François Marque (born 31 July 1983) is a retired French professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a defender and current manager of FC Courtételle in Switzerland.

Football career

Marque was born in

Troyes Troyes () is a Communes of France, commune and the capital of the Departments of France, department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within ...

. He started his career in his native France with amateur club RCS La Chapelle in 2002 where he played 55 games over the course of two seasons. His good performances there caught the eye of

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Prof ...

club

FC Libourne-Saint-Seurin Football Club Libourne, formerly known as AS Libourne or Libourne Saint-Seurin-sur-L'Isle, is a French football team from the town of Libourne in Nouvelle-Aquitaine. The club plays in the Championnat National 2, the fourth tier of French footbal ...

for whom he signed for in 2004. Marque did not play any games there and left after just one season to join

Swiss Challenge League The Challenge League (known as the Dieci Challenge League for sponsorship reasons) is the second-highest tier of the Swiss football league system and lower of two professional leagues in the country. Ten teams play in the Challenge League; the wi ...

side

FC Baulmes FC Baulmes is a Swiss football club based in Baulmes Baulmes () is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Jura-North Vaudois District, Jura-Nord Vaudois in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud in Switzerland. ...

in 2005. He impressed at Baulmes and gathered interest from several

Swiss Super League The Super League (also known as the Credit Suisse Super League for sponsorship reasons) is a professional association football league in Switzerland and the highest level of the Swiss football league system. It has been played in its current fo ...

teams. On 12 November 2006 Baulmes played in the

Swiss Cup The Swiss Cup (; ; ; ) is a football cup competition that has been organised annually since 1925–26 season by the Swiss Football Association. The Swiss Cup final is usually the most important game of the year with a high attendance. The co ...

third round against

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

, who needed extra time to win the match 3–2 and proceed to the next round. Therefore, Basel were also one of the clubs who showed an interest in the centre back. After much speculation about his future Marque joined

FC Basel Fussball Club Basel 1893, widely known as FC Basel, FCB, or just Basel, is a Swiss professional Association football, football club based in Basel, in the Basel-Stadt, Canton of Basel-Stadt. Formed in 1893, the club has been List of Swiss footba ...

in January 2007. At first, on 24. January, he signed a contract that was valid from July 2007 until 30 June 2010. But then

Bruno Berner Bruno George Berner (born 21 November 1977) is a Swiss professional football manager and former player. He most recently was head coach of Grasshopper Club Zürich in the Swiss Super League. Throughout his playing career, Berner played predomin ...

transferred out from Basel, to

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

for a nominal fee, and this move required an immediate replacement. So, in agreement with FC Baulmes, FCB made use of their opportunity to take over the defender with an immediate effect. A corresponding agreement with all parties was reached on 30 January, which meant that Marque was immediately available. He joined Basel's first team during the winter break of their 2007–08 season under head coach

Christian Gross Christian Jürgen Gross (born 14 August 1954) is a Swiss football manager and former player. He played as a sweeper and central midfielder. Gross was manager of Basel from 1999 to 2009, winning four Swiss Super Leagues and four Swiss Cups. As ...

. During his first six months with the club, Marque played just two

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football * ''League of Legends'', a 2009 multiplayer online battle a ...

and one

cup A cup is an open-top vessel (container) used to hold liquids for drinking, typically with a flattened hemispherical shape, and often with a capacity of about . Cups may be made of pottery (including porcelain), glass, metal, wood, stone, pol ...

games. He played his league debut with the team in the away game in the

Hardturm The Hardturm was a football stadium located in Zürich's Kreis 5. Opened in 1929, it was the home of the Grasshopper Club Zürich until it closed in 2007. It was a host stadium for the 1954 FIFA World Cup. The land for the stadium was bought by ...

on 4 March as Basel won 5–1 against Grasshopper Club coming on as substitute for

Scott Chipperfield Scott Kenneth Chipperfield (born 30 December 1975) is an Australian former soccer player who played as a midfielder for Wollongong Wolves, FC Basel, FC Aesch and the Australia national soccer team. His 2010 FIFA World Cup profile describes him ...

. Basel ended the league season as runners-up and the

as winners. Marque played the full 90 minutes in the semi-final against Wil but was on the bench during the final. During the 2007–08 season Marque progressed and formed an effective central defensive partnership with

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

international Daniel Majstorović and this saw him become a first-team regular. Basel played in the

2007–08 UEFA Cup The 2007–08 UEFA Cup was the 37th edition of the UEFA Europa League, UEFA Cup, UEFA's former second-tier club association football, football tournament. The 2008 UEFA Cup Final, final was played at the City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester, E ...

. Winning both matches in the qualification and both matches in the play-off round, they ended the group stage undefeated in second position to advance to the knockout stage. But then they were eliminated here by

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

. Marque played the full 90 minutes in all ten games. At the end of the 2007–08 season he won the

Double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...

with the club. They won the

League League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football * ''League of Legends'', a 2009 multiplayer online battle a ...

Championship title with four points advantage over second placed Young Boys. In the

via FC Léchelles,

SC Binningen Sport Club Binningen is a Swiss football club based in Binningen. Founded in 1920, the club competes in 2. Liga, the fifth tier of the Swiss Football League. They play at Spiegelfeld, a stadium in Binningen which opened in 2005 and has a capac ...

, Grasshopper Club, Stade Nyonnais and in the semi-final

Thun Thun () is a List of towns in Switzerland, town and a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the administrative district of Thun (administrative district), Thun in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Canton of Bern, Bern in Switzerland. ...

, Basel advanced to the final, and winning this 4–1 against

AC Bellinzona AC Bellinzona is a Swiss football club based in Bellinzona. It was founded in 1904, and won the Swiss Super League in 1948. After being folded in 2013 declaring bankruptcy, the team played the Ticino Group of 2.Liga, the sixth tier of the Sw ...

they won the competition. Majstorović left Basel in Summer 2008 and Marque formed a new partnership with David Abraham. To the beginning of the season, they were members of the Basel team that won the

Uhrencup The Uhrencup is a association football, club football tournament, held annually in Grenchen and Biel/Bienne, Biel in Switzerland. The Uhrencup is seen as a testament to the major influence that is exercised by the local watchmaking industry on the ...

. They beat

Legia Warsaw Legia Warszawa (), commonly referred to as Legia Warsaw or simply Legia, is a professional football club based in Warsaw, Poland. Legia is the most successful Polish football club in history, winning a record 15 champions titles, a record 2 ...

6–1 and played a 2–2 draw with

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, often known simply as Borussia Dortmund () or by its initialism BVB (), or just Dortmund by International fans, is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is ...

to end the table on top slot above Dortmund and

Luzern Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...

. Basel joined the

2008–09 UEFA Champions League The 2008–09 UEFA Champions League was the 54th edition of Europe's premier club football tournament and the 17th edition under the current UEFA Champions League format. The final was played at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy, on 27 May 2009. ...

in the second qualifying round and with an aggregate score of 5–3 they eliminated

IFK Göteborg Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna Göteborg (officially IFK Göteborg Fotboll), commonly known as IFK Göteborg, IFK (especially locally) or Blåvitt, is a Swedish professional Football team, football club based in Gothenburg. Founded in 1904, it ...

. In the next round they played against

Vitória de Guimarães Vitoria or Vitória may refer to: People * Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian * Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer * Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer * Sofia Vitória (bor ...

. The first leg ended in a goalless draw, but with a 2–1 win in the second leg they eliminated Vitória and advanced to the group stage. Here Basel were matched with

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

and

Shakhtar Donetsk Football Club Shakhtar Donetsk () is a Ukrainian professional Association football, football club that was based in the city of Donetsk until 2014 when, due to the War in Donbas (2014–2022), War in Donbas, the club was forced to move to Lvi ...

but ended the group in last position winning just one point after a 1–1 draw in

Camp Nou Camp Nou (), meaning ''New Field'' and often referred to in English as the Nou Camp, is a stadium in Barcelona and the home of La Liga club FC Barcelona since its opening in 1957. It is currently undergoing renovation, and with a planned increa ...

. Marque played in nine of the ten games, missing only the away game to Sporting due to an injury. At the end of the 2008–09 Super League season Basel were third in the table, seven points behind new champions

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

and one adrift of runners-up Young Boys. Marque suffered a cruciate ligament rupture in an away match in April and missed the last nine games of the season. In the

2008–09 Swiss Cup The 2008–09 Swiss Cup was the 84th season of Switzerland's annual cup competition. It began on 20 September with the first games of Round 1 and ended on 20 May 2009 with the Final held at Stade de Suisse, Bern. The winners earned a place in the ...

Basel advanced via

Schötz Schötz is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Willisau (district), Willisau in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Lucerne (canton), Lucerne in Switzerland. On 1 January 2013 the former municipality of Ohmstal merge ...

Bulle Bulle (; ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Gruyère (district), Gruyère in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Fribourg (canton), Fribourg in Switzerland. In January 2006 Bulle incorporated the formerly inde ...

and

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

to the semi-finals. But here they were stopped by YB. After a goalless 90 minutes and extra time, YB decided the penalty shoot-out 3–2 and advanced to the final to become runners-up, as Sion became cup winners. Marque missed all the games during the first half of the following season due to the ligament injury and after he recovered, he moved on. During his time with the team Marque played a total of 120 games for Basel scoring one goal. 58 of these games were in the

, eight in the

, 19 in the UEFA competitions (Champions League and Europa League) and 35 were friendly games. He scored his one-goal during a test game. On 1 February 2010, the central defender signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with

Grenoble Foot Grenoble Foot 38, commonly referred to as simply Grenoble or GF38, is a Football in France, French association football club based in Grenoble. The club plays its home matches at the Stade des Alpes, a sports complex based in the heart of the c ...

. On 19 July 2011, he played in a friendly for

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

. On 5 August 2011, he signed with French second league team

SC Bastia Sporting Club Bastia (, commonly referred to as SC Bastia or simply Bastia) is a French professional association football, football club based in Bastia on the island of Corsica. The club plays in Ligue 2, the second tier of Football in France, ...

. In October 2013 he signed for

1. FC Saarbrücken 1. Fußball-Club Saarbrücken () is a German Football in Germany, football club based in Saarbrücken, Saarland. The club plays in the 3. Liga, which is the third tier of football in Germany. History The club began its existence as the footbal ...

but was released four months later after failing a doping test. Marque signed for S.League side

Brunei DPMM FC Duli Pengiran Muda Mahkota Football Club (English language, English: His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Brunei Football Club; Abbreviation, abbrev: DPMM or Brunei DPMM) is a professional association football, football club based in Bandar S ...

for the 2017 S.League season. His debut on 3 March against

Home United Lion City Sailors Football Club, commonly referred to as the Sailors or LCS, is a Singaporean professional football club based in Bishan. It competes in the Singapore Premier League, the top tier of the Singapore football league system. Founded ...

only lasted half-an-hour as he went off with an injury, but not before conceding a penalty. He was released later that month and was replaced by Serbian

Željko Savić Željko Savić (; born 18 March 1988) is a Bosnian Serb retired football defender. Club career Born in Bihać, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, back then still within SFR Yugoslavia, Savic started playing in Serbia with lower-league side FK Omladina ...

Later career

In the second half of 2022, Marque played for Swiss amateur club FC Stade-Payerne. In the first half of 2023, he played for FC Thierrens. After that he moved to

FC Concordia Basel FC Concordia Basel is a Swiss football club based in Basel. The club was founded in 1907. They play in the 2. Liga Interregional (fifth level), and their home stadium was Rankhof Stadium until the 2008–09 season. Concordia is ranking as the ...

, where he played until the summer of 2024. Already in April 2024, it was confirmed that Marque had been hired as manager of the Swiss club FC Courtételle from the 2024-25 season.Mais qui est François Marque, le futur entraîneur du FC Courtételle qui a frustré le grand Barça?
lqj.ch, 10 May 2024

Honours

Basel *

: 2008 *

: 2008 * Uhren Cup: 2008

References

External links

Profile at FC Basel

Profile at Swiss Football League Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marque, Francois 1983 births Living people Footballers from Troyes Men's association football defenders French men's footballers French expatriate men's footballers FC Libourne players FC Basel players Grenoble Foot 38 players SC Bastia players 1. FC Saarbrücken players Amiens SC players Istres FC players DPMM FC players FC Stade Nyonnais players FC Concordia Basel players Ligue 1 players Ligue 2 players Swiss Super League players 3. Liga players Singapore Premier League players Expatriate men's footballers in Brunei Expatriate men's footballers in Switzerland Expatriate men's footballers in Germany French expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland French expatriate sportspeople in Germany French expatriate sportspeople in Brunei French expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Switzerland 21st-century French sportsmen