Marco Paixão
Introduction '''Marco Filipe Lopes Paixão''' (born 19 September 1984) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Turkish club Şanlıurfaspor.
Club career ===Early career===Born in Sesimbra, Setúbal District, Paixão spent his early career in Portugal and Spain, playing with lowly teams in both countries – his hometown's G.D. Sesimbra, FC Porto B, CD Guijuelo, Logroñés CF and Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa.In 2007–08, he suffered relegation from Segunda División B with Logroñés, and in the following season scored 13 goals for Leonesa.===Hamilton Academical===Paixão's first taste of professional football came in 2009 as he signed for Scottish Premier League club Hamilton Academical on 6 August, alongside twin brother Flávio. He made his league debut late in the month, against Aberdeen.On 11 April 2011, it was announced that Paixão would leave at the end of the campaign. However, just three days later, he was released from his contract with immediate effect, alongside his sibling. He appeared in 56 official matches for the Accies, scoring six goals.===Naft Tehran===On 5 January 2012, Paixão joined his brother in Iran after signing with Naft Tehran F.C. until the end of the season. He made his debut in a 3–1 home loss against Foolad F.C. five days later, scoring his first goal in a 1–0 win over Malavan F.C. on 8 February.===Ethnikos and Poland===In the summer of 2012, Paixão joined Cypriot side Ethnikos Achna FC. He netted his first goal for his new club on 3 November, in a 1–1 draw at AEL Limassol.In June 2013, Paixão signed a two-year contract with Śląsk Wrocław in Poland. He scored a career-best 21 goals in 2013–14, but his team could only qualify for the relegation play-offs.In June 2015, Paixão put pen to paper to a two-year deal at AC Sparta Prague. The following January, after being barely used by the Czech club, he returned to the Ekstraklasa with Lechia Gdańsk after agreeing to a two-and-a-half-year contract; his twin joined him a month later.Paixão concluded the 2016–17 season with hat-tricks in 4–0 home wins over Jagiellonia Białystok and Pogoń Szczecin. This brought his final tally to 18, joint with Lech Poznań's Marcin Robak as the top scorer.In March 2018, Paixão was removed from the first team when manager Piotr Stokowiec accused him of feigning an injury, and when his contract expired in June, he moved to Altay S.K. in the TFF First League. He was top scorer in his first season with the İzmir-based team, netting 29 times in 33 games.In December 2023 Paixão signed for Şanlıurfaspor also of the Turkish second tier, with effect from January 2024.
International career During their spell in Poland, both Paixão and his sibling were repeatedly poised to be called up to the Portugal national team, but nothing came of it.
Personal life Paixão's twin brother Flávio was also a footballer, Marco being the older by five minutes.
Career statistics + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueCupLeague CupOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsHamilton Academical2009–10Scottish Premier League3352110—3662010–111812010—211Total516412000577Naft Tehran2011–12Persian Gulf Cup16300——163Ethnikos Achna2012–13Cypriot First Division311520——3315Śląsk Wrocław2013–14Ekstraklasa372120—5544262014–1520621——227Total57274100556633Sparta Prague2015–16Czech First League3010—2060Lechia Gdańsk2015–16Ekstraklasa3000——302016–17351820——37182017–18271600——2716Total65342000006734Altay|2018–19TFF First League332921——35302019–20271710——2817Total60463100006347Career total2331131332075253121
Honours '''Individual'''*Ekstraklasa top scorer: 2016–17 (18 goals, joint with Marcin Robak)*TFF First League top scorer: 2018–19 (29 goals), 2019–20 (22 goals) 2020–21 (22 goals) 2022–23 (21 goals)
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