Marouane Chamakh

Marouane Chamakh (مروان الشماخ; born 10 January 1984) is a former Moroccan professional footballer who played as a forward.

He is described as a prototypical target man and is noted for his "link-up play", "tall stature" and "excellent heading ability".

Chamakh is also Bordeaux's eleventh highest goalscorer of all-time.

Chamakh started his career training with various clubs in the Aquitaine region.

In 2000, he signed with 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.

Chamakh made his professional debut for the club in the 2002–03 season.

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.

He made his national team debut in July 2003 and played in three Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, including the 2004 tournament in which Morocco finished as runners-up.

Chamakh made his professional debut on 19 January 2003 in the team's Coupe de la Ligue match against Metz.

He appeared as a substitute and played 15 minutes in a 1–0 defeat.

Chamakh made his league debut three weeks later in a 2–0 home defeat to Bastia again appearing as a substitute.

On 20 May, he scored his first professional goal against Nice, netting the equalizing goal just a minute before injury time in a 1–1 draw.

Chamakh appeared in 14 games, always as a substitute, during the campaign.

In the 2003–04 season, he was promoted to the senior team permanently by new manager Michel Pavon and made his first professional league start on 1 November 2003 in a 1–0 win over Marseille.

In the team's following match, Chamakh scored the opening goal in a 1–1 draw with Strasbourg just before halftime.

However, midway through the second half, he received his first career red card after incurring a second yellow.

Upon returning from his one-game suspension, Chamakh developed into a regular starter for the club, scoring goals in consecutive matches against Metz and Montpellier.

He finished the league campaign with six goals in 25 matches.

In the club's UEFA Cup campaign, Chamakh netted four times in eight appearances.

In the 2004–05 season, Pavon decided to move Chamakh into the lead striker position and install Argentine playmaker Juan Pablo Francia as a support striker.

The move was a success with Chamakh scoring ten league goals.

He spent nine years at the club and helped Bordeaux win the Coupe de la Ligue in 2007.

In the 2008–09 season, Chamakh won the league title as Bordeaux were crowned champions for the first time since the 1998–99 season.

The club also won the Coupe de la Ligue completing the league and league cup double.

In May 2010, Chamakh joined Premier League club Arsenal on a free transfer after agreeing a four-year contract with the club.

In August 2010, he captained the national team for the first time.

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.

Whilst with the Gunners, he helped take the club to the League Cup final of 2011.

During his stay at the Emirates, Chamakh also became the first player in UEFA Champions League history to score in six consecutive games.

Chamakh, who was born and raised in France, chose to play international football for Morocco due to his Moroccan parents.