User:Aullikanr/sandbox

Toma Luka Hamšik(born 17th August 2004) is an Australian professional footballer who plays as a central or attacking midfielder for Premier League club Manchester City and the Australian national team. A child of Croatian immigrants, he chose to represent Australia after growing up in the country.

A fast, slippery midfielder with an immense passing range and a refined dribbling style, along with leadership qualities, has led to comparisons with Croatian midfielder Luka Modric, and Spanish midfielder Andres Iniesta.

Nicknamed "En Debriyaj" or "The Clutchest" after his stint in Turkey, Hamšik is renowned for his ability to perform in important fixtures and derbies, notably for example his 16-minute brace against Brazil in an international friendly.

Early life and youth career
Born on the 17th of August 2004 in St Albans, Melbourne to Croatian parents, Toma grew up with football surrounding him and the many other Croatian Australian children in the western suburbs of Melbourne. At the age of 5, he began playing the sport at local semi-pro club St Albans where his talents attracted the attention of sister and nearby club Melbourne Knights, who brought him to their youth ranks at the age of 8 after noticing his phenomenal talents. Hamšik quickly impressed, and at the age of 13 was playing multiple years above his age in the clubs U-17 setup. At this stage, Hamšik had attracted interest from several A-League setups, including both Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City. However, after hearing of the incoming A-League expansion side Western United, which promised links with his local community in the western suburbs of Melbourne, Hamšik decided to wait to join their ranks, which he did in 2021, leaving Melbourne Knights after winning club best-and-fairests in every age-group and squad he participated in. After joining Western United, Hamšik's development skyrocketed under the benefit of professional coaches and ended his youth career at the club with 2 best-and-fairest seasons. Hamšik's talents were fully on display for the clubs senior side coach John Alouisi, and in 2022 Hamšik signed his first professional contract with the club.

"Toma's talents are absolutely unbelievable for his age. He has all the required skills for making it as a professional player... his calmness on the ball is phenomenal."

= Senior career =

Western United(2022)
Hamšik made his debut in Western United's first Asian Elite Cup match in a 2-0 loss against Gangwon FC on the 1st of October 2022, coming on as a substitute for T. Imai in the 64th minute. Hamšik had an above average game, playing out of position in centre back, but ultimately was unable to keep a clean sheet. This period of Hamšik's career saw him struggle to break into the first team with limited minutes, as he adjusted to becoming a full professional.

A month later after Alouisi felt it fit, on the 5th of November, Hamšik made his A-League debut for the club, coming on in the 77th minute for James Troisi in round 2 against the Central Coast Mariners.

In a game against Western Sydney Wanderers in round 3, Hamšik was substituted on in the 60th minute for Ramy Najjarine and scored his first A-League goal in the 68th minute. He also made a chaotic cross that led to another goal and a man of the match performance. A week later, Hamšik made his first team of the week appearance after a strong performace against the Newcastle Jets.

Troubles with John Alouisi

A period of time followed for months in which Alouisi would sub on Hamšik well into the match, and with such high expectations Hamšik often found it hard to make an impact, souring the relationship between the pairing. Eventually, the strain in the relationship proved too much, with Hamšik barely playing and Alouisi not believing in his ability to play at Western United. Transfer listed, Trabzonspor was the first to swoop with an offer of 15.9 million Euros, and Hamšik decided to depart, largely against his wishes. The transfer sparked huge controversy amongst the supporters of Western United, who felt that Alouisi had ultimately failed to utilise Hamšik.

Trabzonspor(2022-2023)
With the feud with Alouisi leading to his transfer to Trabonzpor, Hamšik in numerous interviews with the Turkish press reinforced his commitment to performing for his new club. Hamšik made his Super Lig debut shortly after in a game vs Galatasaray, coming on in the 58th minute as a substitute for Gbamin.

In a 3-2 loss against Besikhir, Hamšik scored his first goals for the club, being a brace. He then made his official UEFA Europa League debut shortly after, in the group stage against Sporting C.P. He made an assist and scored the winning goal in the 88th minute to cap off a man of the match display as Trabzonspor progressed. Due to his innate leadership qualities, and owing to the season soon being over, a vote was held over the future of the captaincy and on February 28th, he was voted as the new captain. His league performances in February got him on the shortlist for the Super Lig player of the month, though he did not win it.

Now an established player, Hamšik scored a goal and created another in the first leg of the Europa League round-of-16 against Aek Athens. His tendency to perform in important matches shone through once more, in a league match vs Besakhir he scored the winning goal in the 88th minute, as well as providing an assist. In the UEFA Europa League quarterfinals against Roma away, he scored another goal and provided an assist once more to win another man of the match award. In the second leg of the semi-finals against RFC Seriang, he scored another goal as Trabzonspor made it to the final of the 2023-2024 Europa League against AC Milan, which they would ultimately lose 4-1. Toma finished the season with 3 goals and 5 assists in the Super Lig, and an additional 4 goals and 8 assists in only 6 Europa League games.

Departure from Trabzonspor
Following the clubs defeat to AC Milan in the Europa League final, Hamšik couldnt hold in his disappointment. In numerous interviews given after the game he expressed his frustrations of not being able to play Champions League fixtures next season after Trabzonspor missed a spot after losing 3-2 against rivals Fenerbache on the final league matchday. Respecting his wishes, the club put him up for sale shortly afterwards. Though saddened at his departure, the fans and administration of Trabzonspor held no ill-will towards Hamšik, and gave him a goodbye at their home stadium, with some stating that his departure was inevitable.

Benfica(2023-2024)
On the 6th of July, Portuguese Primera Liga club Benfica signed Hamšik after interest from Dutch club Feyenoord, for a fee of 45.9 million euros, the highest transfer fee for an Australian teenager. Taking number 30, he was named as captain of the club for the 2024 season after Benfica learned of his leadership capabilities.

Hamšik made his debut against Chaves, scoring a debut goal in the 16th minute and registering an assist as Benfica won 4-0 and Hamšik his first man of the match award in the Primera Liga. A few weeks later, against historic rivals FC Porto, Hamšik scored the only goal in the 87th minute with a headed cross from Joao Mario. A week later, he would make his Champions League debut in a match against Juventus.

In Benfica's home Champions League fixture against Lyon, he scored his first Champions League goal in the 77th minute. As the season progressed and Toma expressed his desires publicly to play in attacking midfield, he became an impact sub as he adjusted to fit his preferred role in the Benfica system, often coming on for teammate Rafa.

These impact sub performances notably included an 87th minute goal against Maritimo after being subbed on only three minutes prior. One week later, he scored off the bench once more in the 87th minute against Estoril and earned a man of the match award. After a 3 match streak of consequent assists he broke back into the starting lineup in a 3-2 win against Braga.

This period of time would see his passing game develop at a rapid pace, including an assist in the Europa League knockout qualifying first leg against Nantes, followed by another assist and a brace in the second leg.

Final months at Benfica and departu
Following Benfica's 1-1 draw against Fenerbache in the Europa League round-of-16 first leg, Benfica would lose the second leg 5-1 in a historic flogging with Toma hardly receiving the ball. The lofty expectations and output he was expected to produce caused immense scrutiny in the Portuguese media for weeks on end, severely effecting his mentality. In an interview for 433, he stated his views on the issue, criticising his managers insane expectations for him to "essentially score and assist from central midfield, in the same game". This would get him demoted to substitute for numerous games, prompting him to submit a transfer request.

Despite this, he would play the title-winning fixture in a 3-1 win against Santa Clara and win the Primera Liga. Toma finished top of the assists chart with 10 assists, and scored 16 goals to be named in the Primera Liga team of the season. In Europe, he also assisted and scored 2 in both the Europa and Champions League.

Manchester City(2024-
Following interest from fellow Premier League clubs Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United, Benfica accepted a 113 million Euro transfer fee on the 6th of July 2024 from Manchester City, with Toma taking number 7. Lauded by Pep Guardiola in several interviews for his passing ability and shrewd intelligence in cutting through the midfield, he was signed as a replacement for departing midfielder Bernado Silva and to ease the duties of the aging Ilkay Gundogan.

A month later on the 14th of August, he made his club debut in the UEFA Super Cup against Ajax. His first assist would come in only 5 minutes, as Erling Haaland fired home from a through ball as Manchester City won 5-0, and Toma his first silverware for the club. His Premier League debut would come a week later against Norwich City, and his first goal would come only 24 minutes into the match.

Versus Fulham, he scored a 30 minute brace. The next Thursday, he made his Champions League debut for the club in a 3-2 loss against AC Milan, assisting both of City's goals. His Carabao Cup debut 2 weeks later in the round of 16 match against Liverpool saw him score a goal and assist another in a 2-1 win, earning a man-of-the-match performance. This would mark the start of a strong run of form, including a man of the match performance against Manchester United in a 3-0 win, another man of the match against Chelsea in a top of the table clash where he scored once and assisted twice in a 4-1 win. A week later, he made his FA Cup debut versus Sheffield Wednesday, where he scored his first career hattrick and assisted a further 3 goals in a 7-1 demolition, earning him a man of the match and a perfect 10 on SofaScore.