Marco Paixão joins Athens Kallithea FC

Athens Kallithea FC announce the acquisition of Portuguese striker Marco Paixão on a free transfer following the expiration of his contract with Turkish side Bandırmaspor.

Paixão, 40, was top scorer in Turkey’s second division in four of the last seven seasons, scoring 126 goals with 21 assists in 201 league matches over that period, including 19 goals with five assists last season. He previously scored 61 goals with 10 assists in 123 league matches in Poland’s Ekstraklasa for Śląsk Wrocław and Lechia Gdańsk, and has also played top flight football in Scotland, Cyprus, and the Czech Republic.

Born in Sesimbra, Paixão came through the academy of local side GD Sesimbra, and went on to begin his career with Porto B and Spanish third division sides Guijuelo, Logroñés, and Leonesa, before moving to Scotland.

Paixão signed with Hamilton Academical in August 2009, and scored five goals with three assists in his debut season in the Scottish Premiership.

After a short stint in Iran, Paixão moved to Cyprus with Ethnikos Achnas, and he would score 15 goals in 31 league matches — including eight goals in six relegation playout matches — to help the club maintain their place in the top flight in 2012/13.

Paixão joined Śląsk Wrocław the following season, and he exploded for 21 goals in the Ekstraklasa in 2013/14, while adding another five goals in the UEFA Europa League. Paixão would spend two seasons at Śląsk, scoring 36 goals with six assists for the club in total.

Paixão’s form would earn him a move to Sparta Prague, where he made his UEFA Champions League debut in July 2015. After six months, Paixão returned to Poland with Lechia Gdańsk, and he went on to be Ekstraklasa top scorer with 18 goals in the 2016/17 season. In two-and-a-half seasons with Gdańsk, Paixão would score 34 goals with six assists in 68 matches across all competitions.

In June 2018, Paixão landed in Turkey with Altay, and he would set off on an incredible goalscoring pace, becoming league top scorer in the Turkish second division for three straight seasons in 2018/19 (29 goals), 2019/20 (22 goals), and 2020/21 (22 goals), culminating with the club’s promotion to the Süper Lig. After one season in the top flight, Altay returned to the second tier, with Paixão once again emerging as the league’s top scorer in 2022/23 (21 goals).

Paixão would finally leave Altay for Şanliurfaspor in the winter of the following season, scoring 15 goals in total in 2023/24 between the two clubs.

Paixão joined Bandırmaspor last summer and helped the club reach as far as the promotion playoff final, scoring 19 league goals with five assists on the season.

Welcome, Marco.