 In his first six months with the club, he scored nine goals in 15 Regionalliga Süd matches, but the team only finished fourth at the end of the 2005–06 season, two places below the promotion ranks.Marić also had a short international career with the Croatian national team in 2002 and 2003.He made his international debut in Croatia's friendly match against Hungary on 8 May 2002 and scored his first international goal in Croatia's 1–0 away victory over Romania in a friendly match played on 20 November 2002.