Marija Banušić

Marija Banušić

Personal information
Full name	Marija Banušić
Date of birth	17 September 1995
Place of birth	Uppsala, Sweden
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position	Forward
Club information
Current team	Eskilstuna United DFF
Number	23
Youth career
	VP
	IK Fyris
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
2011	Gamla Upsala SK
2012	IK Sirius	16	(16)
2013–2014	Kristianstads DFF	33	(7)
2015	Chelsea Ladies	8	(0)
2016–	Eskilstuna United DFF
National team
2014–	Sweden	2	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (goals)

Marija Banušić (born 17 September 1995) is a Swedish footballer who plays as a forward for Eskilstuna United DFF. Before joining her current club she spent a season in England with Chelsea Ladies of the FA WSL and two seasons with Damallsvenskan club Kristianstads DFF. She won her first cap for the Sweden women's national football team in November 2014. She has previously worn the name Maredinho on her shirt, a nickname originally given by her father in homage to male footballer Ronaldinho.^[1]

Club career

In 2012 Banušić scored 16 goals for Norrettan club IK Sirius and became a transfer target for clubs in the Damallsvenskan, Sweden's top division.^[2] Banušić made a favourable early impression after signing for Kristianstads in 2013. Team mate and fellow Uppsala-native Josefine Öqvist called her a potential "världsspelare" (English: world-class player), while coach Elísabet Gunnarsdóttir declared her the biggest talent in the history of Swedish women's football.^[3]

Banušić gave Kristianstads the lead in the 2014 Svenska Cupen (English: Swedish Cup) final, but they were defeated 2–1 by Linköpings FC.^[4] After the season she decided to leave Kristianstads and returned to Uppsala, where she considered several offers from other clubs from Sweden and abroad.^[5] Banušić agreed a transfer to London-based FA WSL club Chelsea Ladies in January 2015.^[6]

With Chelsea Banušić started three of her eight league appearances as the club won the 2015 FA WSL title. She was an unused substitute in Chelsea's 1–0 win over Notts County at the 2015 FA Women's Cup Final, staged at Wembley Stadium for the first time. Banušić had fallen further down the pecking order when Chelsea broke the British transfer record to sign Fran Kirby during the season.

In December 2015 Banušić announced that she would return to Sweden to play for Damallsvenskan club Eskilstuna United DFF in 2016.^[7]

International career

In June 2013 Banušić was named in senior national team coach Pia Sundhage's squad for a 1–1 friendly draw with Brazil.^[8] She was hopeful of a surprise call-up to Sweden's UEFA Women's Euro 2013 squad,^[9] but was not selected and went to the 2013 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship instead.

In November 2014 Banušić made her senior Sweden debut against Canada in Los Angeles. The match, which finished in a 1–0 defeat, was played behind closed doors but still counted as a full FIFA international fixture. Banušić was disappointed with the result but satisfied with her performance after coming on as a second-half substitute. She hoped to stay in contention for a place at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup.^[10]

References

1. Bergström, Kristoffer (13 June 2013). "17-åriga Maredinho är landslagets okända artist" (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
2. Liljedahl, Carl-Johan (11 April 2013). "Brasiliansk samba för Marija Banusic" (in Swedish). Kristianstadsbladet. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
3. Palm, Olle (12 April 2013). "Meriterad stjärna och 17-årig talang" (in Swedish). Sveriges Television. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
4. Rogovitski, Dmitri (8 August 2014). "Ryazan and Linköping claim cups". Moscow: UEFA. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
5. Meisels, Daniel (18 November 2014). "Vägen till VM går via Uppsala" (in Swedish). Upsala Nya Tidning. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
6. "Marija Banusic: Chelsea Ladies sign Sweden international forward". British Broadcasting Corporation. 5 January 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
7. "Banusic och Björn till Eskilstuna" (in Swedish). Svenska Dagbladet. 15 December 2015. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
8. Broman, Elin (5 June 2013). "Lina Hurtig i Sundhages trupp" (in Swedish). Dalarnas Tidningar. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
9. Edwinsson, Lisa (10 June 2013). "Banusic: En 17-årig målspruta" (in Swedish). Dagens Nyheter. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
10. Nordström, Gunnar. "Sverige förlorade mot Kanada i Los Angeles" (in Swedish). Expressen. Retrieved 29 November 2014.

External links

• Marija Banušić on Twitter
• Profile at Swedish Football Association (SvFF) (Swedish)