Marcos Antônio Senna da Silva (born 17 July 1976), known as Senna, is a retired professional footballer who played as a central midfielder.
He was mainly known for his passing range and long-range shooting and was also a penalty specialist. He spent most of his professional career in Spain with Villarreal, appearing in 363 official matches during 11 seasons, 10 of which were in La Liga (33 goals scored). He ended his career with the New York Cosmos, with whom he twice won the Soccer Bowl.
In the summer of 2006, Senna almost joined Manchester United: he had one year left on his contract, and Villarreal were prepared to sell him for a fee of around £4 million.[4][5] However, the deal was put on hold while United pursued Owen Hargreaves, but FC Bayern Munich refused to sell their player and, when United returned with a bid for Senna on transfer deadline day, Villarreal rejected their advances;[6] he had become frustrated with the delays to his proposed move and decided to stay at Villarreal, signing a three-year extension shortly after the transfer window closed.[7][8][9]
On 27 April 2008, Senna scored a goal from inside the centre circle against Real Betis that he deemed "the best goal of my life".[10][11]That season, as the player netted a further three times in a total of 33 matches, Villarreal finished a club-best second, to champions Real Madrid.
After nearly two seasons marred with physical problems,[12][13] 35-year-old Senna returned to full fitness for 2011–12, as the Valencian Community side's playmaker. On 21 March 2012, he scored from a free kick for the 83rd-minute home equaliser against Real Madrid (1–1),[14] but his team would be eventually relegated after a twelve-year stay in the top level.
On 13 November 2013, Senna was awarded a testimonial match by Villarreal, featuring in a 3–0 win over the Cosmos: he started the game and set up Jérémy Perbet for the first goal. In his honour, the crowd broke out in a full minute of applause that started in the 19th minute (the jersey he wore), and he played the second half with the North American before leaving the pitch with 20 minutes to go to another standing ovation.[19][20]
Senna netted his first goal of the season on 12 May 2014, scoring the game-winner in a 1–0 home win over the Spring season champions Minnesota United FC, who were handed their only loss in the competition.[21] His second came on 9 August, as he connected on a spectacular second half free kick to help the Cosmos come from behind to win it 2–1 at the Silverbacks;[22] he helped the club to the third position in the combined standings as well as a berth in The Championship, being nominated to the NASL Team of the Week four times, second best in the squad.
On 10 June 2015, one month shy of his 39th birthday, Senna announced he would retire as a player at the end of the Fall season.[23] His final game was the Soccer Bowl on 15 November, which his team won 3–2 against Ottawa Fury FC, also the swansong of his national teammate Raúl.[24]
In the quarter-finals of the latter competition, Senna scored the third of Spain's four converted penalties, which resulted in the nation progressing to the semifinals at the expense of Italy, winning 4–2 in the shootout.[26] He played the full duration of the final – a 1–0 win over Germany – and was named in UEFA's squad for the competition.[26][27] Some pundits and journalists also named Senna as their player of the tournament.[28][29][30]
Senna's first international goal came against Armenia on 10 September 2008, a 4–0 win in the 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign.[31] On 20 May 2010, after an irregular season with Villarreal, with several physical problems, the 33-year-old was left out of Spain's final 23-man squad, with FC Barcelona's Sergio Busquets starting in his place as the national team went on to win the FIFA World Cup in South Africa.[32]
Style of play
Senna usually played either as a central or defensive midfielder,[33][34] functioning both as a ball-winner and in a more creative role of deep-lyingplaymaker.[35][36] As such, his role has also been likened to that of a metodista ("centre-half," in Italian football jargon) in the Italian press, due to his ability to dictate play and assist his team defensively.[37][38] In 2008, Glenn Moore of The Belfast Telegraph noted that Senna was known for his "passing, disciplined positioning, tackling and long-range shooting," praising the midfielder for his "genial personality and commanding performances." Senna was also a free kick and penalty specialist.[26][39][40] Pundits and Senna's international teammates observed that he provided "balance" to Spain's midfield at Euro 2008, by doing the "dirty work," namely helping his team to win back the ball and control possession of the midfield through his work-rate, passing, and ability to occupy space, despite his diminutive stature and lack of physicality; his qualitites complemented Spain's tiki-taka passing-based playing style under manager Luis Aragonés.[41][42][43] Regarding his playing style, Senna commented in 2008: "My style is simple and objective. I don't like when players try to do easy things in a complicated way. The others help me in my role, but the important factor is that there is a lot of quality in our team and the opponents are worried about all our midfielders. There is more space left for me and, as I am a good passer too, that becomes important for the team."[42] In addition to his ability as a player, Senna's former New York Cosmos coach Giovanni Savarese praised him for his leadership in 2015.[44]
Personal life
Senna's younger brother, Márcio, was also a footballer.[45]Marcos Assunção, who represented A.S. Roma and Betis amongst other clubs, is his cousin, and both were also midfielders.[46]
Senna is a Christian, and he spoke about his faith in the documentary "The Prize: Chasing the Dream", along with Kaká. He is also a member of the International Christian ministry Athletes in Action.[47][48]
Along with Raúl Albiol and Guillermo Franco, in 2008 Senna founded Evangélico FC, an organisation consisting of 140 athletes and 16 coaches which sought to promote Christian values among young athletes in Spain.[49]
Career statistics
Club
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[50][51]
^"Calciatori in vetrina, niente saldi" [Footballers on sale, no discounts]. la tribuna di Treviso (in Italian). 26 June 2008. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
