Time once more to go back in the history of the Lads and profile a player that some of us will find very hard to recall playing for us. In number ten of the series, we look back at a player who made a single and solitary appearance from the bench and was never involved again in a first team capacity.
it was imposing and majestic. The Stadium of Light, was more beautiful than anywhere I had played in my life. When I arrived, everyone inside the club, including staff and the squad, gave me an amazing reception and I made a lot of friends in Sunderland – such as Stefan Schwarz and Eric Roy who had
We go back to the millennium season, and Brazilian forward Marcus di Giuseppe, also known as Bica, is our featured player.
Born in 1972, Marcus started his footballing career in Peru with Sporting Cristal at the comparatively late age of 23. He would make just five appearances, scoring once, before being recruited by Austrian side Austria Salzburg. Austria Salzburg, these days known as Red Bull Salzburg following the takeover in 2005, gave him his first chance in Europe. He made 18 appearances for them, scoring three goals before moving onto Greece and Paniliakos during the 1997-98 season. Fifteen appearances and three goals later, he was on his way back to Peru to sign for Sport Boys who are based on the West Coast of Peru.
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After scoring six goals in ten games for them, he was recruited by the Lads as one of the new signings in 1999, but one that went completely under the radar. His sole appearance came in the second leg of the Worthington Cup second round tie with Walsall at the Bescot Stadium, becoming the first Brazilian to play for Sunderland. Di Giuseppe was introduced as a half time substitute for Neil Wainwright, a tie which the Lads would win 5-0 on the night and 8-2 over the two legs. With the registration rules being different to how they are now, Marcus was allowed to be named on the teamsheet depsite being a trialist at the time. With the decision to name him on the sheet being such a surprise to both fans and Sunderland staff, his shirt actually featured a typo, with his shirt reading ‘MARCOS’ depsite his name actually being spelt ‘MARCUS’.
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