Babic lengthens Leverkusen stay
Monday, November 24, 2003
Article summary
Croatian international midfield player Marko Babic has signed a new contract with Bayer 04 Leverkusen.
Article body
Breakthrough year
The 22-year-old joined Leverkusen from NK Osijek in 2000 and made his first-team breakthrough last season. He has been a key figure this term, starting all but two of Leverkusen's 13 Bundesliga games, scoring three goals and creating another five in the process. Leverkusen lie third in the table with 30 points, three behind leaders VfB Stuttgart.
Progress to Portugal
Babic is likely to be an important member of the Croatia squad at UEFA EURO 2004™, having established himself in Otto Baric's side during the qualifying campaign. Croatia finished second behind Bulgaria in Group 8 and earned their place in Portugal by beating Slovenia in the play-offs.
