Early years Born a few months after the
1970 FIFA World Cup into a family of football fans in
Paramaribo, Suriname, Vink thanks his middle names to the feats of the Brazil national football team that year, as he was named after its captain
Carlos Alberto Torres. The Vink family moved to the Netherlands, and it was there that young Marciano learned his trade at TOS Actief and ADE in
Amsterdam. A prolific young player, Vink's talents were soon noticed by the Ajax scouts and it wasn't before long he was admitted to play a notable side (in European football history).
Career with Ajax He swiftly rose through ranks of Ajax's youth Academy with a number of extremely talented players such as:
Dennis Bergkamp,
Frank de Boer,
Ronald de Boer,
Richard Witschge,
Bryan Roy, and
Michel Kreek. Vink was deemed to be a huge prospect and was heralded to become the next
Frank Rijkaard. His rise through the youth ranks and his debut at the age of 18 in 1988 were, however, no indication of how his career would ultimately unfold. He would play 108 matches in his five-year stint with Ajax until coach
Louis van Gaal decided to dismantle the team that won the UEFA Cup in 1992 to make way for a younger generation of players such as
Patrick Kluivert,
Clarence Seedorf,
Michael Reiziger, and
Edgar Davids. In 1993, Vink therefore opted for Italian side Genoa.
Career continued Vink's spell with Genoa turned out to be a disappointment. He played only 13 matches (2 goals), in a season which saw Genoa narrowly avoid relegation to
Serie B. He quickly decided to move back to the Netherlands with top side PSV Eindhoven. Although PSV Eindhoven was progressively starting to challenge Ajax for the domination of the Eredivisie, Vink did not play the part his coaches might have had in mind for him as he was often sidelined through injury. In 1997, his injury plagued stay with PSV came to a grinding halt as
Luís Figo made an uncompromising tackle in the
Champions League match
FC Barcelona - PSV. He spent the next two seasons rehabilitating, but to no avail. In 1999, his contract expired and was not extended. He played only 48 matches in 5 seasons and was left with a damaged reputation. He joined 1st division outfit ADO Den Haag on amateur basis to revitalize his career, but only played 5 competition matches. After this, one could not help but think that the career of Vink was over. However, Vink showed his resilience by returning to professional football briefly, to show the critics that he had just been unlucky in his career and that he was indeed a quality player. He played one more season with the Ajax satellite club Ajax Cape Town. The 1992 UEFA Cup winner turned out to be a more than welcome addition to the squad. In 2002, he permanently retired from professional football and became a player agent. ==International career==