10 Things To Know About Marija Banusic!

1. Marija Banusic was born on 17 September 1995 in Uppsala, Sweden.

2. A forward, invariably used as a central striker, her father gave Banusic the nickname ‘Maredinho’ as a youngster, in comparison with the Brazilian legend Ronaldinho. The nickname is also her Twitter handle – and she has even worn it on the back of her shirt.

3. She made her breakthrough as a teenager for Uppsala side IK Sirius, scoring 16 goals in 16 league appearances in 2012 – and earning a move to Women’s Champions League contenders Kristianstads.

4. Banusic has since gone on to represent high profile women’s teams including Chelsea, Linkkopings, Beijing and Montpellier in her short career to date.

5. She was part of the 2014-15 Chelsea side that won the FA WSL title, making eight appearances after joining midway through the campaign. The Blues also won the FA Cup that seasons.

6. She then went on to win the 2017 Swedish title with Linkkopings, starting 18 games and scoring 11 goals.

7. Banusic has picked up seven caps for Sweden – having made her debut in November 2014.

8. She has also represented her country at U-17 (scoring a record 21 goals in 14 matches), U-19 and U-23 level.

9. She has played in the Women’s Champions League for both Kristianstads and Linkkopings, scoring a brace against Manchester City in the quarter-finals of the 2017-18 competition.

10. You can follow Marija on Twitter (@maredinho) and Instagram (@marijabanusic).