MARCO Rus has signed a new two-year contract with Coventry City to extend his stay with the Sky Blues until 2025.
The 20-year-old Romania youth international captained the club’s under-21 side last season as they reached the Birmingham Senior Cup final.
He spent last season on loan at Hereford and Chorley in the National League North and has now committed his future to City for the next two seasons.
Rus said: “I didn’t know much until the end of the season, but to be able to sign a new deal here, I’m really happy and I’m really pleased.
“It was really good [last season]. I had a good spell out on loan with Hereford and Chorley as well and I really enjoyed that and then in-between with the under-21’s.
“I enjoyed my football, and I would like to thank all the academy staff for helping develop me throughout the season.”
The young midfielder wants to maximise his game time next season and hinted that another loan move could be on the cards if he finds first team opportunities hard to come by.
Rus added: “I enjoyed the loans. Getting game time is really important for me at this stage of my career and I really enjoy playing men’s football and I want more of that now.
“It’s much different to under-21’s and it’s helped me a lot, it helps because it’s a different environment and it’s good to have that experience.“I would love to get as much game time as possible, that’s the aim and that’ll be the club’s aim for me.
“Whether that be out on loan or not I don’t know, but I’m just looking forward to the next two years.”
READ MORE:
Matchday Memories: On This Day 1998 – A Sky Blue Tinge To World Cup ‘Mother Of All Games’!
If you think politics and sport should never mix a World Cup game in 1998 taking place in Lyon, France should disabuse you! Thanks to CCFC historian Steve Phelps for the reminder above excerpted from his book ‘Coventry City On This Day‘ (Pitch Publishing 2010) which points up some interesting Sky Blue anniversaries.
Roy, who played for the Sky Blues as a forward between 1992-95, was born and raised in South Africa but naturalised as a U.S. citizen in 1991. After starting his football career in his adopted country he came to the UK when signed by Chelsea in 1986 and before he landed up at Highfield Road from Blackburn Rovers for a notional £1m in 1992 (as an exchange for CCFPA member Kevin Gallacher) had also built experience with the likes of Swindon Town, Luton Town and Q.P.R.
By the time he left the Sky Blues in 1996 to return to the States and Major League Soccer with Colorado Rapids Roy had netted eleven times in his 62 Sky Blue outings. He retired in 1998 having also played for D.C. United and Tampa Bay Mutiny and since hanging up his boots he became a professional golfer! Roy represented the USA 41 times in total netting seven times.
One of our most immediately recognisable former players, Cobi spent the 1994-95 season with the Sky Blues, his first professional chance outside the States after impressing in the 1994 World Cup in his home country. The lively Detroit midfielder excelled at Californian College football sufficiently to represent his country at a young age and the Sky Blues were impressed enough to sign him for £300k from the US Soccer Federation.
He made his Premier League debut on 17/09/1994 against Leeds United in a 2-1 win at Highfield Road and before leaving CCFC for Club Atletico Rentistas in Uruguay in April had scored three Sky Blues goals in his 24 games in all competitions. He quickly moved to Brazilian outfit Vasco De Gama in 1995 and from 1996-2007 was a star of the L.A.Galaxy side in the States. From 1992-2004 Cobi claimed a record number of USA caps (164 -netting 15 times) and on hanging up his boots has done coaching and media work in his home country.
To see a discussion of how inextricably international politics and sport became entangled at France 1998 see the article by author Neil Billingham published in football mag Four Four Two which can be found at:-
