Marouane Chamakh

Early career

Chamakh began his football career at the age of four playing for local club Nérac FC in the nearby commune of Nérac. After six years at Nérac, Chamakh joined FC Marmandais. While in Marmande, he developed his physical skills and traits, growing as tall as 6 ft (1.83 m) and also earning his first regional selection to play for the Aquitaine regional team in the Coupe Nationale.

Bordeaux

In 2000, Chamakh was pursued by several professional clubs that wanted to obtain his services. He drew interest from Lens, Toulouse, Lorient, and Bordeaux. Chamakh eventually decided to sign with Bordeaux due to the club's infrastructure and training facilities and also because of the close proximity to his family. Upon his arrival, Chamakh was placed into the club's youth academy. For the 2001–02 season, he was promoted to the club's Championnat de France amateur 2 team in the fifth division. Chamakh was involved heavily in the campaign of the team, coached by Jean-Louis Garcia. He appeared in 17 matches and scored six goals as the team finished first in their group, thus earning promotion to the Championnat de France amateur. Following the season, Chamakh turned professional and signed a three-year contract with Bordeaux. He spent the first half of the 2002–03 campaign playing in the fourth division, but following the winter break, was called up to the senior team by manager Élie Baup. Chamakh made his professional debut on 19 January 2003 in the team's Coupe…

Chamakh is a Moroccan international at the senior level. Prior to representing Morocco, he played for the under-19 team of France and made his debut on 12 February 2003 in a friendly match against the Czech Republic. That was his only appearance with the team. Chamakh was then selected within the French squad for the 2003 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, but declined the offer after being called up by Moroccan national team coach Badou Zaki for the team's 2004 African Cup of Nations qualification matches against Sierra Leone and Gabon. On 7 June 2003, he made his debut with the team in the match against Sierra Leone. On 10 September 2003, Chamakh scored both goals, which included his first international goal, in a 2–0 victory over Trinidad and Tobago. He participated in the rest of the qualification matches and was later named to participate in the tournament. Chamakh scored two goals in the competition; one against Benin in the group stage and another in the quarter-finals against Algeria. Morocco beat Mali in the semi-finals to reach the final where they faced Tunisia. In the match, Chamakh played the entire contest as Morocco were defeated 2–1 at the Stade 7 Novembre in Tunis.

In qualification for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Chamakh scored three goals. One of his goals during qualification occurred on 8 October 2010 against Tunisia. With Morocco needing a win to qualify for the World Cup, Chamakh opened the scoring in the third minute. However, the match finished 2–2,…

Club

International

International goals

Morocco score listed first, score column indicates score after each Chamakh goal

Chamakh was born in Tonneins, a small town near the Garonne River, to Moroccan parents, and was raised in the nearby commune of Aiguillon. His father, El Mostafa Chamakh, was a former footballer in Morocco and played for club Difaâ Aïn Sbaâ in Casablanca. In 1979, he left Morocco to locate more favorable living conditions and to find a better job. While pursuing his career as a professional footballer, Chamakh was equally adept off the field earning good grades in school. During his early years at Bordeaux, he began attending high school. He hoped to earn a Baccalauréat in accounting, which he later accomplished. In addition to having a Baccalauréat, Chamakh is also very interested in politics and, in February 2010, voiced his support for the Democratic Movement (MoDem) political party ahead of the upcoming regional elections. In the 2010 regional elections, Chamakh was, surprisingly, listed as a candidate by the MoDem for the Gironde department in the Aquitaine region. The lead deputy of the party, Jean Lassalle, stated on the decision to name Chamakh to the ballot: "I want to gather all the forces of Aquitaine to sustain our region, and Marouane is one of those forces who Aquitaine needs." Chamakh was listed as a non-eligible candidate on the ballot and Lasalle was accused of using Chamakh in order to garner votes from football supporters in the region. Chamakh is a practising Muslim and has stated that "I have no problem fasting during Ramadan, it becomes normal. The day…