Goodbye to a Napoli legend: A look at Marek Hamsik's impressive career

Marek Hamsik is one of the best players to ever have worn the Napoli shirt. During his career, the 35-year-old Slovak became a true legend of the Italian team, defending the club's sky blue colour for more than a decade.

Hamsik, known for his mohawk hairstyle, announced on his Instagram page that he is retiring from professional football, ending a career that has spanned nearly two decades. Let's go back in time and see where it all started for the midfielder.

Hamsik began his professional career in his home country Slovakia with Slovan Bratislava. He made six appearances for the club, scoring once and attracting interest from other teams.

The then 17-year-old player showed his talent at an early age, something that did not go unnoticed in the Serie A, one of the top five leagues in Europe.

It was Brescia who picked up Hamsik in Slovakia by paying a €500,000 transfer fee according to Transfermarkt, a wise investment it would later turn out.

In his three years in Lombardy, Hamsik impressed at Brescia, where he made 65 appearances and managed to find the net 10 times. It was only a matter of time before bigger clubs would come knocking on his door.

In 2007, Hamsik was transferred to Napoli, who paid €5.5 million for the player.

The southern Italian side had just been promoted to Serie A and wanted to build a competitive team for the future, in which Hamsik was to become an integral part.

Hamsik lived up to the high expectations and made 40 appearances in his first season at Napoli, earning him the title of Serie A Young Footballer of the Year in 2008.

Hamsik became a key player at Napoli, always leading the way on the pitch and captaining his team from 2014 to 2019. The club's fans consider him one of them and nicknamed him 'Marekario', referring to the coastal town of Marechiaro, known for its beautiful views, as reported by UEFA.

Hamsik was also part of the Serie A Team of the Year three times (2011, 2016 and 2017), underlining his status as one of the best players in the league.

It goes without saying that a player of Hamsik's stature has also won a number of awards in his career. In the 2011/12 and 2013/14 campaigns, the midfielder bagged the Coppa Italia with Napoli, much to the delight of president Aurelio De Laurentiis (pictured).

A season later (2014/15), he added the Supercoppa Italiana to his trophy cabinet.

In the meanwhile, Hamsik and Napoli also impressed on the European stage, qualifying for the Champions League and reaching the Europa League semi-finals.

Playing as a midfielder, Hamsik scored regularly for Napoli, netting a total of 121 goals. In 2017, he became the club's all-time top scorer with 116 goals, a record that would later be broken by Belgian Dries Mertens.

One record Hamsik still holds is that of most appearances for Napoli, representing the club no less than 520 times.

But every love story comes to an end, including the one between Hamsik and Napoli. The two sides parted ways in February 2019, after a successful 11,5-year period.

For his next football adventure, Hamsik tried his luck outside of Europe for the first time in his career, when he signed a deal with Chinese side Dalian Professional.

In March 2012, Hamsik returned to Europe and signed a contract with Swedish club IFK Göteborg, where he would only stay for a few months.

The Slovak's next adventure would take him to Turkey. Hamsik signed a two-year contract with Trabzonspor, one of the bigger clubs in the land of four seasons.

Hamsik, now well into his 30s, showed he can still play at top level, making 64 appearances for the club and winning the Turkish league title in 2021/22 and the Super Cup a season later.

Meanwhile, Napoli had become a force to be reckoned with in Italy, winning the scudetto in the 2022/23 campaign, much to Hamsik's delight. "I am proud. It's a huge joy, I think of the Neapolitans who asked me every year to win this Scudetto. And now it has come. Finally," he told Il Mattino.

Hamsik was an important player not only for the clubs he played for, but also for the Slovak national team. As we speak, he still is his country's most capped player (136 appearances).

Hamsik, considered by many to be the best Slovak footballer ever, piloted his country to the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 and 2020 Euros. All this adds to his status as an icon in his home country.

After a career of almost 20 years, Hamsik now feels it is time to say goodbye to his beloved sport and enjoy his retirement.

Fans of Napoli and his other clubs will never forget Hamsik for the goals, assists and highlights he gave them and thank him in unison with the heartfelt words "Grazie, Marekiaro".