Margaux Chauvet was two years old when her family fled civil war in the Ivory Coast. But now, on the cusp of the biggest game of her blooming football career, the 21-year-old tells aleagues.com.au she’s fixated on her future, rather than dwelling on her past.
In the summer of 2004, Renaud Chauvet anticipated the rising threat of civil war in the Ivory Coast and acted to keep his young family safe from harm.
A warden at the French embassy, the father of two young children had the doors to his home reinforced; later that year, the names and addresses of wardens were extracted from the embassy and suddenly, his family had become a target in the nation’s civil war.
“We spent two days locked up in our house with the kids, Vincent and Margaux, being attacked,” Renaud Chauvet told SBS News in 2019.
“People were trying to break through the doors and, thank God, I got them reinforced that summer.”
Soon after, the Chauvet family fled the country via military helicopter. Renaud told SBS News that his two-and-a-half-year-old daughter Margaux was under his arm as they evacuated.
Two decades later, although aware of the hardships faced by her family when she was a child, Margaux Chauvet is determined to ensure her journey ahead as a young footballer with Matildas dreams defines her story, rather than the events that took place in West Africa all those years ago.
“I was born in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire – the Ivory Coast in West Africa,” Chauvet tells aleagues.com.au.
“My family lived there. We had to be evacuated because of a civil war, and political unrest.
“Dad got a job over in Australia and my family moved here. There’s not much I remember, because I was two-and-a-half years old. You can imagine, there’s not much to remember at that age. I know my brother does remember a little bit – he was five at the time.
“It was more difficult for my parents, of course, having to change their lives at such a crazy time when they were just starting a family. I have been told stories, it’s never going to be easy moving countries, I think most people can understand that, anyone who’s moved to Australia can understand that it’s never easy. I’ve had a really lucky childhood. I’ve had a great time since I’ve been here. I’ve lived most of my life in Australia.
“Slowly over the years, with my passport saying I was born in the Ivory Coast, I was going to be curious. My dad grew up there and lived most of his teenage life there. My dad was born and raised there, basically, so I was asking my dad about his childhood, which had a lot to do with the Ivory Coast. He has great memories and fond memories of the place. It’s just a part of my dad’s life, so it also became a part of my family’s life.
“I don’t really like talking about it – but I understand it is a part of my history. It was dangerous, and getting out of the country was quite hard. We had to get flown out on a helicopter… my parents were scared. But we made it out fine, and so did a lot of people. It’s a shame it had to be the way that we left the country.
“I understand it is a part of my story. It is my story. But at the same time, I don’t want it to take away from the game at hand and this weekend.”
Today, Chauvet plays for Sydney FC in the Liberty A-League, and her first campaign at the Sky Blues has gone exactly as planned: plenty of game time, thriving in a position relatively new to her after transitioning from central defence to central midfield, with Saturday afternoon’s Grand Final in Melbourne providing her the chance to play in her very first title decider as one of few squad members without experience on such an occasion.
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This weekend will be Sydney’s seventh-straight Grand Final as a club, and in preparation for the contest with Melbourne City at AAMI Park, Chauvet says that experience within the group has helped her navigate the unknown as she pursues a career-first Liberty A-League title.
“I think that might be one of the biggest reasons why there’s that sense of calm coming into this game: a lot of the girls have been there and done it,” Chauvet said.
“They won last year and in other years some have as well. I have confidence in my team, and that gives me the confidence back.
“Everyone knows Sydney is always a top contender in the league. They’ve always been a quality side so I knew that joining a club like that was never going to be easy, and I would have to work my way into the lineup.
“Now, being a part of the squad I’ve realised that it’s all about setting standards. The players, they live up to those standards. There’s also a bit of balance: the girls are lovely to hang around, and there’s a real sense of camaraderie and friendship that goes beyond the field. I think that helps us a lot.
“I wanted to join the club because I knew being in a top environment would only help me as a player, whether I’m playing or not. Ultimately, everyone wants the opportunity to be able to play, so eventually if you work hard enough, the coach is going to play you. I kept working hard, being around top-quality players only improved my game and that was my goal.
“Now, I’ve had an opportunity through these past couple of months to get game time and it’s been a dream come true.”
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Chauvet’s journey to this weekend’s Grand Final is the culmination of a four-year push to enhance her credentials as a young player to watch, which gained momentum on her return to her junior club Illawarra Stingrays in 2020.
At the time, the Stingrays squad featured five players from Liberty A-League side Western Sydney Wanderers. Before long, Chauvet joined the likes of Caitlin Cooper, Danika Matos and Erica Holloway as a Wanderer in her own right, signing for the club as an 18-year-old ahead of the 2020-21 season in the domestic top flight.
“I got a call-up to the Wanderers squad alongside a lot of those girls so I felt really comfortable,” Chauvet said. “I felt great going into that season… I didn’t get as much playing time as maybe one would hope – but as a young player, I wasn’t complaining at all.
“Then, I went to Iceland on a whim, just because I thought it would be a good league, a good experience – and it was. I am really happy I did that.”
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Chauvet was signed by Icelandic side KR Reykjavík in 2022, and it was there where the centre-back first transitioned into playing at the base of midfield.
Learning positional versatility has opened doors for Chauvet in the Sydney FC squad this season where competition for positions is always fiercely contested.
“In Iceland, the play was quite fast and I played my first season as a six there in a professional environment,” Chauvet said.
“That new position, playing there helped a lot now because I’m now playing that holding midfield position at Sydney. Getting experience in the midfield overseas was great for now. Iceland has an interesting league. It’s a pretty tough league, everyone’s quite strong over there, so just getting used to playing against strong players really helped.
“It was one of those situations where the coach thought it would suit me as a player, and the role of the team. He put me in there, and immediately I felt really comfortable there, and just worked on my craft throughout the year and slowly got better at playing that position.
“It’s definitely different to centre-back, where I played previously. The coach over there was really helpful and would back us as players. If I ever needed any advice, he was great to talk to. It was a good learning experience for sure.”
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Chauvet returned to Australia following her stint at KR to join a Sydney squad in flux after losing a star cast of pivotal players in the off-season – but here they are again, on the league’s final day, with the chance to win back-to-back Championships.
Newcomers to the squad like Chauvet proved pivotal to the trophy push, having risen to the challenge of meeting the Sky Blues’ signature high standards.
“Throughout the season, the message from (head coach Ante Juric) has always been: treat every game the same,” she said.
“You’re coming in and focusing on the next one, and continuing game by game. That’s how he approaches it. Every game we’re trying to keep that standard and also level up in situations where we didn’t do well.
“I think if I look back at the season, the girls have always had the same mindset, nothing has changed. It’s not that we deserve a spot in the final, but we’ve had trust that our players are good enough to make the final.
“Not much has changed in terms of that mentality, we’ve had it from the start, it’s just about the finer details that got us to the final… that’s given me a bit of calmness coming into the game, knowing it’s all just the same routine and same as usual.
“There’s a bit of a buzz going around… we’re focused. I’m feeling calm, ready, and excited.”
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