Ousmane Camara (born 20 February 2001) is a Guinean professional footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish Segunda División club Castellón and the Guinea national team.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ousmane Camara[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 20 February 2001[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Conakry, Guinea | ||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Castellón | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2018–2019 | Auxerre | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2019–2024 | Auxerre II | 64 | (24) |
| 2022–2024 | Auxerre | 12 | (2) |
| 2024 | → Annecy (loan) | 15 | (6) |
| 2024– | Castellón | 0 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2023– | Guinea U23 | 7 | (0) |
| 2024– | Guinea | 1 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15 June 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 9 May 2024 | |||
Early life
editCamara was born in Conakry, Guinea to poverty as the last of 6 children. He was educated by an uncle 50 km from his parents, who taught him to play football. At the age of 17, he decided to leave the country and went to Mali, then Guinea, before landing in Libya where he was imprisoned for 3 months; there he was beaten and saw inmates get killed. He escaped the prison after a fight between inmates and guards, and reached a refugee camp on the Mediterranean. Earning meals by playing football, he left on a raft to Italy with other refugees. Almost drowning on the voyage, he landed in Italy and hid in a toilet on a train to France. The following year, his talents where noted by Auxerre and he joined their youth academy in 2018.[2]
Club career
editIn 2019, he was promoted to Auxerre's reserves and signed a professional contract that kept him at the club until 2022.[3] In the 2022–23 season, he was one of the top scorers for Auxerre's reserves in the Championnat National 2.[4] On 27 December 2022, he extended his contract with the club for 2+1 years.[5] He made his professional debut with Auxerre as a late substitute in a 3–2 Ligue 1 loss to Monaco on 28 December 2022.[6]
On 24 January 2024, Camara was loaned to Ligue 2 side Annecy.[7] On 28 August, he moved to Spanish Segunda División side Castellón.[8]
International career
editCamara was called up to the Guinea U23s in November 2022, but withdrew from the selection.[9] He was called up again for a set of 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches in March 2023.[10]
Camara made his debut for the senior Guinea national team on 10 June 2024 in a World Cup qualifier against Mozambique at Ben M'Hamed El Abdi Stadium in El Jadida, Morocco. He substituted Aguibou Camara in the 84th minute of a 1–0 Mozambique victory.[11]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Men's Olympic Football Tournament Paris 2024: Squad list" (PDF). FIFA. 24 July 2024. p. 5. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
- ^ "À L'ÉCOLE DE L'AJA – Ousmane Camara, de la prison en Libye au centre de formation auxerrois". ici, par France Bleu et France 3. 22 April 2019.
- ^ "AJ AUXERRE : Momo Yattara " sort " et Ousmane Camara " reste "". 8 June 2023.
- ^ France, Centre (25 April 2023). "Football – Ousmane Camara et Terrien voient double : retrouvez le classement des buteurs icaunais du N2 au R2". lyonne.fr.
- ^ "Auxerre : Ousmane Camara prolonge pour deux saisons". 27 December 2022.
- ^ Sesay, Med (8 January 2023). "AJ Auxerre : Le travail d'Ousmane Camara charme son coach".
- ^ "Mercato : Bienvenue à Ousmane Camara" [Mercato: Welcome to Ousmane Camara] (in French). Annecy. 24 January 2024. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
- ^ "Ousmane Camara, nuevo jugador del CD Castellón" [Ousmane Camara, new player of CD Castellón] (in Spanish). CD Castellón. 28 August 2024. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
- ^ "Un forfait chez les U-23 : Ousmane Condé le remplace". 15 November 2022.
- ^ "Élim. CAN U23 : voici les 21 joueurs retenus pour la double confrontation avec le Nigéria". 9 March 2023.
- ^ "Guinea v Mozambique game report". ESPN. 10 June 2024.
External links
edit- Ousmane Camara at Soccerway