Ligue 1: Souleymane Camara, the perfect teammate turns the page

Text by: Antoine Grognet Follow

Montpellier Hérault will return to the field, like other Ligue 1 teams which resume training after the long period of inactivity linked to confinement. But for the first time since 2007, this recovery will take place without Souleymane Camara. At 37, the Senegalese striker put an end to his career in late May. The last Lion of the 2002 epic still in activity therefore puts away his crampons, discreetly, as usual.

Publicity

It is the end of his career in his image. Smooth. However, Souleymane Camara could have complained. Because it was the president of Montpellier, Laurent Nicollin, who announced on May 18 the departure of the Senegalese striker. But as usual, Camara didn't hold it against her. Not his kind: "  I would have liked to announce it myself, because I had friends and family to inform. But it does not matter.  All Souleymane Camara holds this answer.

"A model team member"

The Montpellier striker has built over the years a reputation as an exemplary player. René Girard, his former trainer, champion of France 2012 with him, does not say anything else besides: “  For any trainer, it is the dream. At the level of the state of mind, at the level of efficiency. People of his rigor, his honesty, there are not many. It is even a shame that it stops, we will miss it.  "

"  A model team member  " adds Alassane Ndour, the former midfielder, who frequented Camara in selection and in particular during the epic of the 2002 World Cup . At the time, the striker was only 19 years old, and he had joined this Senegalese team where strong personalities, such as El-Hadji Diouf, reigned. And today he admits having crossed the World Cup in Korea and Japan with a kind of carefree attitude: "  At the time, we were enjoying, but recently, I watched a documentary on our victory against France (1- 0, goal of Pape Bouba Diop) and there I had chills when I saw the happiness that we brought to people.  Camara (35 caps, 7 goals) admits being influenced by Bruno Metsu , the white wizard from Senegal that year, who himself considered the attacker to be the best hope of his generation.

Luxury joker

Replacing in 2002, Souleymane Camara had no idea that his career would be that of a "super-sub", a player brought in during the match to score goals. Famous for his thunderous, often decisive entry into play, making him a "luxury joker" to use René Girard's terms. A replacement status that he never wanted but that he has accommodated.

“  There is not a football player who does not like to start a match. But I always told myself that if I had the opportunity to come into play, I was going to give everything, to show the coach that I deserved to be titular. On the bench, I looked at the opposing team and the defenders to know how to score or have them scored once on the field,  "explains the player trained in Monaco and passed through Guingamp and Nice before Montpellier.

Future coach?

Enough to make Camara, a native of the Medina district of Dakar, the record player of matches played with Montpellier (433 games), the second best scorer in club history (64 goals) and the only player to have registered at least a goal in 15 seasons of Ligue 1, but without making it a star player. “  What hurts me is that it is also unknown , regrets Mathieu Chupin, president of the Dakar Sacré Coeur (DSC), a football club based in the Senegalese capital and in which Souleymane Camara participated in the foundation. We often talk about the extraordinary replacement, but he is worth much more than that.  "

Souleymane Camara should, now that the crampons are put away, commit a little more to the DSC. Crowned by his career, "  he's a model,  " says Mathieu Cupin. "  We explain to them (to the players, note) the example that he was on the field but also outside,  " he said. An off-field career that promises to be flourishing if one believes René Girard: "  Why not find him one day at the head of the Senegal selection ...  " bet the current coach of Paris FC.

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