In his description of his former player, Filipe Rocha, “Filó”, he makes a preliminary note. A parenthesis for a story in which he reveals that, in addition to appreciating the player’s talent, the coach also admires Abraham Marcus as a man. He was remembered the day of the Nigerian’s debut scoring for Feirense.
“He came on against Estoril one day when we learned there was a conflict in Nigeria. Before that game, in the morning, Marcus told me that his father was in the hospital. He entered the game with 15 minutes to go. He scored a goal with his head. He put his head where many players don’t put their feet. Then he pointed to the sky. When we got to Santa Maria da Feira, after the game, Marcus told me that his father had passed away. I ended up finding out that I already knew before the game game. I asked him if he wanted to go to Nigeria and he said no, he wanted to stay in the team because he wanted to be a footballer.”
The episode, the coach argues, “shows the character” of Marcus. “We often talk about technical and physical issues, but this is a brutal demonstration of the player’s mentality and ambition”, adds Filipe Rocha.
Abraham Marcus played the first minutes in Sérgio Conceição’s team at the age of 23 and already after having been in the Nigerian team. “I told him that his time and time would come. The first one that entered is, for me, something incredible. I am very fond of him, he is a good boy, humble, hardworking, with the ability to listen ”. . A rare characteristic in the young soccer players that he meets along the way, explains Filipe Rocha. That listening ability is worth gold, guarantees the former coach of Feirense or Peñafiel.
“At Feirense we bet on Marcus because he gave us good answers in training, despite having, at that time, a team with a lot of experience.” With the passage of time, “the dynamics of the team helped him to stand out. In the first year of the Second League he took home five or six awards for the best on the field. He walked in the fight for promotion positions, he also went for your help”.
But the journey of a young player is not always linear. “He went to Portimonense, but he did not manage to get opportunities in the first team, due to the quality of the squad, they had high-level players in that position. He went to Porto’s B team and once again demonstrated his abilities. “
Filipe Rocha has not lost contact with Abraham Marcus. “I spoke to him recently and I know he was injured. In the last games he did a good job and ended up having a prize. He is a player with a lot of potential, having already been called up to the Nigeria AA National Team.”
This season’s record shows that Abraham has found his way back to scoring goals in the Second League: he has eight in 23 games. And some of them are worth taking a look at, recalls Filipe Rocha. Finals that are not, in general, simple.
“He is a player who plays in the four forward positions. As unbelievable as he may seem, he can play both on the right flank, as well as on the left flank, in 10th position or as a striker, ”explains the coach.
“He releases all the creativity he has when he realizes that he already has an important role in the group. In addition to respecting the team’s movements, he also adds, in the details, a lot of player quality in the last third. He’s creative, he scores goals, but it’s also great to watch. A player, to play in the last third at FC Porto, has to have a capacity well above average. But I think Marcus has that quality.”
Creativity is also worked on, or rather, it is also sought to build. “When we went to the training camp, he watched videos of the best players in the world. That was where he entertained himself. He didn’t watch movies, series, games. He watched things to learn and then tried to take some of these things for his game, for his form. to play,” he adds.
“I always told him that he had the capacity to play in a big team. I saw how little he played, Marcus had the idea of scoring a goal, he was looking for that opportunity to do it”.
Source: TSF
