Marek Hamšík is a Slovak football midfielder who currently plays for Serie A club S.S.C. Napoli and theSlovakia national team. At the initial phase of his football profile, he began playing for a small youth team Jupie Podlavice. In 2002, he signed with a major Slovak team Slovan Bratislava. He played once for the Slovan A-team and scored a goal. He moved from Slovan to Brescia in 2004 as a 17 year old young talent at a transfer fee of €500,000. On 28 June 2007 newly-promoted Serie A club Napoli announced that Hamšík had signed a five-year contract with them for €5.5 million. He played his first major match with Napoli against Cesena in the first round of the Italian Cup. The 2010–11 season was very productive for Hamšík as he helped lead Napoli to a very successful season and earn automatic qualification into the Champions League by finishing third in Serie A. During the beginning of the 2011-2012 season, Hamšík scored the winning goal in their 2–0 home victory over Villarreal on 27 September, earning Napoli their first ever victory in the UEFA Champions League. On 9 March, Hamšík signed a one-year contract extension with Napoli, keeping him at the Italian club until June 2016.
