Marcus Berg Swedish footballer, forward Date of Birth: 17.08.1986 Country: Sweden

Marcus Berg: Biography

Marcus Berg is a Swedish football player, currently playing as a forward for the UAE club "Al Ain" and the Swedish national team. He began his football career at the "Torsby" club school. In 2003, he joined the youth team of IFK "Gothenburg". He made his debut in the first team of "Gothenburg" on April 10, 2005, in a match against "Malmo", coming on as a substitute in injury time. On August 8, 2005, he scored his first goal in the league, against "Helsingborg". In the 2007 season, he became a regular player and scored 14 goals in 17 matches.

On August 10, 2007, Berg moved to "Groningen" for a transfer fee of 2.5-4 million euros. He played his first match for his new team on August 18 against "NAC Breda". He scored his first goal for "Groningen" on September 2 against "Ajax", scoring a brace. In his first season in the Netherlands, he scored 15 goals in 25 league matches, as well as 3 goals in four playoff matches. However, "Groningen" did not qualify for the European competitions. In the summer of 2008, Berg attracted interest from the French club "Nancy", but "Groningen" rejected an offer of around €10 million.

In the 2008/09 season, Berg had a strong start, scoring 5 goals in the first 5 matches. In the 16th round match against "Roda", he scored 4 goals (2 from open play and 2 from penalties), and the match ended with a score of 2-5. After the first half of the season, Berg had 13 goals in 16 games. In total, he scored 17 goals in 31 matches in the top division of the 2008/2009 season, ranking him third in the league's top scorers, as well as 5 goals in 4 playoff matches. Once again, "Groningen" failed to qualify for the European competitions.

On July 18, 2009, Berg moved to German club "Hamburg" and signed a 5-year contract. He played with the number 16 jersey. He made his first official appearance for "Hamburg" on August 6, 2009, in the Europa League match against Danish club "Randers". He scored his first goal for "Hamburg" on August 20, 2009, against French club "Guingamp", also in the Europa League. In the first half of the 2009/10 season, Berg was a regular player in the starting lineup, benefiting from the injuries of his competitors, Jose Paolo Guerrero and Mladen Petric. In January 2010, "Hamburg" acquired Ruud van Nistelrooy, and after that, Berg was no longer in the starting lineup.

On July 21, 2010, "Hamburg" loaned Berg to the Dutch club "PSV" for one season. In "PSV", Berg joined his compatriots and national team teammates, Isaksson and Toivonen. He made his first official appearance for PSV on August 7, 2010, against "Heerenveen". On August 22, 2010, he scored his first goals for PSV, scoring a brace against AZ. On September 24, 2010, Berg was suspended for 4 matches by the Royal Dutch Football Union, and therefore, he didn't play in the Dutch league from September 19 to October 27, 2010. Jonathan Reis, who replaced the suspended Berg, performed excellently and scored 6 goals in three matches. When Berg's suspension ended, Fred Rutten continued to play Jonathan Reis in the starting lineup instead of Berg. On December 19, 2010, Jonathan Reis suffered a severe injury and was sidelined for the rest of the season. Berg's only competitor was 32-year-old Danny Koevermans.

Marcus Berg made his debut for the Swedish national team on February 6, 2008, in a friendly match against Turkey, playing the full 90 minutes. On June 10, 2009, he scored his first goal for the national team against Malta, with Sweden winning the match 4-0. In the qualification tournament for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Berg was a backup to Henrik Larsson and Johan Elmander, and he scored 2 goals.

Marcus Berg's agent is Soren Lerby. He has also represented the Swedish under-21 national team. He made his debut for the under-21 team on February 28, 2006, in a friendly match against Ireland. He participated in the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, where he scored 7 goals and became the tournament's top scorer. He was named the best player of the championship.