Meet The Former Tranmere Academy Player Who Made His Real Madrid Debut At The Weekend

From Tranmere Rovers to Real Madrid; the remarkable journey of young Marvin Park peaked on Sunday night when Zinedine Zidane handed the talented youngster an opportunity of a lifetime.

Park, a former academy player at the League Two side, was brought on with 20 minutes remaining at the Anoeta Stadium as the Spanish giants tried to make a breakthrough in their La Liga opener against Real Sociedad.

The 20-year-old looked sharp but was unable to make the difference as Madrid recorded a disappointing 0-0 draw.

That being said, the Mallorca-born winger's first team debut was perhaps the most encouraging sign on the night.

Born in 2000, Park, who is part Nigerian and part Korean, started his career at local side Ciutat de Palma before moving to England.

He was eventually picked up by League Two side Tranmere Rovers at the age of nine and he spent three years in the North West before returning to his homeland to play for Ciutat de Palma.

The pacey winger went on to develop at local clubs La Salle and Jonquet Penya Arrabal before scouts at Real Madrid decided to swoop and snap up the youngster in 2016.

It was a dream come true for Park and boy did he take his opportunity with both hands.

Park rose through the youth ranks and last season, he scored three goals in 26 appearances for Real Madrid Castilla.

And with his impressive form for Castilla in mind, Zidane gave the 20-year-old his senior debut alongside another youngster, Sergio Arribas.

His decision to not trust the likes of Luka Jovic and Borja Mayoral to try and find the breakthrough spoke volumes.

"We didn't change our formation. It's tricky, because if you throw on another centre-forward, you have to change the formation and I didn't want to. We needed to bring on players on the wings, and that's what we did," Zidane said post-game.

Let's hope Zidane gives Park and his Castilla teammates more chances to impress in the first team this season.

Topics: Football News, Football, Zinedine Zidane, Real Sociedad, Real Madrid, La Liga

Jack Kenmare

Jack Kenmare is a writer at SPORTbible. He's interviewed some of the biggest names in sport, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Pele, Carles Puyol and Tim Henman. He dabbles in all things sport but football is his biggest passion. He was once hit in the head by a wayward strike from Nicky Butt and lived to tell the tale.

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