Marc Crosas

Marc Crosas

With Volga in 2011
Personal information
Full name	Marc Crosas Luque
Date of birth	9 January 1988 (1988-01-09) (age 23)
Place of birth	Sant Feliu de Guíxols, Spain
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Volga
Number	20
Youth career
2002–2006	Barcelona
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2006–2008	Barcelona B	34	(0)
2008	Barcelona	0	(0)
2008	→ Lyon (loan)	8	(0)
2008–2011	Celtic	36	(1)
2011–	Volga	25	(0)
National team
2004–2005	Spain U17	4	(1)
2006–2007	Spain U19	4	(0)
2009	Spain U21	1	(0)
2007–	Catalonia	2	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15:14, 19 November 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals).

This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is Crosas and the second or maternal family name is Luque.

Marc Crosas Luque (born 9 January 1988) is a Spanish footballer who currently plays as a central midfielder for Volga.

Career

Early life

Born in Sant Feliu de Guíxols, Girona, Catalonia, Crosas came through the ranks at La Liga club FC Barcelona and signed a five-year contract in 2006.

Barcelona

On 7 November 2007, Crosas made his first-team debut in a Copa del Rey tie against CF Badalona, coming on as a substitute for Andrés Iniesta in the 76th minute.^{[citation needed]} Crosas was named in the Barcelona squad which competed in the 2006 Club World Cup in December, in Japan where the club finished runners-up.^{[citation needed]} On 12 December 2007, he played in his first Champions League match against Stuttgart at Camp Nou.^{[citation needed]}

Crosas scored the winning penalty in the final of the 2007 Copa Catalunya in which Barcelona beat RCD Espanyol 5–4 on penalties after a 1–1 draw.^[1]

Lyon

On 11 January 2008, Barcelona and Ligue 1 club Lyon reached an agreement in which Crosas would play on loan for the French champions until the end of the season, because of the number of players competing for his central midfield position.^{[citation needed]} However, he had not given up hope of playing for the Blaugrana, saying, "I leave with the intention to return. That is my objective."^[2] Crosas trained closely with Juninho Pernambucano in order to improve his development at Lyon.^[2]

Crosas made his Ligue 1 debut for Lyon on 20 January 2008 in a match against Lens, starting in place of Juninho, who was out with a dislocated toe.^{[citation needed]} Unfortunately for him, Lyon suffered a disappointing defeat, losing 0–3.^{[citation needed]}

When his loan was coming to an end, Jean-Michel Aulas told L'Équipe "It's possible that the player will stay with us. He had a good half season at the club and people like him. We were satisfied by his performances and when we've taken a decision on the new coach, we'll see if he can continue with us."^[3]

Celtic

In August 2008, Crosas joined Celtic for a fee of £415,000 rising to £1.6 million depending on appearances, and signed a four-year contract.^[4] Barcelona retained a £1.65 million buy-back option which took effect at the end of season 2009/10.^[4] He was paraded at Celtic Park before the match with St Mirren. He made his debut for the first team as a subtitute for Scott Brown against Falkirk at Celtic Park on 23 August 2008 and his first on 13 September against Motherwell at Fir Park.^{[citation needed]} On 4 October, he was awarded man of the match for his performance against Hamilton Academical after completing his first full 90 minutes for Celtic.^{[citation needed]} On 28 January 2009, Crosas scored in the penalty shootout of the Scottish League Cup semi-final against Dundee United. Celtic won the shootout 11-10.^[5] On 28 February, Crosas scored his first Celtic goal in a 7-0 home win against St Mirren; a powerful curving shot from 30 yards,^[6] which was later voted Celtic's Goal of the Season.^{[citation needed]} He was also voted Celtic's Young Player of the Season in his first season with the club.^[7]

In the 2009–10 season, Crosas was not initially a regular starter in midfield as Massimo Donati and loan signing Landry N'Guémo were first picks. After Donati's transfer to Bari, Crosas got a chance to shine and forged a successful partnership with N'Guemo, becoming a staple of the Celtic starting eleven.^[8]

At the start of the 2010–11 season, Crosas fell out of favour under new Celtic manager Neil Lennon, but on 22 September he came off the bench to replace Joe Ledley in a 6-0 League Cup win over Inverness Caledonian Thistle.^[9]

Volga

Crosas was transferred by Celtic to Russian Premier League side FC Volga in February 2011 for £300,000, signing a contract until December 2014.^[7]

International career

Between 2004 and 2005, Crosas was capped eight times by the Spanish under-17 team.^{[citation needed]} He was included in the Spain under-19 team in 2007, but pulled out through injury.^{[citation needed]}

He also represents the Catalonia team from the region of Catalonia in Spain. The team, which is organised by the Catalonia Football Federation,^{[citation needed]} is not affiliated to FIFA or UEFA, but regularly plays friendly matches against other nations.^{[citation needed]}

He made his debut^[when?] coming on in the 73rd minute to replace Sergio García during a 1–1 draw against the Basque Country^{[citation needed]} and his second appearance against Colombia.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life

Crosas was born and had always lived in Sant Feliu de Guíxols, until moving on loan to Lyon in 2008. His best friend is former FC Barcelona team-mate Bojan Krkić. He has a boot sponsorship deal with Nike. He is the younger cousin of Albert Jorquera.^[10]

Career statistics

As of 2 October 2011

Season	Club	Nat	Apps	Goals	Assists
2008–09	Celtic		22	1	2
2009–10	Celtic		26	0	4
2010–11	Celtic		3	0	1
2011–12	FC Volga Nizhny Novgorod		21	0	5
Total			72	1	12

Honours

Club

Lyon

• Ligue 1 (1): 2007-08
• Coupe de France (1): 2007-08

Celtic

• Scottish League Cup (1): 2008-09

Individual

• Clydesdale Bank Goal of the Season: 2008-09, vs St. Mirren ^[11]

References

1. ^ Barça 1 Espanyol 1 (Barça win 5–4 on penalties) FCB news, OleOle, 5 June 2007
2. ^ ^{a b} Marc Crosas eyefootball
3. ^ Crosas could stay in Lyon FC Barcelona Blog, 14 June 2008
4. ^ ^{a b} "Crosas buoyed by Celtic reception". BBC Sport. 11 August 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/celtic/7544311.stm. Retrieved 15 August 2008. 
5. ^ "Celtic 0-0 Dundee United (11-10 pens)". BBC Sport. 28 January 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/scot_prem/7843780.stm. Retrieved 28 January 2009. 
6. ^ Crosas Goal vs St Mirren "Crosas Goal vs St Mirren". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhdNnvT1wOg Crosas Goal vs St Mirren. 
7. ^ ^{a b} Volga sign midfielder Marc Crosas from Celtic BBC Sport, 18 February 2011
8. ^ Marc Crosas 2009/10 stats Celtic Stats
9. ^ "Celtic 6-0 Inverness CT". BBC Sport. 22 September 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/9013893.stm. Retrieved 22 September 2010. 
10. ^ 1 Bojan, Giovani and Crosas added to squad FC Barcelona Web, 12 June 2007
11. ^ Crosas Goal vs St Mirren YouTube

External links

• Marc Crosas French league stats at LFP.fr (French)
• Marc Crosas Blog
• Marc Crosas career stats Soccerbase

Persondata
Name	Crosas, Marc
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	9 January 1988
Place of birth	Sant Feliu de Guíxols, Spain
Date of death
Place of death