Marco Ilaimaharitra
Malagasy footballer (born 1995)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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]
|
Ilaimaharitra in 2015 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 26 July 1995 | ||
| Place of birth | Mulhouse, France | ||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Standard Liège | ||
| Number | 23 | ||
| 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 | 31 | (3) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2013 | France U19 | 5 | (0) |
| 2014–2015 | France U20 | 6 | (0) |
| 2017– | Madagascar | 31 | (3) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 31 May 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 8 July 2025 | |||
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 Standard Liège.[4]
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
| 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]
| 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]
| 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
- Man of the Match Burundi group B (1) : Africa Cup Of Nation 2019 [9]
- Knight Order of Madagascar: 2019[10]