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 Elie Baup. 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, mid-way 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 opened the campaign by scoring his first professional hat trick in a 5–1 victory over Nice. In September 2004, Chamakh scored goals in back-to-back matches against Bastia and Derby de la Garonne rivals Toulouse. He finished the campaign by scoring the opening goal in a 1–1 draw with Monaco. Despite the positive individual season from Chamakh, Bordeaux finished the campaign in 15th place; its worst finish since ending the league campaign in 16th over a decade before. Pavon, due to heart problems, stepped down from his position and was replaced by Ricardo Gomes. Under Gomes, Chamakh struggled to meet the success of his previous season scoring only 12 league goals in 58 matches over the course of two seasons. Two of his notable performances during Gomes' reign included scoring a double in league matches against Metz and Nancy. In the match against the former club, Chamakh scored both of his goals within a minute of each other. He was later ejected from the match after committing a red card offense. Chamakh ended the 2006–07 Ligue 1 campaign by hoisting the Coupe de la Ligue trophy after featuring in the team's 1–0 victory over Lyon in the final match. It was Chamakh's first major club honour.
Following the departure of Gomes, Bordeaux hired rookie manager Laurent Blanc ahead of the 2007–08 season. Chamakh has stated on several occasions that Blanc was an important figure in his development as a footballer. However, when Blanc first arrived to the club, Chamakh struggled to earn meaningful minutes because Blanc preferred David Bellion, a new recruit. His playing time up front was further hampered by the arrival of striker Fernando Cavenaghi, who had a prolific season scoring 15 goals in only 23 appearances. Due to Cavenaghi's emergence, Chamakh was used as a target man and scored four goals, his lowest output since becoming a professional. In the 2008–09 season, Chamakh was relegated to appearing as a substitute for the first-half of the campaign. However, on 21 December 2008, Chamakh convinced Blanc to change his mind. With Bordeaux trailing 3–0 against Monaco, Chamakh appeared as a substitute and, within minutes on the field, scored a goal. Following a goal from Alou Diarra to make the match 3–2, Chamakh equalized three minutes from time and, two minutes later, Cavenaghi netted the game-winner to give Bordeaux a 4–3 victory. Following the winter break, Blanc decided to use both Chamakh and Cavenaghi in the attack with influential playmaker Yoann Gourcuff acting in support. It was the former who developed a consistent partnership with Gourcuff, and Chamakh responded by scoring eight league goals in the second half of the season. On 30 May 2009, Bordeaux sealed their first league title since the 1998–99 season after defeating Caen 1–0 at the Stade Chaban Delmas. Chamakh played the entire match. The club also won the Coupe de la Ligue, completing the league and league cup double.
During the club's victory parade, with only one year left on his contract Chamakh declared that he would be staying at Bordeaux for the 2009–10 season, despite strong interest from Premier League club Arsenal. Despite the statement, rumors of a move to Arsenal continued to surface with negotiations reportedly having been ongoing throughout the summer. On 3 August 2009, president Jean-Louis Triaud declared that Arsenal had sent a bid of €7 million for Chamakh and that he had rejected it, demanding that Arsenal improve its offer. The following day, Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger announced that he would not be offering a better deal and declared the possible transfer dead. The announcement subsequently led Chamakh to confirm his intent to remain at Bordeaux for the 2009–10 season. On 29 August, Chamakh reportedly snubbed a move to West Ham. The club offered Bordeaux £18 million for the player and offered Chamakh a four-year contract worth £3 million a year. However, Chamakh remained firm on his stance, reiterating his commitment to Bordeaux.
In his final season with Bordeaux, Chamakh was equally adept in both the league and the UEFA Champions League. He began the season claiming his fifth trophy on 25 July 2009 as Bordeaux won the 2009 Trophée des Champions in a 2–0 victory over Guingamp. Chamakh scored ten goals in league play and netted five in the Champions League, which included goals against Italian club Juventus and German club Bayern Munich in the group stage. Bordeaux were only one of two clubs to finish the group-stage portion undefeated. In the knockout rounds, Chamakh scored a goal in Bordeaux's 2–1 victory over Greek club Olympiacos in the second leg of the team's UEFA Champions League opening knockout round match. Bordeaux won the tie with a 3–1 aggregate scoreline to advance to the quarter-finals, where they faced league rivals Lyon. In the first leg, which Lyon won 3–1, Chamakh scored a vital away goal. In the second leg, Chamakh converted another goal to get the scoreline 3–2 on aggregate. However, in the second half, Bordeaux were unable to score another as Lyon advanced to the semi-finals on the aggregate scoreline. In Ligue 1, Chamakh appeared in all 38 matches for the first time in his career. Despite starting the campaign strong, Bordeaux fell out of the running for the league title in the spring and eventually finished the season in sixth place, failing to qualify for European competition next season.
Read more about this topic: Marouane Chamakh, Career