Mohammed Camara
Encyclopedia
- For the Guinean film director, see Mohamed Camara (film director)Mohamed Camara (film director)Mohamed Camara is a Guinean film director and actor based in France. He studied at the Atelier Blanche Salant in Paris. He has explored controversial topics in his films such as incest , child suicide and homosexuality...
.
Mohammed "Mo" Camara (born 25 June 1975 in Conakry
Conakry
Conakry is the capital and largest city of Guinea. Conakry is a port city on the Atlantic Ocean and serves as the economic, financial and cultural centre of Guinea with a 2009 population of 1,548,500...
, Guinea
Guinea
Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
) is a Guinea
Guinea
Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
n professional footballer. He is a left back and a Guinean
Guinea national football team
The Guinea national football team, nicknamed Syli national , is the national team of Guinea and is controlled by the Fédération Guinéenne de Football. They have never qualified for the World Cup finals, and their best finish in the African Nations Cup was second in the 1976...
international.
Early career
Camara spent the early years of his professional career in French football, with BeauvaisAS Beauvais Oise
Association Sportive Beauvais Oise is a French association football club based in Beauvais. The club was formed in 1945 as a result of a merger and currently play in the Championnat National, the third level of French football. Beauvais plays its home matches at the Stade Pierre Brisson located...
in 1993, and in 1996 went on loan to Troyes
Troyes AC
Espérance Sportive Troyes Aube Champagne is a French association football club, based in Troyes. It was founded in 1900. The club was promoted to Ligue 1 for the 2005–06 season and their first Ligue 1 season was in 1954/55, and their second spell came in 1999/2000 Espérance Sportive Troyes Aube...
, where he played 13 league games. He made a total of 79 league appearances for Beauvais, before signing for Le Havre
Le Havre AC
Le Havre Athletic Club Football Association is a French association football club based in Le Havre. The club was founded originally as an athletics and rugby club in 1872, thus making it the oldest association football and rugby club registered in France...
in August 1997, where he was sent on loan to Lille
Lille OSC
LOSC Lille Métropole is a French association football club based in Lille. The club was founded in 1944 as a result of a merger and currently play in Ligue 1, the first division of French football. Lille plays its home matches at the Stade Lille-Metropole in nearby Villeneuve-d'Ascq. In 2012, the...
.
Wolves
Camara moved to England in summer 2000 with Wolverhampton WanderersWolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...
of the First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
in a £100,000 deal. He became a cult figure amongst their fans, known for his commitment and pace despite sometimes exhibiting a lack of positional sense and ball control. A regular column from the spoof 'Mohammed Camara Appreciation Society' appeared in fanzine 'A Load of Bull' celebrating his eccentric but lovable playing style. He was a regular starter in his first two seasons with the side, but failed to make an appearance during their 2002-03 promotion success following a knee ligament injury and the signing of Denis Irwin
Denis Irwin
Denis Joseph Irwin is a former Irish football player who is best known for his long and successful stint at Manchester United, where he established himself as one of the most important players in the United team that won a host of domestic and European trophies in his time there between 1990 and...
.
Burnley
He joined BurnleyBurnley F.C.
Burnley Football Club are a professional English Football League club based in Burnley, Lancashire. Nicknamed the Clarets, due to the dominant colour of their home shirts, they were founder members of the Football League in 1888...
on a free transfer in June 2003, which gave Camara regular playing time once again. After Steve Cotterill
Steve Cotterill
Stephen "Steve" Cotterill is an English former footballer who is manager of Nottingham Forest.-Playing career:...
replaced previous manager Stan Ternent
Stan Ternent
Francis Stanley "Stan" Ternent is an English former footballer and manager. He managed Blackpool, Hull City, Bury, Burnley, Gillingham and Huddersfield Town. He is currently a scout for Sunderland.-Career:...
, he made the left-back focus on his crossing ability, causing a dramatic up-turn in his form at the beginning of the 2004-05 season
2004-05 in English football
The 2004–05 season was the 125th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:*2004–05 was the first season to feature the rebranded Football League. The First Division, Second Division and Third Division were renamed the Football League Championship, Football League One and Football League...
. He scored once for Burnley in the League Cup as they memorably knocked out Premier League side Aston Villa in October 2004.
Celtic
Camara's form attracted interest from Scottish Premier LeagueScottish Premier League
The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...
side Celtic
Celtic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
, who he joined at the end of his two-year contract under the Bosman ruling
Bosman ruling
Union Royale Belge des Sociétés de Football Association ASBL v Jean-Marc Bosman is a 1995 European Court of Justice decision concerning freedom of movement for workers, freedom of association, and direct effect of article 39 of the EC Treaty...
at the end of the season.
After one-to-one sessions with manager Gordon Strachan
Gordon Strachan
Gordon David Strachan OBE is a Scottish football manager and former player. He is currently without a club, having last managed Middlesbrough. Strachan played for Dundee, Aberdeen, Manchester United, Leeds United and Coventry City, as well as the Scotland national team. Prior to Middlesbrough,...
, Camara started to do well and established himself as a defender in Celtic's first eleven. However after Ross Wallace
Ross Wallace
Ross Wallace is a Scottish footballer who plays for Burnley as a winger.-Celtic:Wallace was born in Dundee, Scotland and started his career with Celtic where he played as a left midfielder but under his former manager Gordon Strachan he played at left back for the reserves and eventually the first...
was converted into a left-back, Camara was relegated to the bench and made only rare appearances. He fell further down the pecking order after the signing of right-back Mark Wilson, who was also converted to left back.
Derby County
Despite earlier pledging to fight for his place at Celtic, Camara ending up leaving to join Derby County on a free transfer in August 2006. He was a regular player during the first half of the season, however he found himself out of contention after Derby signed Jay McEveleyJames McEveley
James Michael "Jay" McEveley is a professional footballer who currently plays for Barnsley, as a defender.-Blackburn Rovers:...
in the January transfer window. The following season, with the club newly in the Premier League, saw Camara find appearances just as scarce. Despite scoring against Blackpool in the League Cup at the start of the season, he made just one appearance in the top flight, a 0-6 thrashing at Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
, before later being loaned to Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
side Norwich City
Norwich City F.C.
Norwich City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. As of the 2011–12 season, Norwich City are again playing in the Premier League after a six-year absence, having finished as runner up in the Championship in 2010–11 and winning automatic promotion.The...
. This was subsequently extended to cover the whole of the 2007/08 campaign
2007-08 in English football
The 2007–08 season was the 128th season of competitive football in England.-European competitions:In October 2007 Arsenal equalled the UEFA Champions League record victory with a 7–0 win over Slavia Prague at the Emirates Stadium. The record was broken the following month when Liverpool...
.
On 5 August 2008, Camara moved to Derby's Championship rivals Blackpool on loan until 30 August. He made his debut for the Seasiders on 9 August in a 1-0 home defeat to Bristol City
Bristol City F.C.
Bristol City Football Club is one of two football league clubs in Bristol, England . They play at Ashton Gate, located in the south-west of the City...
. On 9 September the loan was extended for a further month, with manager Simon Grayson
Simon Grayson
Simon Nicholas Grayson is a retired English footballer and current manager of Leeds United. He is the elder brother of cricketer Paul Grayson....
saying, "He has done very well for us in the first four league games. He has good energy and experience and he has been a good addition." The loan period was extended for a third and final time on 17 October, keeping him with the Seasiders until 22 November.
. Upon his return to Derby Camara featured in a FA Cup victory at Forest Green Rovers
Forest Green Rovers F.C.
Forest Green Rovers Football Club is an English football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, currently the longest-serving members of the Conference National. The club is affiliated to the Gloucestershire County FA.-Early years:...
but was deemed surplus to requirements by new Derby manager Nigel Clough
Nigel Clough
Nigel Howard Clough is an English former footballer and the current manager of Derby County. Playing predominately as a striker, but later in his career was used as a midfielder, Clough was capped by England 14 times in the early 1990s....
and his contract was cancelled on 2 February 2009.
St. Mirren
After the January 2009 transfer window shut, free agent Camara moved back to ScotlandScotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
to sign for Scottish Premier League
Scottish Premier League
The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...
side St. Mirren
St. Mirren F.C.
St Mirren Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Paisley, Renfrewshire who play in the Scottish Premier League, having been promoted from the First Division in 2005–06.St...
. From 25 January, Camara was told he was free to find a new club.
Torquay United
Soon after being released from St Mirren, Camara joined English League Two side Torquay UnitedTorquay United F.C.
Torquay United Football Club, nicknamed the Gulls, are an English association football club based in the tourist resort town of Torquay, Devon. They played in the Conference National in 2008–09, but were promoted to Football League Two after a 2–0 win over Cambridge United on 17 May 2009 at Wembley...
. Having made his debut in a 2–1 home defeat to Port Vale
Port Vale F.C.
Port Vale Football Club is an English football club currently playing in Football League Two. They are based in Burslem, Staffordshire — one of six towns that make up the city of Stoke-on-Trent. The club's traditional rivals in the city are Stoke City, and games between the two clubs are known as...
on 13 February, Camara made his second and final appearance for the Gulls six days later in a match at Rotherham United
Rotherham United F.C.
Rotherham United Football Club are an English professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, who compete in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. The club's colours have traditionally been red and white, although these have evolved through history...
in which he was substituted at half time. It was finally confirmed by manager Paul Buckle
Paul Buckle
Paul John Buckle is an English professional footballer and football club manager. He is currently manager of League Two side Bristol Rovers.-Career:...
on 24 April that Camara was no longer at the club.
He was released by Torquay on 15 May 2010, along with six other players.
International career
Camara has made 79 appearances for GuineaGuinea national football team
The Guinea national football team, nicknamed Syli national , is the national team of Guinea and is controlled by the Fédération Guinéenne de Football. They have never qualified for the World Cup finals, and their best finish in the African Nations Cup was second in the 1976...
.