Marcus Haber


Marcus Warren Haber is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a striker for Cavalry FC.
Haber began his career at local side Vancouver Selects, playing four years with the youth team. In 2006, he joined FC Groningen of the Dutch Eredivisie as a youth player, and spent two years the club's U19 side. Haber returned to Canada and signed for the Vancouver Whitecaps in February 2009. Named Rookie of the Year in the USL First Division, he then joined Championship club West Bromwich Albion for an undisclosed fee in January 2010. He was soon loaned out for a month to League One club Exeter City. In April 2010, he rejoined Vancouver Whitecaps on loan to play first-team football.
He returned to West Brom ahead of the 2010–11 season, but was loaned out for a third occasion, this time to Scottish Premier League team St Johnstone. Injury disrupted his time with the club, and his loan spell was ended prematurely in November 2010. In July 2011, Haber joined St Johnstone on a permanent basis, signing on a free transfer. After one year with the SPL side, he joined Stevenage on a two-year deal. Haber spent two seasons at Stevenage, also spending time on loan at Notts County during the 2013–14 campaign. He then signed for Crewe Alexandra, also of League One, in July 2014, where he spent two seasons. Haber subsequently signed for Scottish Premiership club Dundee in October 2016. He was loaned to Falkirk of the Scottish Championship for the first half of the 2018–19 season. In January 2019, he signed with Pacific FC of the newly formed Canadian Premier League.
Haber has also represented the Canada men's national soccer team at U16, U17, U20, U23, and senior level.

Club career

Early career

Haber began his soccer career by playing for Dunbar SA from 1994 to 2002. He then joined Vancouver Selects in 2002, progressing through the youth ranks, where he helped lead his local team to a national championship in early 2006. He played for the Whitecaps FC Reserves in the Pacific Coast Soccer League in 2006, before travelling to Europe, spending two seasons playing for the U19 team of FC Groningen of the Dutch Eredivisie. During his time at Groningen, he played regularly for the club's youth side, making over 20 appearances, as well as making two further appearances for the reserve team.
In the summer of 2008, Haber joined English League One club Leeds United on trial, participating in their pre-season tour to Ireland ahead of the 2008–09 season. He made his first appearance for Leeds as a second-half substitute in the club's friendly win over Galway United. Haber made his first start, and scored his first goal, in a 3–2 friendly victory against Bray Wanderers, a game in which Leeds came from two goals down to win. He remained at Leeds on their return to England, with manager Simon Grayson "still showing interest" in the player. However, Leeds did not offer him a contract. After his last game for Leeds against Barnet, Haber began to search for another club.
In August 2008, Haber had an unsuccessful trial with Hartlepool United, where he played in one pre-season friendly away at York City, This was followed by an unsuccessful trial at Rotherham United later that month. In September 2008, Haber spent two weeks on trial at Gillingham of England's League Two. He played in two reserve fixtures against the respective second-strings of Southampton and Crystal Palace, but was not offered a contract

Vancouver Whitecaps

After unsuccessfully searching for a club in Europe, Haber returned to Canada, and subsequently joined the Vancouver Whitecaps on February 11, 2009. He claimed both the 'Newcomer of the Year' and 'Fan's Favourite' awards after a successful first season with the Whitecaps. The striker was one of seven USL First Division players to appear in every regular season match for his club that year, with Whitecaps goalkeeper Jay Nolly being another player to achieve the same feat during the 2009 season. Haber scored his first goal for the club on April 18, 2009, netting in a 2–1 away defeat to the Puerto Rico Islanders. The goal earned Haber a spot in the USL-1 Team of the Week for Week Two. In the Nutrilite Canadian Championship, Haber scored the winning goal in the Whitecaps' 2–0 away win over the Montreal Impact on May 20, scoring just 33 seconds into the match. Haber set the record for the quickest goal scored in a Nutrilite Canadian Championship match. He also scored a consolation goal in a 2–1 home defeat to the Montreal Impact on June 7. Two weeks later, Haber scored his fourth goal of the season in a 2–2 away draw with the Cleveland City Stars, scoring the first goal of the match.
The striker then earned a place in the Team of the Week for Week 14 after claiming a goal and an assist in a 4–0 home win over the Minnesota Thunder on July 9. At the end of the same month, he scored the first goal in a 4–2 home win over the Puerto Rico Islanders, before scoring in a 1–1 draw at Carolina RailHawks on August 18. Haber then added to his goal tally for the season when he scored the opening goal during a 1–1 away draw to Minnesota Thunder, as well as netting the equalizer in a 2–1 home win over Austin Aztex on September 13. Whitecaps finished the season in seventh place, earning a place in the play-offs. Haber scored with his head in both legs of the play-off semi-final series versus Portland Timbers as the Whitecaps advanced to the USL-1 Championship Series final courtesy of a 5–4 aggregate victory. In the first leg of the USL-1 Championship Series, Haber scored one of his best goals of the season during a 3–2 home defeat to Canadian rivals Montreal Impact on October 10. After the season had ended, Haber was named as Rookie of the Year in the USL First Division for the 2009 season. He scored 12 goals in 39 appearances during the campaign.

West Bromwich Albion

In November 2009, Haber spent four days training with Championship club West Bromwich Albion. After impressing during the trial, Haber signed for West Brom for an undisclosed fee, agreeing to personal terms and passing his medical on January 12, 2010. On joining the club, Haber said that "The club were pretty straightforward with me from day one. They said that if I was given the opportunity, they would work to improve me as a young player". He was given a squad number of 40.

Loan spells

Having made just two reserve appearances for West Brom due to a spate of postponements because of adverse weather conditions, Haber moved to League One club Exeter City on a month-long loan deal on February 18, 2010, to gain first-team experience. He made his debut for Exeter in the club's 1–0 home defeat to Stockport County two days after signing, coming on as a 60th-minute substitute in the match. He went on to make five appearances during the brief loan agreement, before returning to West Brom in March 2010.
After just four months in England, Haber returned to Canada, rejoining Vancouver Whitecaps on April 9, 2010, on a two-month loan deal. West Brom believed the loan move would enable Haber to get more game time — "Marcus joined us in January but it took around a month for international clearance to be granted and then several reserves fixtures were called off due to the bad weather. This meant he only played a game or two for us during his first two and a half months in England. That's why we've allowed Marcus to rejoin Vancouver, so he can get as much game time as possible". During his loan spell back in Vancouver, Haber made 15 appearances in all competitions, scoring twice.

St Johnstone

Ahead of the 2010–11 season, Haber was loaned out for a third time, joining Scottish Premier League side St Johnstone on a season-long loan. On signing Haber for the season, St Johnstone manager Derek McInnes stated — "West Brom have high hopes for him but having stepped up a level into the Premiership they wanted him to go out on loan rather than be kicking his heels at The Hawthorns. He is young, hungry, has real pace and he's keen to learn". A day later, he played in Alan Main's testimonial match, against a Manchester United XI. Haber made his competitive debut for the club in a 1–1 draw against Hearts on August 14, 2010, playing the opening 72 minutes of the match. He scored his first goal for the club five weeks later, on September 21, as he ran onto Alan Maybury's pass to finish neatly as St Johnstone beat Queen of the South 3–0 in the Scottish League Cup. He quickly doubled his goal tally when he scored in the club's 2–0 home league victory over Hibernian on October 2, 2010, coming on as a late second-half substitute and doubling St Johnstone's advantage in injury-time. After making 14 appearances, and scoring twice, during the first three months of the season, Haber snapped his anterior cruciate ligament in a 3–0 home defeat to Kilmarnock on November 6, 2010, turning "awkwardly on the slick McDiarmid Park surface" in "an innocuous incident". He returned to West Brom to undergo surgery, with the injury ultimately ruling Haber out for the remainder of the season.
Released by West Brom on July 4, 2011, having made no first-team appearances for the club, Haber signed a one-year deal with St Johnstone on July 22. Haber had spent two weeks on trial with the club prior to the move being made permanent. He made his first appearance of the 2011–12 campaign in the club's first match of the season, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 0–0 away draw against Aberdeen. After appearing predominantly as a substitute during the early months of the season, Haber scored his first goal in a 3–1 victory over Hibernian in November 2011, netting with a headed goal just before half-time. He went on to score one further goal during the season, scoring a late consolation strike as St Johnstone were beaten 2–1 at home to Aberdeen on December 13, 2011. During the season, Haber made 34 appearances in all competitions, scoring two goals, as St Johnstone finished the season in sixth position.

Stevenage

In July 2012, Haber signed for League One club Stevenage on a free transfer, and on a two-year contract. He made his debut in the club's first game of the 2012–13 season, a 3–1 home victory over AFC Wimbledon in the League Cup on August 14, 2012, assisting two goals in the game. Haber scored his first goal for the club in a televised 2–1 win against Coventry City at the Ricoh Arena, coming on as a second-half substitute and scoring the winning goal with a header fifteen minutes from time. He scored his second goal of the campaign in Stevenage's 2–2 home draw with Bury, heading in Luke Freeman's corner to draw Stevenage level. Haber then had to wait three months for his next goal, finishing from close range after his initial header had hit the post in a 2–0 away victory against Hartlepool United on December 8, 2012. He scored in another away win a month later, finishing calmly as Stevenage came from a goal down to beat Crewe Alexandra. Haber went on to score twice in February 2013, both of which were headed goals, in games against Notts County and Carlisle United respectively. Haber's seventh goal of the season came in Stevenage's important 1–0 win over Brentford on March 5, 2013, with the goal ensuring Stevenage ended a six-game losing streak. It proved to be Haber's last goal of the campaign, as he made 46 appearances in all competitions during his first season with the club. In May 2013, Haber was one of three players placed on the transfer list, with the player entering the final year of his contract at Stevenage. New manager Graham Westley felt Haber would not play regularly the following season, and therefore it was "better for all" that he "move on to develop his career". In September 2013, Haber joined divisional rivals Notts County on a three-month emergency loan deal.

Crewe Alexandra

He signed for Crewe Alexandra on July 31, 2014. After playing 82 games in all competitions and scoring 18 goals, he was released in May 2016.

Dundee

In October 2016, Haber went on trial with Dundee, and on October 24, he signed a deal to the end of the season. He made his debut for the club on October 26, 2016, in a 2–0 home defeat to Partick Thistle and scored his first goal for the club in a 2–0 home win against Motherwell on November 5, 2016. On January 19, 2017, Haber signed a new two-year contract.
Haber was loaned to Scottish Championship club Falkirk in July 2018. Haber's loan would be cut short by Falkirk, and Haber would leave Dundee by mutual consent in January 2019.

Pacific FC

Haber signed with Canadian Premier League club Pacific FC on January 9, 2019. On April 29, 2019 he made his debut in the club's inaugural match. On May 18, 2019 he scored his first goal for Pacific in a 2–2 draw with York 9 FC.

Cavalry FC

In July 2020, Haber signed with Cavalry FC.

International career

Haber has represented Canada from the U15 through to the U23 Olympic levels. He appeared in all three games in the 2007 FIFA U20 World Cup, although he was played in an unfamiliar role as a centre-back. In March 2008, Haber made three Olympic qualification appearances in Canada's unsuccessful campaign to reach the 2008 Men's Olympic Football Tournament in Beijing. He was a member of Canada's U20 squad that did not qualify for the 2009 FIFA U20 World Cup in Egypt, finishing third in their group. As a result, Canada did not qualify for the Championship round. In March 2012, Haber was once again part of the U23 squad that would attempt to qualify for the Summer Olympics later that year. Canada qualified from the group stage, finishing in second place with five points, qualifying at the expense of the USA U23 side after securing a surprise 2–0 victory over them. Haber played in two out of the three group matches. They lost in the semi-final stage to the eventual gold medal side, going down 3–1 to their Mexican counterparts, with Haber scoring Canada's solitary goal to briefly restore parity in the match.
Haber made his debut for the senior side in a 2–2 friendly against Ukraine at the Valeriy Lobanovskyi Dynamo Stadium on October 8, 2010, coming on as a 73rd-minute substitute for Olivier Occéan. In August 2011, he was called up for Canada's two 2014 World Cup qualifiers the following month. He appeared as a late substitute in Canada's 4–1 victory over Saint Lucia on September 3, 2011, although he was an unused substitute four days later as Canada defeated Puerto Rico 3–0, in-turn securing qualification to the third round. Haber earned his third senior cap in February 2012, when he replaced Julian de Guzman in the 82nd minute as Canada lost 3–1 in a friendly match against Armenia in Limassol. In March 2013, he was named in the 21-man senior squad for friendly fixtures against Japan and Belarus, with both games taking place in Doha, Qatar. Haber made his first start for Canada in the match against Japan on March 22, a 2–1 defeat, with Haber scoring his first senior goal courtesy of a second-half header from Will Johnson's corner, briefly restoring parity in the match. He also came on as a second-half substitute in Canada's 2–0 loss to Belarus just three days later, earning his fifth senior cap in the process.
In June 2013, Haber was listed for Colin Miller's Canada squad in the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Personal life

Born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, Haber is the oldest child of David and Carla Haber. He has a brother and a sister. He not only excelled in soccer, but also baseball and basketball, and attended Lord Kitchener Elementary and Lord Byng Secondary schools. Haber enjoys listening to, and producing, hip hop music in his spare time. The footballer he most enjoyed watching in his prime was Thierry Henry.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

#DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1March 22, 2013Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar41–11–2Friendly
2March 27, 2015Lockhart Stadium, Fort Lauderdale, United States131–01–0Friendly
3October 6, 2016Stade de Marrakech, Marrakesh, Morocco253–04–0Friendly

Honours

Individual