Marius Mouandilmadji: ex-FC Porto star leads Conference League scorers | OneFootball

It would be the answer to a medium/high difficulty question in a football quiz. Hesitant, dear reader? Let's get to it.

Do you remember Marius Mouandilmadji? Even without questioning your football knowledge, it's likely that this name has already been forgotten by the average fan in Portugal.

Now 28 years old, the forward played in Portugal between 2018 and 2021, wearing the colors of FC Porto and CD Aves. Five years after leaving our country, the player from Chad has been making a name for himself in the Conference League, where he leads the scoring charts.

In tonight's victory for Samsunspor (4-0 against KF Shkendija), Marius scored two goals, bringing his total to seven goals in eight games in Europe's third most significant club competition.

A striker who didn't find his place in Portugal

Marius's career began in his home country, but his first notable season occurred in Cameroon. In 2018, playing for Cotonsport, the forward, then 20 years old, scored 18 goals in 30 games.

Following this performance, FC Porto moved to sign him, offering him a four-year contract.

His debut for the Dragons was promising: introduced in the final moments of the 1st round of the 2018/19 championship, the Chadian scored the fifth and final goal in the match against Chaves.

Despite this auspicious start, Marius did not convince Sérgio Conceição and spent most of the season in the B team, where he recorded five goals in 18 matches.

Midway through the following season (2019/20), he was loaned to CD Aves but failed to score in 12 matches for the team. In his last season in Portugal, he didn't play any minutes, leaving the country without significant memories.

In the spotlight in Turkey

After his time in Portugal, Marius, then 24, moved to Belgium to play for RFC Seraing.

After a quiet first season (three goals), the forward reached eleven goals in 2022/23.

Signed by Samsunspor in the summer, the former FC Porto player has been a model of consistency at the Turkish club. So far, he has scored precisely ten goals in each of the seasons he has represented the team – the current season is, of course, still ongoing.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.