Vernon De Marco

Vernon De Marco Morlacchi (born 18 November 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for UAE Pro League club Hatta. Born in Argentina, he plays for the Slovakia national team.

Club career
Born in Córdoba, De Marco moved to Mallorca, Spain with his family in 2001, following the Corralito measures as part of the 1998–2002 Argentine great depression. De Marco spent a few months in Mallorca, before moving to Austria for two years. At the age of 12, De Marco moved back to Mallorca, joining Arenal in the process. De Marco's performances at Arenal resulted in Pepe Gálvez calling him up to represent the Balearic Islands at under-18 level. De Marco later moved to San Francisco under the management of Toni Amor.

On 14 July 2011, De Marco moved to Constància. During the 2011–12 season, De Marco made 13 appearances in the Tercera División as Constància won the league, gaining promotion to the Segunda División B. During his time at Constància, De Marco earned €225 a month, supplementing his wages by working as a waiter in a hotel.

On 22 July 2012, De Marco moved abroad, joining Slovak 2. Liga club Zemplín Michalovce. A regular starter for the club, he contributed with seven goals in 24 appearances during the 2014–15 season, as his side achieved promotion to Fortuna Liga.

De Marco made his professional debut on 18 July 2015, coming on as a second-half substitute for Jozef-Šimon Turík in a 1–0 home loss against AS Trenčín. He scored his first goal in the category on 1 August, netting his team's first in a 6–2 away loss against ŽP Šport Podbrezová.

During the summer of 2016, De Marco signed for Slovan Bratislava on a six-month loan deal following time on trial at Levante. On 17 June 2017, he was loaned to Ekstraklasa side Lech Poznań, after joining Slovan Bratislava on a permanent deal. His loan from Slovan Bratislava finished at the end of 2018–19 season.

In July 2023, following the expiry of his contract with Slovan Bratislava, De Marco signed for UAE Pro League side Hatta. Serving as the club's captain during his tenure, he departed from the club after one season, after its relegation to UAE First Division League.

International career
While fans have discussed his nomination for UEFA Euro 2020, De Marco was first called up to the senior national team by Štefan Tarkovič for three 2022 World Cup qualifiers against Slovenia, Croatia and Cyprus in September 2021. He debuted with Slovakia in a 6–0 2022 World Cup qualification win over Malta coming on as a sub in the 70th minute, and scored on his debut in the 72nd minute.

Personal life
Born an Argentine citizen, De Marco received Slovak citizenship in late May 2021, following an application earlier that year, making him eligible to represent Slovakia internationally. De Marco is a multilinguist speaking fluently in native Spanish as well as Slovak, English, German, Polish and Portuguese.

International

 * As of match played on 20 November 2022. Scores and results list Slovakia's goal tally first.

Honours
Zemplín Michalovce
 * 2. Liga: 2014–15

Slovan Bratislava
 * Niké Liga: 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23
 * Slovnaft Cup: 2016–17, 2019–20, 2020–21

Lech Poznań II
 * III liga, gr. II: 2018–19

Individual
 * Slovak Super Liga Team of the Season: 2020-21