Marco Ilaimaharitra

Marco Ilaimaharitra
Ilaimaharitra in 2015
Personal information
Date of birth (1995-07-26) 26 July 1995
Place of birth Mulhouse, France
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
Standard Liège
Youth career
2003 AS Coteaux Mulhouse
2004–2008 Mulhouse
2008–2013 Sochaux
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2017 Sochaux 91 (1)
2017–2024 Sporting Charleroi 215 (15)
2025 Kortrijk 13 (1)
2025– Standard Liège
International career
2013 France U19 5 (0)
2014–2015 France U20 6 (0)
2017– Madagascar 31 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11 May 2025
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 8 July 2025

Marco Ilaimaharitra (born 26 July 1995) is a professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Belgian Pro League club Standard Liège. Born in France, he is a former member of its under-19 and under-20 national teams but represents Madagascar at senior international level.[1]

Club career

Born in Mulhouse, Ilaimaharitra started his career with his hometown club, AS Coteaux Mulhouse. Later, he joined FC Mulhouse. In 2008, he joined the youth team of FC Sochaux-Montbéliard. His professional debut came on 14 December 2013, in a 1–0 away defeat against OGC Nice.[2] Four days later, he featured in the Coupe de la Ligue against OGC Nice.

On 15 January 2025, Ilaimaharitra signed a contract with Kortrijk until the end of the 2024–25 season, with an option to extend for 2025–26.[3] However, he instead joined [[[4]Standard Liège]].

International career

Ilaimaharitra was born in France, and is of Malagasy and Réunionnais descent. Previously a youth international for France, he made his debut for Madagascar in a friendly match against Comoros on 11 November 2017.[5]

On 27 June 2019, Ilaimaharitra scored a late 76th minute free-kick against Burundi to secure a 1–0 win and historic first ever win for Madagascar in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.[6]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 19 July 2019[7][1]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Sochaux II 2012–13 CFA 4 0 4 0
2013–14 7 0 7 0
2014–15 3 0 3 0
2015–16 2 0 2 0
2016–17 CFA2 4 0 4 0
Total 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 20 0
Sochaux 2013–14 Ligue 1 12 0 2 0 1 0 15 0
2014–15 Ligue 2 27 1 0 0 1 0 28 1
2015–16 29 0 5 0 2 0 36 0
2016–17 23 0 0 0 4 0 27 0
Total 91 1 7 0 8 0 0 0 106 1
Charleroi 2017–18 Belgian First Division A 23 1 3 0 10 1 36 2
2018–19 25 1 2 0 9 0 36 1
Total 48 2 5 0 0 0 19 1 72 3
Career total 159 3 12 0 8 0 19 1 198 4

International

As of matches played on 24 March 2025[8]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Madagascar national team 2017 1 0
2018 4 0
2019 8 1
2020 3 1
2021 4 0
2022 2 1
2023 3 0
2024 4 0
2025 2 0
Total 31 3

International goals

Scores and results list Madagascar's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ilaimaharitra goal.[8]
List of international goals scored by Marco Ilaimaharitra
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 27 June 2019 Alexandria Stadium, Alexandria, Egypt  Burundi 1–0 1–0 2019 Africa Cup of Nations
2. 12 October 2020 Stade El Abdi, El Jadida, Morocco  Burkina Faso 1–1 2–1 Friendly
3. 24 September 2022 Stade El Bachir, Mohammedia, Morocco  Congo 3–3 3–3 Friendly

Honours

Individual

National Team

References

  1. ^ a b Marco Ilaimaharitra at Soccerway
  2. ^ "Nice vs. Sochaux - 14 December 2013 - Soccerway". soccerway.com.
  3. ^ "Marco Ilaimaharitra is nieuwe Kerel" [Marco Ilaimaharitra is the new Guy] (in Dutch). K.V. Kortrijk. 15 January 2025. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  4. ^ "Marco Ilaimaharitra est Rouche !" (in French). Standard Liège. 18 June 2025. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
  5. ^ "Football amical : Les Barea tenus en échec par les Cœlacanthes". 13 November 2017.
  6. ^ "Joue-la comme Ilaimaharitra".
  7. ^ "Marco Ilaimaharitra » Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  8. ^ a b "Marco Ilaimaharitra". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
  9. ^ "Distinction - Marco élu homme du match". 28 June 2019.
  10. ^ "Madagascar : Les Barea décorés chevalier de l'ordre national". 15 July 2019. Archived from the original on 27 November 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2020.