Above: Margaux Chauvet (blue) tussling with her former club. Image: Sydney FC.
by Genevieve Henry (26/4/24).
A standout in Sky Blue, Margaux Chauvet announced that she had re-signed with Sydney until the end of the 2025-26 A-League Women season on Wednesday. The 21-year old has played an important role so far this season, and will hope her impact can continue throughout finals season as well as the next two seasons. A versatile player who can play in both defence and midfield, Chauvet is a valuable asset to Sydney.
Chauvet has a unique story among her peers. Born in Côte d’Ivoire to French and American parents, she and her family fled to France when riots and civil unrest broke out in 2004. Soon after, they relocated to Australia and made Wollongong their new home, where Margaux grew her love for football thanks to her brother. After playing with a few local teams, she joined the Illawarra Stingrays, a storied club that has developed the likes of Mary Fowler, Michelle Heyman, and Caitlin Cooper. She stuck with the Stingrays until 2018, then joined the Football NSW institute to play in the NSW NPL One for one season.
She earned herself a move to Western Sydney Wanderers when she was 17, where she impressed at centre-back for two seasons before moving to Icelandic club Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur with fellow Aussie and current Perth Glory player, Susan Phonsongkham.
Her first spell as a Sky Blue was as an injury replacement player, before signing with Sydney in August 2023. Since joining, she has featured in a few roles, impressing both at the back and in the middle of the park. She has played some outstanding games for the club, most recently shining in the disappointing loss against Melbourne Victory as well as making a vital goal-line clearance against the Central Coast Mariners in the first leg of the semi-final last week. Chauvet said, “this season has been my best in the A-League so far and I am extremely excited to build from it.”
Head coach Ante Juric commented, “she has now played her way into the starting line-up and is looking forward to playing in her first A-League home semi-final; and potentially a Grand Final, so it has been a breakout year for her.”
“This game will probably be the biggest game I’ve ever played.” This contract extension could be just the thing that propels Chauvet to star in the second leg of the semi-final, saying “I’m so happy, it’s an absolute honour to play for Sydney FC and the perfect motivation going into this weekend’s semi-final at Leichhardt Oval.” She continued, “the fans are second to none at Sydney FC, the best in the country, and I can’t wait to be representing them in many more finals clashes.”
Throughout her career, coaches and teammates have often praised Chauvet highly, with Juric saying, “Margaux has thoroughly earned this contract extension with her hard work, dedication and the way she has performed this season. She gives us great versatility and has been able to perform a number of roles to a high standard for us this season.” Among Chauvet’s most touted qualities are her game-smarts and confidence, as well as composure and discipline. She has incredible defensive stats, with her interceptions in the 98th percentile and her clearances in the 90th percentile of women’s footballers worldwide. Her experience as both a full-back and a centre back really play into her strengths in the midfield, her tenacity and ability to turn plays around being exceptional.
On her positional change, Chauvet said, “Moving into the six position’s been great; I have played there previously at other clubs. I’ve been loving it. I’m just trying to do my job.” And that she has. Although she faces tough competition from fellow Sky Blue midfielders, she has cemented a starting spot and made herself invaluable. “I’ve kind of found my groove in the team.”
Although she is eligible for quite a few different national teams, Chauvet has spoken many times of her aspirations to play for the Matildas someday, saying in a 2021 interview with the Illawarra Stingray, “I would love to one day play for the Matildas. That’s always been one of my goals.” She was selected to join the Matildas’ first ever Talent Identification Camp in 2020. She is well on her way to her goal, having also been selected for the Young Matildas in 2021. If she continues on this trajectory, she may well find herself there soon.
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