Marcus Warren Haber (born January 11, 1989) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a striker for Cambodian club Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng.
Haber began his career at local club 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 under-19 team. 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 club 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 team, 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, before moving to Cavalry FC a year later. He joined Cambodian Premier League club Visakha FC in January 2021.
Haber has also represented the Canada men's national soccer team at under-16, under-17, under-20, under-23, and senior level.
Early 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.
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 academy there, 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 under-19 team of FC Groningen of the Dutch Eredivisie. During his time at Groningen, he played regularly for the club's youth team, 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 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 English League Two club Gillingham. He played in two reserve matches against the respective reserve teams of Southampton and Crystal Palace, but was ultimately not offered a contract.