Malek Fakhro

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Malek Fakhro
Personal information
Full name Malek Issam Fakhro[1]
Date of birth (1997-12-14) 14 December 1997
Place of birth Essen, Germany[1]
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position Striker
Team information
Current team
 1. FC Bocholt
Youth career
2004–2011 Rot-Weiss Essen
2011–2016 Schwarz-Weiß Essen
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2020 Schwarz-Weiß Essen 120 (34)
2020–2021 SV Straelen 27 (9)
2021–2022 VfB Lübeck 28 (8)
2021 VfB Lübeck II 1 (0)
2022–2024 1. FC Bocholt 61 (30)
2024–2025 MSV Duisburg 29 (9)
2025–2026 Hallescher FC 32 (7)
2026– 1. FC Bocholt 0 (0)
International career‡
2024– Lebanon 12 (5)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 8 May 2026
‡ National team caps and goals as of 26 November 2025

Malek Issam Fakhro (Arabic: مالك عصام فخرو; born 14 December 1997) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for German club 1. FC Bocholt. Born in Germany, he plays for the Lebanon national team.

Early life

Fakhro's parents left Lebanon in 1985 due to the ongoing civil war.[2] He grew up with six other siblings in the Schonnebeck district of Essen, Germany.[2] After finishing secondary school, he started an apprenticeship in automotive mechatronics, though his primary focus remained football.[2]

Fakhro started playing for the youth team of Rot-Weiss Essen aged six.[3] Initially a defender, he moved up to the forward positions while playing for the under-12s.[3] He joined Schwarz-Weiß Essen's youth setup in the under-14s, and was integrated into the senior team as an under-19 player.[3]

Club career

Following an Oberliga (fifth tier) match between SW Essen and SV Straelen in May 2020, Fakhro's performance impressed Straelen's president, prompting his signing shortly after.[4] In his final season with SW Essen, he was named the club's "Player of the Year",[2] having recorded 34 goals and 21 assists over five senior seasons,[5] before departing after nine years with the team.[2] He then joined newly promoted Regionalliga (fourth tier) side SV Straelen for the 2020–21 season, scoring nine goals in 27 appearances.[6]

After one season at VfB Lübeck in 2021–22, in which he scored nine goals in all competitions, Fakhro joined 1. FC Bocholt in summer 2022.[7] He scored 30 goals in his two seasons at 1. FC,[6] and finished as second-best top scorer of the 2023–24 season with 15 goals.[5]

On 4 June 2024, Fakhro joined MSV Duisburg alongside his former 1. FC Bocholt head coach, Dietmar Hirsch.[5] Over the course of the season, he scored 10 goals and provided four assists in 33 appearances,[8] including three braces against Borussia Mönchengladbach II (3–1), FC Gütersloh (3–4), and Schalke 04 II (4–0).[9] Fakhro helped MSV Duisburg to a first-place finish in the 2024–25 Regionalliga West, which secured their promotion to the 3. Liga.[10] He departed the club at the end of the season.[8]

On 25 June 2025, Fakhro moved to Regionalliga club Hallescher FC;[11] He scored eight goals in 36 appearances in all competitions.[12] On 18 May 2026, Fakhro returned to 1. FC Bocholt.[13]

International career

Born and raised in Essen, Germany to Lebanese parents,[2] Fakhro is eligible to represent both Germany and Lebanon internationally.[14]

Fakhro was first called up to the Lebanon national team on 5 November 2024, for friendly games against Thailand and Myanmar.[15] He made his debut on 14 November, playing as a starter in a 0–0 draw to Thailand.[16] Against Myanmar on 19 November, Fakhro scored his first international goal, securing a 3–2 win for Lebanon.[17] On 25 March 2025, Fakhro scored two goals in a 5–0 win against Brunei in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.[18]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 8 May 2026[19][6]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League DFB-Pokal Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Schwarz-Weiß Essen 2015–16 Oberliga 152—1[a]0162
2016–17 Oberliga 326—2[a]0346
2017–18 Oberliga 225—2[a]2247
2018–19 Oberliga 3110—3[a]13411
2019–20 Oberliga 2011—2[a]12212
Total 120340010413038
SV Straelen 2020–21 Regionalliga West 279—2[a]0299
VfB Lübeck 2021–22 Regionalliga Nord 288—12[b]1409
VfB Lübeck II 2021–22 Oberliga 10——10
1. FC Bocholt 2022–23 Regionalliga West 3015—4[a]13416
2023–24 Regionalliga West 3115—4[a]03515
Total 613000816931
MSV Duisburg 2024–25 Regionalliga West 299—4[a]13310
Hallescher FC 2025–26 Regionalliga Nordost 327102[c]0357
Career total 2989710377337104
  1. Appearances in Lower Rhine Cup
  2. Eight appearances in championship round; four appearances, one goal in Schleswig-Holstein Cup
  3. Appearance in Saxony-Anhalt Cup

International

As of match played 26 November 2025[20]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Lebanon 202441
202584
Total 125
Scores and results list Lebanon's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Fakhro goal.
List of international goals scored by Malek Fakhro
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 19 November 2024 Thuwunna Stadium, Yangon, Myanmar  Myanmar 1–0 3–2 Friendly
2 25 March 2025 Saoud bin Abdulrahman Stadium, Al Wakrah, Qatar  Brunei 1–0 5–0 2027 Asian Cup qualification
3 3–0
4 14 October 2025 Saoud bin Abdulrahman Stadium, Al Wakrah, Qatar  Bhutan 1–0 4–0 2027 Asian Cup qualification
5 18 November 2025 Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei  Brunei 1–0 3–0 2027 Asian Cup qualification

Honours

VfB Lübeck

MSV Duisburg

See also

References

  1. "Malek Fakhro". Global Sports Archive. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
  2. Spütz, Heinz (22 October 2020). "Fußball: Der "Büffel" steht in den Startlöchern". Rheinische Post (in German). Retrieved 25 March 2025.
  3. ""Ich glaube, dass wir auf einem guten Weg sind" | 1. FC Bocholt 1900 e. V." www.1fcbocholt.de. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  4. Himmelberg, Volker (6 May 2020). "Fußball-Oberliga: Trotz Corona-Zwangspause: SV Straelen plant für Regionalliga". Rheinische Post (in German). Retrieved 14 November 2024.
  5. "#MSVereint | Goalgetter Malek Fakhro kommt: "Unbedingt zum MSV!"". MSV Duisburg (in German). 13 November 2024. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
  6. Malek Fakhro at Soccerway. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
  7. Germany, RevierSport, Essen. "Regionalliga: Ehemaliger ETB-Spieler als Wunschlösung- sechster Neuer für den 1. FC Bocholt". RevierSport online (in German). Retrieved 15 November 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. "Ein tolles Jahr in Meiderich: Danke, Zebras!". msv-duisburg.de (in German). 6 June 2025. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
  9. "4:0 gegen Schalker U 23: MSV Duisburg bleibt auf Titelkurs". wdfv.de (in German). Retrieved 25 March 2025.
  10. Canizales, Tizian (29 April 2025). "Trio um den MSV Duisburg fix - zwei Meister werden noch gesucht". RevierSport (in German). Retrieved 29 April 2025.
  11. "Neuer Mittelstürmer für den HFC: Nationalspieler Malek Fakhro kommt aus Duisburg". hallescherfc.de. 25 June 2025. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  12. "Danke für deinen Einsatz, Malek!". {$plugin.tx_news.opengraph.site_name} (in German). 18 May 2026. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
  13. "Malek Fakhro kehrt zurück zum 1. FC Bocholt | 1. FC Bocholt 1900 e. V." www.1fcbocholt.de (in German). Retrieved 19 May 2026.
  14. Haidinger, Peter. "MSV Duisburg: Torjäger Malek Fakhro geht auf Länderspielreise". MSPW - Media Sportservice (in German). Retrieved 14 November 2024.
  15. منتخب لبنان يستعيد حضوره الدولي و٣ مغتربين جدد ينضمون اليه [Lebanon national team regains its international presence and three new expatriates join it] (in Arabic). Lebanese Football Association. 5 November 2024. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
  16. "Match Report of Thailand vs Lebanon". Global Sports Archive. 14 November 2024. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
  17. "Match Report of Myanmar vs Lebanon". Global Sports Archive. 19 November 2024. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
  18. "لبنان يتصدّر مجموعته في تصفيات كأس آسيا بفوزٍ كبير على بروناي". The LFA. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
  19. Malek Fakhro at WorldFootball.net
  20. "Malek Fakhro". FA Lebanon. Retrieved 19 November 2024.