AFC Bournemouth
At 25 years of age, the Cherries’ latest addition Marcos Senesi has played in his native country, the Dutch top flight, two European competitions and an international friendly.
Having come through the ranks at San Lorenzo in his native Argentina, the centre-back moved to Feyenoord in 2019.
Over 100 appearances followed for the Rotterdam club, during which he featured in both the UEFA Europa League and Conference League.
His impressive form for Feyenoord then earned him a call up to the Argentine national squad earlier this summer, making his debut in a 5-0 win over Estonia.
Here’s what former teammates, coaches and officials have made of Senesi over his football journey so far.
Dick Advocaat (Former Feyenoord and Netherlands manager)
“He has a lot of things that a lot of defenders don’t; he can play incredibly well on the ball.
“That’s an advantage compared to pure defenders who just hand over the ball as soon as possible.
“He’s a guy who can take someone out, but he still has those football skills to make a good pass and see the game.”
Following a 1-1 draw with Groningen in 2019, Advocaat also described Senesi as “excellent” and claimed “he exudes calm”.
Fabricio Coloccini (Former teammate of Senesi and Argentina defender)
“Apart from the fact that Marcos is a good player and shows that on the field, I saw him as someone who wanted to triumph.
“One of the things I see that’s easy to recognise - of course, there are others who win - but he progressed faster than most.
“The way he trained, by living for it, by working hard and focusing – Marcos meets all of the requirements.”
Fernando Kuyumchoglu (San Lorenzo head of youth academy)
“I knew we needed to polish this diamond and try and give him the best tools so that he could grow and internalise all the improvement areas we saw.
“That was much easier with him because of his background and because he’s a smart kid.
“What Marcos also has, alongside the support of his family, is that he always wants more and goes after it.
“Whatever we told him, he took it on as his responsibility.
“When someone is so responsible and professional, you’ll see faster and more effective results than with someone else.”
Sjaak Troost (Former Feyenoord technical director)
“I checked out Marcos and after just five minutes, I was very impressed.
“Particularly because of his passing, his defensive skills, a strong header, and he had potential there.
“I already thought that he was good, but I also thought he could be really great.”
Carlos Orsi (Former San Lorenzo youth programme technical director)
“The first time I met Marcos was at the San Lorenzo campus when he came for a trial.
“A few things surprised me like how technical he was, even though he’d never played for a major club. He’s always been a technical player.
“His headers stood out to me as well. He proved his aerial strength with his heading technique.”
Frank Arnesen (Feyenoord sporting director)
“Left-footers often have a slightly different touch than right-footers. They have a more beautiful, better touch, and he’s got a good touch.
“He’s a very valuable player for us. He’s the guy in the centre of defence and he created that position for himself with his performance.”
Cristian Paladino (San Lorenzo video analyst)
“I’ve seen all of Marcos Senesi’s matches in the San Lorenzo youth programme, so I was able to follow his progress minute by minute.
“He’s a player that plays with technique and looks for technical football solutions. He was just as good at defensive and offensive headers.”
Julio Cruz (Former Inter and Argentina player)
Following Senesi’s 2020/21 Eredivisie Goal of the Season award, he said: “I want to congratulate him because I think he has shown as a defender what many strikers would want.
“This goal was a really nice one and especially because he did not shoot it with his favourite leg.”
You can find out more about the Cherries’ latest signing in Feyenoord’s club documentary, ‘El Gladiador’.
