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Marko BasaSerbian and Montenegrin footballer, defender
Date of Birth: 29.12.1982
Country:  Montenegro |
Content:
- Marco Basha - Serbian and Montenegrin Football Player
- Early Career
- Controversies with National Teams
- Decision to Play for Montenegro
- Move to Lille
Marco Basha - Serbian and Montenegrin Football Player
Marco Basha, a Serbian and Montenegrin football player, is currently a defender for the club "Lille". He is of half Montenegrin descent from his father's side, while his mother is a Serbian from Trstenik.
Early Career
Marco played for the youth national team of Serbia and Montenegro, with whom he won the silver medal in the 2004 European Championship. He also represented the national team in the Olympic football tournament in Athens in 2004, where Serbia finished last in their qualifying group.
Controversies with National Teams
On August 16, 2006, Marco received a call-up from Serbia for the first match after the dissolution of Serbia and Montenegro against the Czech Republic. However, he did not show up, presumably due to injury. He did not receive any more official call-ups from Serbia, and his affiliation with a specific national team became a subject of speculation in the media.
In 2007, Marco constantly stated in Montenegrin media that he wanted to play for Montenegro. In March 2007, he received an invitation to participate in the first match of the Montenegrin national team. However, he did not show up for the match, citing "objective circumstances" as the reason for his absence. Despite another attempt to contact him in late May, he was not included in the squad for the Kirin Cup tournament in Japan. Another invitation was extended to him in August 2008 for a friendly match against Slovenia, and the head coach of the Montenegrin national team, Zoran Filipovic, threatened that Basha would not be called up again if he failed to attend. However, Marco simply ignored the call-up, did not show up for the match, and did not even contact the football federation. In interviews, Marco explained his absence from both national teams as a result of problems with officials from the football federations, rather than conflicts with coaches.
Decision to Play for Montenegro
In March 2009, Basha was once again called up to the Montenegrin national team, and this time he made the decision to represent the newly formed national team. He made his debut on March 28 in a match against Italy (0-2), playing the full 90 minutes.
