Good luck, Marco Rus

Over the past few season, I’ve had the joy of watching some top players in development football.

There’s Ross McCausland at Rangers, who is shining and in the first team nowadays on the back of a crazy few months where his career has just accelerated into a stratosphere. There’s Aidan Denholm and quite a few others at Hearts who’ve been in the ‘B’ Team at some point and, collectively, are some of the soundest lads that I’ve ever come across anywhere. There’s those I’ve seen at Sheffield United; Sydie Peck, Oliver Arblaster, Jili Buyabu and Louie Marsh amongst them who’ve been class time and time again and then there’s the Bradford City youth team of 2021/22 which included Bobby Pointon and Freddy Jeffreys; both of whom I know will go on to have good careers packed with lots of memories.

Plus many, many other lads elsewhere. The list is too long to mention!

And one player I’ve really enjoyed watching - and rate so highly - has, in the past week, made the biggest move of his career to date as he seeks to properly establish himself in men’s football, give himself a platform upon which he can shine, and have the career he dreamed about when he was a little boy pulling on the green and white hooped shirt of Yeovil Town about a decade ago.

Marco Rus celebrating winning the PDL Professional Development League
(Photo: Coventry City FC).

Having recently celebrated his 21st birthday, Marco Rus has signed for Universitatea Cluj - currently in eighth position in the Romanian SuperLiga, on loan from Coventry City until the end of the season with a view to making it a permanent transfer come the end of the season.

I’ll never forget the first time I saw Marco play because it was at Bramall Lane in October 2021 (this game to be precise) and he was Coventry’s best player that afternoon. Everything about his game was positive and he stood out and created an impression which made me respect him and remember what he’s all about.

Marco’s got so much ability and what I saw with my own eyes that day has also been backed up on various other occasions - whether it be via the fact he represented Romania (his home country) at U16s and U17s level whilst he was at Yeovil, firstly, and then Southampton whom he joined for his youth team scholarship. Or when he scored his goal in the PDL Play-Off Final against Bristol City in 2022 - something I know he’ll fondly remember for the rest of his life and the feeling of euphoria afterwards and being part of that squad. Or when he went on loan to Hereford and earned the lavish praise of Josh Gowling afterwards for a debut performance away at Kings Lynn in which he tortured the Linnets’ defence and played with such positivity. Or just three days afterwards when he scored his first senior goal (in what was just his second senior appearance) against Chorley; breaking the lines to ghost into the box before finishing past the ‘keeper. Or back in November when he scored this goal against Sheffield United that quickly went viral - the most recent occasion I watched him play ‘live’ and got to enjoy it, knowing just how good he is!

All little moments and memories to look back on and smile about.

What makes Marco so impressive is the fact he does the non-negotiable things so well. Being left-footed helps in football (although he can use both feet so well) but beyond that is his work-ethic. If he loses the ball, he’ll give you the minimum effort of working superbly to win it back which is such a valuable trait and MASSIVELY appreciated by the people you’re playing with. He also provides quality and flashes of brilliance sometimes in the blink of the eye with his quick feet which can make you go ‘WOW’. He can play through the lines, and he’s shown he can pop up in the big moments to be a match-winner by either scoring or creating goals. He can play out wide and take on opponents and draw fouls through his technique. He cut inside to devastating effect, has the turn-of-pace and ‘nimbleness’ to be a proper pain in the backside for defenders, and he’s just a class player with ability matched by a great desire to succeed, improve, and ultimately be the best version of himself that he possibly can be.

When you marry all of it up, it’s a brilliant combination! 

It’s not always been easy because he’s had a few injuries and set-backs - in the 2021/22 season, then last term which disrupted his loans in the National League North. And he’s had rejections a few times such as being released by Southampton or not getting as many international caps for Romania as he’d have hoped for due to the restrictions imposed in the Covid pandemic, but those things have made him stronger and fueled the inner-resilience to overcome, succeed and achieve all the things he wants to in football.

It’s a shame he’s leaving Coventry (temporarily or permanently… that remains to be seen) because he’s a big character in the U21s dressing room and there’ll be plenty of his team-mates who’ll acknowledge it won’t quite be the same place without him.

He’ll be missed because he’s respected by them for the player he is. The younger lads look up to him, value his presence and being able to learn from him due to the way he conducts himself, and he’s such a sound character to be around anyway with his enthusiasm, energy, infectious smile and self-confidence - something which shone through in the Sky Blues Academy promo video for Twitter. His personality can galvanize a group of lads who'll get a buzz from having him around. It can get the best from others and if every player out there had the same attributes as Marco Rus; his level-headedness and also his ability to articulate his thoughts eloquently and hold a conversation (one of the most important things in life anyway), then football would be a much better place for it. 

All of it is testament to his family who’ve brought him up properly, raised him with class, and helped him become an absolutely quality guy. What a son to be proud of; there can’t be any better feeling!

Marco Rus being Marco Rus on his debut for Hereford... his first ever game in men's football.
(Photo: Unknown).

So whatever unfolds in Marco’s career, I’ll follow it with interest because the ability will always be there from a playing perspective. I know at some point it will ‘unlock’ for him and he’ll absolutely shine, and he deserves the opportunity to be playing at the highest level in a European league which will raise his profile and give him the platform to showcase what he can do to thousands of people who’ll be in the stadiums or watching his games on TV.

I wish him nothing but the very best of luck and, hopefully, he’ll make his debut on Monday against FCSB - the current table-toppers (and probable champions) but precisely the sort of fixture which he’ll relish anyway.

So go and flourish and become a legend, keep making your family proud of who you are just simply by being you (I know you’ll never change so nothing to worry about there), keep making memories that you can tell the kids all about in years to come, try and enjoy every minute of the emotional juggernaut that is life as a professional footballer, and at some point I’ll pop along to one of your games to witness all the positive things which I’ve remembered ever since seeing you play for the first time that afternoon at Bramall Lane two-and-a-bit years ago!

Respect! 👊