Who is Moussa Marega?

There is something primitive in the way Moussa Marega pounces on the ball: her approach to the sphere is animalistic, it almost seems as if she wants to take a bite or devour it in one bite. The Porto striker always seems on the verge of exploding from one moment to the next, gets very agitated, is awkward and not very nice to see. Yet it is tremendously effective: to ask Rome for confirmation.

Where Marega comes from

Born in 1991, native of Île-de-France (Les Ulis) and naturalized Malian, Marega has struggled to establish itself in the football that counts and also for this he now wants to break everything. In a world of strikers that explode early and already just over eighteen are worth millions, Marega stands in stark contrast, starting as a young man to travel around France trying to succeed, but without success. In order: Évry, Le Poiré-Sur-Vie, then Amiens and finally the transfer to Tunisia, to the Espérance, at the age of 23 years.

When by then the Malian career seemed to be heading towards an honest anonymity in minor leagues, here from a minor league (but not too much) Marega managed to establish himself: after 0 presences in Tunisia, the Marítimo in Portugal decided to invest in that muscle mass and anger. Good move: in mid-season Marega scores 8 goals in 16 appearances between the league and the Cup and thus gains confirmation in the summer. A few months later, then, the great chance arrives: Porto aims at him, but in six months (from January to June 2016) he plays little and does not affect.

So the Dragons choose to send him on loan to Vitória Guimarães, and it is at this point in history that Marega finally manages to show his qualities: 14 goals and 7 assists in a single year, with the Port rightly deciding to call him back to the base in the summer of 2017, when Marega is 26 years old and always the same desire to break everything. And in the past season the Malian has scored 22 goals in 29 games, thus putting his immense signature on the Porto's victory of the championship.

What kind of player is he?

The first thing that comes out of you typing Moussa Marega on Google is "moussa marega weight": its muscular physical structure makes it seem almost overweight, but this should not be misleading. Marega knows how to be agile when needed, and it is no coincidence that at the Port it was used in every area of ​​the offensive front, even as a wing. Here it is, one of the greatest strengths of Marega: it is incredibly ductile, it knows how to put itself in the total service of the team without losing its effectiveness in the last sixteen meters. A good basic technique, a good sense of goal, good speed despite an important muscle mass on a 183 cm body. In essence, therefore, we could say that the best feature of Marega is its being complete.

As mentioned at the beginning, his way of moving is awkward, almost overflowing: Marega always makes more movements than is necessary with the body, as if he were driven by an uncontrollable inner quiver. The Malian is physically and a football beast, the meshes on him are always too narrow. Marega in this is comparable to Hulk, but not to the Brazilian attacker, just to the superhero. He has a rage inside that pushes him to the destruction of everything he meets, and the moment he manages to concentrate it on the ball the results are devastating.

Three goals to describe his desire to break everything

#1 Conviction

Shooting, goalkeeper, shooting, post, shooting, goal: the important thing is never to lose the desire to break.

#2 Hunting

The Malian in the role of the lion, the ball in the role of the gazelle, the opposing defense in the role of the savannah.

#3 Instinct

Where everyone sees two missed opportunities, Marega sees an opportunity to split.

Champions numbers

Porto will play against Liverpool in the quarter-finals, in a double challenge with an outcome that seems obvious, at least at the start. Even against Rome, however, the Dragons started back, and despite this they still managed to pass the turn. Merit also of Moussa Marega, who in the return match was one of the protagonists with an assist and a goal. The Malian in Champions League has scored 6 goals in 7 games, including 3 assists, incredible numbers in the most important competition.

Market rumors have joined him to big clubs (Naples, Chelsea, Manchester United), he for the moment continues to fight with the Porto shirt and prepares to face Klopp's Liverpool. With the usual desire to break everything.