marinică was a coach at the
In the 2001–2002 season he returned to Rocar București as Assistant Manager. Here he helped to develop a number of players including
During 2002–2003, he became a development coach at the Crystal Palace FC Academy. He managed the U15 side, and coached from U14 to U19 levels. He worked with a number of players who have since turned professional and received International honours:
At the start of 2003, he was appointed First Team Coach at
His progress at
In recent years he has been a member of the Technical Support Staff of the
"I have known Mario for a long time. He is an intellectual coach; methodical, a statistician, and an excellent personality." Mircea Rădulescu, Technical Director of the Romanian Football Federation.[2]
He has been employed by
During the 2006 FIFA World Cup, he assisted the Paraguay national football team, providing technical analysis of their group B rivals: England, Sweden and Trinidad & Tobago.
From 2005 to 2007, he completed the
In the 2008–9 season, he was the interim manager of Romanian
In June 2009, he was appointed Manager of South Africa
In July 2010 he was employed as Technical Director at Romanian Premier League side
In December 2014, he was linked with the vacant manager's job at English Conference National side
Marinica left his advisory technical role at Rapid București in March 2015, he released a short statement saying " it was a pleasure to work at one of the greatest names in Romanian football, unfortunately financial constraints at the club have forced me to leave from my role, I wish the club the fans and the owners all the best at helping to return this magnificent football club where they belong".
June 2015 saw Marinica take up the Director of Football role alongside
In February 2017, he was initially announced as Head Coach of Forest Rangers. Forest chairperson Benhail Mukuka said the club was excited to have signed Marinica, who comes with success from his stint in Tanzania.[24] However shortly afterwards, Perry Mutapa was announced instead, with the club not elaborating over the reversal of the appointment.[25]
September 2017 saw him join Ion Moldovan's technical staff at Romanian premier division team Concordia Chiajna.[26]
In 2019, he joined as the Technical Director of the
Malawi
November 2021 saw Marinica appointed as Technical Director of the Football Association of Malawi on a three-year contract.[31] Speaking at the appointment, Football Association of Malawi President Walter Nyamilandu commented "He is here to develop Malawi football and to correct some shortfalls that are there. As an association, we want to play football the right way. We need to produce quality coaches who will take Malawian football to another level. There has always been a gap especially when playing international games so Mario is here to bridge the gap. We don't want shortcuts and we want to be better organized as he champions the agenda of football development. I want to live behind a football philosophy that will suit our nation. We need to embrace change. With him, I expect technical issues to be the number one priority by paying more attention to grassroots football and youth football before bringing everything together for the betterment of our game. Mario comes into this position with lots of experience and is not new in this environment. He has worked in Africa and his profile on the continent is well documented," said Nyamilandu.[32]
Marinica said it's a huge challenge working for a nation with lots of potential and is very optimistic that within three years, he will achieve what he has been employed for. "Huge challenge to have a small nation with huge talent. My first task is to build structures, scouting network and to receive help and support from all relevant stakeholders to develop the game starting with grassroots football because that's the basis of football.It won't be easy because every job has a challenge and I am ready for it. I have once worked with a few Malawian players notably Robert Ng'ambi at Black Leopards and from the onset, you could tell that we have talent in Malawi. I want to help in nurturing the talent not only for the national team but as Ambassadors ready for international market," he said.[32]
African Cup of Nations 2021
Having only just been appointed Technical Director, on 6 December it was then announced that he will lead
Ahead of the tournament the team held a 10-day camp in Saudi Arabia, as part of a technical partnership with the Saudi Arabian Football Federation.[35] The camp was affected by Covid, with some players unable to travel, others joining later, and more infected during the camp. Friendlies against Mali and local teams had to be cancelled, although the friendly against Comoros went ahead on 31 December 2021. In Marinica's first game in charge, Malawi beat Comoros 2–1 with goals from Gabadinho Mhango and Khuda Muyaba[36]
Marinica named his 28-man squad for the tournament, with 23 in the main squad for the tournament and five as reserves. He called up three uncapped players in goalkeeper
Group B (Guinea, Zimbabwe, Senegal)
Ahead of their first Group B game against Guinea, Malawi were hit hard by positive Covid tests in the camp. On 9 January, six players and three technical staff including Marinica tested positive. In addition, key players Mark Fodya and Charles Petro had remained in Saudi Arabia having tested positive there.[38]
Due to the Covid outbreak, Malawi were only able to name a matchday squad of 15 for the match against
On 10 January, FAM announced that it had recalled the five players that were on the reserve list to join the team in Cameroon with Gerald Phiri Jr. convinced to rescind his retirement. Initially CAF had indicated that only 23 players in the final squad will be eligible to take part in the competition while the other extra five, that were registered at the discretion of participating teams, will be on reserve and would only be replaced in case of serious injury. CAF specified that the injury had to be certified through MRI Scan by the CAF Medical Committee and COVID-19 was not regarded as a serious injury. With increased cases of COVID-19 being experienced across the participating teams, the rule was relaxed.[40]
As per the CAF 2021 AFCON pre-match protocols the Flames players and officials underwent a COVID-19 PCR test, 48 hours before the team's second group B match against Zimbabwe. All the 28 players tested negative, though unfortunately Mario Marinica continued to test positive and remained in isolation for the fixture. Once again first assistant coach,
The team received a boost ahead of their final group B game against Senegal, with all players and coaching staff including Marinica testing COVID negative.
Last 16 (Morocco)
Summary
In summary, Peter Kanjere writing in the New Frame [52] wrote "From being underwhelming underdogs going into the tournament to reaching the round of 16, the Flames have shown discipline, flair and dedication, to the utter delight of their fans. Reaching the last 16 is a remarkable achievement for the Flames considering that they are a modest squad with no big-name players. The squad were drawn mainly from the Malawian domestic league as well as the two tiers of top-flight football in South Africa. Marinica hit the ground running and wasted no time in diagnosing the flaws of the Flames and Malawian football in general." In his report, Marinica observed that "the players’ recruitment system is done ... haphazardly and very sentimentally. Physically, most players are short in key positions such as central defence and goalkeeping." Marinica then set about on his own scouting mission, which resulted in little-known players such as Civil Sporting Club defender
On 1 April 2023, a statement released by the Football Association of Malawi announced that, "by mutual consent, it has been agreed with Mr Mario Marinica not to enter into negotiations for renewal of his contract when it expires on 30 April 2023." It also revealed that the 58-year-old will be "on scheduled annual leave" up until that date and thanked him for "bringing great joy and pride" to Malawi for their historic Afcon run in Cameroon.[54]
Marinica was appointed Head Coach of Liberia on the 19th February 2024, on a two-year deal ahead of the start of their 2025 Nations Cup qualifying campaign. [55]
References
- ^ "Un român lucrează pentru Federaţia Engleză de Fotbal (A Romanian works for the Football Association in England), Adverul 25 July 2006".
- ^ a b c d e f g "Super Mario – Profile of Mario Marinica". 15 July 2009. Archived from the original on 7 October 2011.
- TheGuardian.com.
- ^ "Haringey Borough FC appoint Marinica and Searson, Non League Daily 3rd March 2006". 3 March 2006. Archived from the original on 15 September 2012.
- ^ "15th UEFA Course for Coach Educators, Amsterdam, Netherlands – List of Official Representatives" (PDF). 6 March 2005.
- ^ "Mario Marinica with Marcello Lippi and Mircea Rădulescu at the 16th UEFA Course for Coach Educators, Coverciano, Italy". 15 July 2009.
- ^ a b "Howard Wilkinson to address Romania's top coaches". 24 June 2006.
- ^ Walker, Michael (21 April 2006). "Steaua Bucharest 1 – Middlesbrough 0". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
- ^ Gaunt, Ken (15 September 2005). "Dinamo Bucharest 5 – Everton 1". The Independent. London. Retrieved 12 May 2010.[dead link]
- ^ "Pro Licence Group attend Chelsea Training Session". 21 March 2006.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Mario Marinica and his Pro-Licence classmates visit Steve Bruce at Birmingham City FC". 15 July 2009. Archived from the original on 7 October 2011.
- ^ "Mario Marinica interview on GSP TV". 11 July 2008.
- ^ "Mario Marinica - Football-Lineups.com".
- ^ "Romanian appointed Leopards coach, The Sowetan 25th June 2009". 25 June 2009.
- ^ "Marinica leaves Leopards post, Football365 27th July 2009". 27 July 2009.
- ^ "Veteran coach Ted Dumitru speaks highly of Marinica". 29 July 2009.
- ^ "Match preview – Victoria Branesti v Sportul Studentesc". 10 September 2010.
- ^ "Lusaka Times, 12th April 2010 The race to be the next Zambia coach". 12 April 2010.
- ^ "FC Rapid Official Site – 2014 Coaching Staff – Marian Marinica, Assistant Manager".
- ^ "BBC Sport, 15th December 2014 - Paul Cox: Ex-Mansfield boss in contention for Telford job".
- ^ "BBC Swahili, 11th June 2015 – Experts from Europe lead Azam FC".
- ^ "TSN Media Tanzanian Standard Newspapers – Azam overhaul technical bench 30 May 2015".
- ^ "Battle for Mosul – Romanian Coaches in Iraq – Libertatea 31st October 2016".
- ^ "Forest appoint Romanian coach Supersport -26th February 2017".
- ^ "Forest Rangers turn to Mutapa Supersport -28th February 2017".
- ^ "Interview with Ion Moldovan – Libertatea 18th October 2017".
- ^ "Marinica Joins Blasters As Their Technical Director For Their Youth Setup - www.instagram/keralablasters Dec 4th, 2019". Archived from the original on 25 December 2021.
- ^ "Kerala Blasters Official Twitter @KBYoungBlasters 10th December, 2019".
- ^ "Kerala Blasters and its Exemplary Youth System - March 29th, 2020 - Shojin R Chandran/iftwc.com".
- ^ "Former Kerala Blasters reserve team Technical Director & current AIFF Grassroots Football Technical Panel Member Mario Marinică joined Halfway Football's telegram community 21st October 2021". YouTube.
- ^ "Romanian Mario Marinica appointed TD of Malawi Football Association - Malawi24.com -10th November 2021".
- ^ a b "FAM unveils Mario Marinica as new TD, Football Association of Malawi 10th November 2021".
- ^ "Mario Marinica: Romanian to lead Malawi at Africa Cup of Nations - BBC Sport 6th December 2021".
- ^ "Africa Cup of Nations - Mario Marinica's long and winding road to day in the sun. Hired as technical director by Malawi, the much travelled coach will manage the side in Cameroon - David Hytner, The Irish Times 7th January 2022".
- ^ "Flames to camp in Saudi Arabia - The Nation, 1st November 2021".
- ^ "Malawi defeat Comoros, CAFonline.com 1st January 2022".
- ^ a b "Mario speaks on Flames final AFCON squad, Football Association of Malawi 31st December 2021".
- ^ "Nine test Positive for COVID-19 in Flames camp, Football Association of Malawi, 9th January 2022".
- ^ "Sylla gives Syli National narrow win over Malawi, CAFOnline.com 10th January 2022".
- ^ "Afcon 2021: Covid-19 hit Malawi recall five reserve players for Zimbabwe date, Dennis Mabuka for Goal.com 11th January 2022".
- ^ "Afcon 2021: Clean bill of health for Flames, Football Association of Malawi 12th January 2022".
- ^ "Match Report: Malawi 2 Zimbabwe 1, BBC Sports Africa 14th January 2022".
- ^ "Marinica back, all Flames players test COVID negative, Benjamin Maona, Kulinji.com 17th January 2022".
- ^ "Senegal and Sadio Mane frustrated by resilient Flames, Andrew Cane Chilapondwa, Malawi24.com 17th January 2022".
- ^ "Senegal squeeze through to knockout phase after draw with Malawi CAFonline.com 17th January 2022".
- ^ "Salim Masoud Said on Twitter @salimosaid 18th January 2022".
- ^ "Flames out to cause upset, Joy Ndovi, The Nation, 25th January 2022".
- ^ "AFCON - Malawi: The formula for success - as told by coach Mario Marinica • FRANCE 24 English, 24th January 2022".
- ^ "Morocco v Malawi, African Cup of Nations, Scott Murray, The Guardian, 25th January 2022".
- ^ "@KMbappe Official Twitter of Kylian Mbappé, 25th January 2022".
- ^ "Morocco's Atlas Lions switch off Malawi Flames to qualify for quarters, CAFonline.com 25th January 2022".
- ^ "Malawi's flame ignited at the Afcon, Peter Kanjere, New Frame, 25th January 2022".
- ^ "Malawi's flame ignited at the Afcon, Peter Kanjere, New Frame, 25 January 2022".
- ^ "Marinica leaves Malawi job". BBC. BBC Sport Africa 3 April 2023.
- ^ "Liberia have appointed former Malawi coach Mario Marinica as their boss on a two-year deal ahead of the start of their 2025 Nations Cup qualifying campaign. See Article Paragraph 9". BBC. BBC Sport Africa 20 February 2024.