Retirement time has come for the Senegalese Souleymane Camara

Text by: Farid Achache Follow

Souleymane Camara will end her career at the age of 37, according to the regional daily Midi Libre. Daddies of the Montpellier public, he participated in the title of champion of France in 2012. The former Senegalese international also experienced the 2002 World Cup.

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Souleymane Camara arrived in the Hérault department in 2007 in the form of a loan from Nice. He has just completed his 13th season in the elite of French football with a total of 423 league matches in a season cut short and interrupted due to the Covid-19.

Deep respect for Louis Nicollin

Souleymane Camara is the player who played the most matches for the Hérault club, which he has never left since 2007. “  In Montpellier, there is a man and a moment that crystallize this attachment : lunch with families at the president's farmhouse, Louis Nicollin,  "the player told the daily Liberation .

In total, the Senegalese has found sixty-two times the way to goals throughout his career started in 2001 in Monaco, his training club. However, when he arrived in Nice in 2005, the coach of the time, Frédéric Antonetti, tackled him strongly: "  For us, you don't even have the level of a National player (French third division, editor's note) ). This did not prevent Souleymane Camara from remaining at the highest level until the age of 37.

“  Antonetti also made me progress in tactical work and in front of the goal, which I do not forget. We saw each other again one evening in Rennes, the year when Montpellier is champion (Montpellier's 2-0 victory on May 7, 2012, a goal from Camara, editor's note). He congratulated me on my progress. I found it sincere,  ”he told Liberation in 2014 , without hard feelings.

A player you can count on

Senegalese international with 35 caps, Camara notably participated in the 2002 World Cup, under the orders of Bruno Metsu, where the Teranga Lions beat in group stage France, reigning world champion, before rising in quarterfinal.

"  Before I went to the 2002 World Cup, my coach Didier Deschamps told me:" see you soon, because you're not going to stay long "... I said to him:" why not? Let's talk about it again "  » , told the most capped player in the history of the Montpellier club to France Bleu. In 2002, Souleymane Camara was only 19 years old, and Didier Deschamps had given him a chance at the Monegasques.

The same year Camara was a CAN finalist in Mali. “  When I knew him, he was ten years old. We only played in the wastelands of Dakar. He is my little brother. "Souley", he is exceptional, we can count on him. We shared so much time together. We were always in the same room in selection,  "said his compatriot Omar Daf to RFI today. Souleymane Camara called her childhood friend during the confinement to inform her of her decision. "  He didn't want me to get it from the press  ."

Longevity due to its professionalism

Coming from the Medina district of Dakar at the age of 16, Souleymane Camara, child of a modest family, endowed with a very strong will, found himself alone in a studio in Monaco. A real shock for the one who had attended the Aldo Gentina training center in the country. The first day, who discovered Europe had arrived in the locker room in traditional dress.

“  At CAN in Mali, Souleymane was the youngest of us, but we could trust him all the time, recalls Omar Daf, coach of Sochaux (Ligue 2) . His longevity showed his professionalism. He didn't talk much, he worked. He is a sage.  "

"  As soon as there was a possibility of recovering it in Montpellier, I jumped at the opportunity, " Rolland Courbis told So Foot. He is a boy capable of setting goals, but above all capable of working and making a lot of effort that benefits his teammates. In addition, intellectually, I find it clearly above average.  "

Souleymane Camara, discreet, signed definitively in Montpellier on July 1, 2008. And it is not impossible that he remains in his heart club for a new adventure.

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