Henri Camara

Henri Camara

Personal information
Full name	Henri Camara
Date of birth	(1977-05-10) 10 May 1977
Place of birth	Dakar, Senegal
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Panetolikos
Number	7
Youth career
	ASC Diaraf
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1998–1999	RC Strasbourg	0	(0)
1999–2000	Neuchâtel Xamax	32	(17)
2000–2001	Grasshopper Club Zürich	11	(3)
2001–2003	Sedan	59	(22)
2003–2005	Wolverhampton Wanderers	30	(7)
2004–2005	→ Celtic (loan)	18	(8)
2005	→ Southampton (loan)	13	(4)
2005–2009	Wigan Athletic	69	(20)
2007–2008	→ West Ham United (loan)	10	(0)
2009	→ Stoke City (loan)	4	(0)
2009–2010	Sheffield United	23	(4)
2010–2011	Atromitos	28	(3)
2011–	Panetolikos	92	(28)
National team
1999–2008	Senegal	99	(29)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19:57, 6 February 2014 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals).

Henri Camara (born 10 May 1977) is a Senegalese footballer who plays as a striker and is currently plays for Panetolikos.

Club career

Early career

Camara was born in Dakar to a Guinean father and a Senegalese mother.^[1] He began his career in France with RC Strasbourg (1998–1999), before playing for Swiss clubs Neuchâtel Xamax (1999–2000), and Grasshopper-Club Zürich, where he won the Swiss Championship in 2001. He then returned to France with Sedan but sought a new move when they were relegated in 2003.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Camara joined newly promoted English Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers in August 2003 in a four-year deal for £1.5million.^[2] He was a regular first-choice player, capable of creating goalscoring opportunities, but often guilty of erratic finishing that left him with just one goal from 23 games, this goal being the crucial winner as Wolves came back from 3 down at half time to beat relegation rivals Leicester City 4–3.^[3] Towards the end of the season, he found his scoring touch and struck 6 times in the final 9 games. While this could not prevent relegation, he was named the fans' Player of the Year.^[4]

However, Camara was unwilling to play at a lower level and did not turn up for pre-season training.^[5] His future was further unsettled by a bid from Phil Gartside, Bolton Wanderers' chairman, which Wolves chief executive Jez Moxey rejected.^[6] He eventually returned to the club but only to negotiate a loan move away.

Celtic

Camara's route out of Wolves came in the form of Celtic, who paid £1.5million to take him on loan for the 2004–05 season.^[7] His time in Scotland was disappointing, though, as he scored eight goals from twelve starts and six substitute appearances. Camara claimed in the press that he would replace Henrik Larsson, who had just left the club. He also requested Larsson's squad number (7) which he had had at a previous club as well, but was instead given number 27.^[8]

The loan deal was terminated during the January 2005 transfer window despite being contracted for longer, as he moved back to England with Southampton.^[9] Here, he suffered relegation again as the Saints made the drop on the final day of the season.

Wigan Athletic

Camara finally found a new permanent club when he was signed by Premiership newcomers Wigan Athletic in August 2005 in a three-year deal for £3million.^[10] In 2006, his contract was extended to 2009 due to his outstanding goal scoring form. He had a great time playing with Jason Roberts as they linked well. He again found himself in a Premier League relegation battle, but it ended third time lucky for him as Wigan made a last day escape at the expense of Sheffield United.

After Wigan manager Paul Jewell's resignation, Camara found himself out of favour at Wigan and he was loaned out to West Ham United, for the duration of the 2007–08 season, at the end of the Summer transfer window.^[11] By his own admission, he has had a torrid time at West Ham and wants to preferably find another club in England. Despite allowing him to leave on loan Steve Bruce suggested that if Camara wanted to stay at Wigan he was more than welcome to.^[12]

Camara scored a brace in his first game back for Wigan under Bruce in the 4–0 win in the League Cup over Notts County.^[13] He then scored the match winner against Everton in a 1–0 victory for Wigan at the JJB Stadium on 24 November 2008, their first win against Everton on home soil. He scored again against West Bromwich Albion the following match. Whilst at Wigan he started in the 2006 Football League Cup Final.

On 2 February 2009, Camara joined Stoke City on loan until the end of the season in search of regular first-team football. He missed a glaring opportunity straight after coming off the bench for his debut at Sunderland, smashing a volley from 6 yards against the bar with the entire goal to aim for.^{[citation needed]} He was released by Wigan at the end of the 2008–09 season, after not being offered a new contract.^[14]

Camara spent much of the 2009 close-season on trial at Premier League club Hull City but was not offered a contract,.^[15]

Sheffield United

After initially rejecting a deal with the Blades, Camara signed a short term agreement with the Sheffield club until the end of the season.^[16] Camara made his début in a 4–3 loss to Cardiff City at the end of October and scored his first goal for the club in a 1–0 win over Peterborough United a month later.^[17] He made 23 appearances that season, often from the bench, and scored four goals but was released when his contract expired as the club sought to cut the wage bill.

Atromitos

On 11 May 2010, Camara signed a one-year deal with Greek Superleague side Atromitos.

Panetolikos

On 19 June 2011, Camara signed a one-year deal with Greek Superleague side Panetolikos. Despite appearing in all 30 league games and being Panetolikos' top scorer for the season with 7 goals, he couldn't help his team avoid relegation.

Camara signed another one-year deal with Panetolikos on 27 August 2012,^[18] and, by scoring 10 goals in the regular season and 3 goals in the playoffs, helped the team return to the Greek Superleague after only one year at the Greek Football League.

In the summer of 2013, he signed a third one-year deal with Panetolikos.^[19]

International career

Camara made his international debut for Senegal in a 1–1 African Cup of Nations qualifier against Nigeria on 28 February 1999. He went on to play in their surprising run at the 2002 World Cup, scoring two goals – one a golden goal – in the Round of 16 against Sweden, which took them to the quarter-finals for the only time in their history. He was also part of the 2004, 2006 and 2008 Africa Cup of Nations squads.

Camara also featured in Ronaldinho's squad for a charity football match. The match was between Europe and the rest of the world. Camara came on as a substitute and scored 2 goals in the second half of the game to help his team take the victory.

Internationally, Camara could have played for Guinea as his father was born in Guinea. On choosing Senegal, he explained, "I was born in Senegal but my father is from Guinea, so, yes, I could have played with Momo Sylla in the Guinea national team. When I was young, I received an invitation from the Senegal youth team and my dad didn't want me to play. His dream was for me to play for Guinea. But I didn't know Guinea very well. Senegal was my country, so it was an easy decision for me to make."^[1]

Career statistics

As of 2 February 2014.^[20]

Club performance			League		Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
France			League		Coupe de France		Coupe de la Ligue		Europe		Total
1998–99	Strasbourg	French Division 1	0	0							0	0
Switzerland			League		Schweizer Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
1999–2000	Neuchâtel Xamax	Nationalliga A	32	17							32	17
2000–01	Grasshopper		11	3							11	3
France			League		Coupe de France		Coupe de la Ligue		Europe		Total
2001–02	Sedan	French Division 1	25	8							25	8
2002–03			34	14							34	14
England			League		FA Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
2003–04	Wolverhampton Wanderers	FA Premier League	30	7			2	0			32	7
Scotland			League		Scottish Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
2004–05	Celtic (loan)	Scottish Premier League	18	8	1	0	1	0	6	0	26	8
England			League		FA Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
2004–05	Southampton (loan)	FA Premier League	13	4	3	2					16	6
2005–06	Wigan Athletic		29	12			3	0			32	12
2006–07			23	6							23	6
2007–08			0	0			1	0			1	0
2008–09			17	2	1	1	3	3			21	6
2007–08	West Ham United (loan)		10	0							10	0
2008–09	Stoke City (loan)		4	0							4	0
2009–10	Sheffield United	The Championship	23	4	2	0					25	4
Greece			League		Greek Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
2010–11	Atromitos	Superleague Greece	28	3	7	1					35	4
2011–12	Panetolikos		30	7	2	0					32	7
2012–13	Panetolikos	Football League	40	13	1	0					41	13
2013–14	Panetolikos	Superleague Greece	21	8	2	0					23	8
Total	France		59	22							59	22
	Switzerland		43	20							43	20
	England		149	35							164	41
	Scotland		18	8							26	8
	Greece		119	31							131	32
Career total			388	116	19	4	10	3	6	0	423	123

International

^[21]

Senegal national team
Year	Apps	Goals
1999	11	2
2000	13	2
2001	10	3
2002	13	3
2003	7	3
2004	13	4
2005	7	4
2006	9	2
2007	4	3
2008	12	3
Total	99	29

International goals

Updated to games played 21 June 2008.^[21]

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	6 June 1999	Stade du 4-Août, Ouagadougou	Burkina Faso	1–0	2–2	1999 African Cup of Nations qualifier
2.	20 August 1999	Cicero Stadium, Asmara	Eritrea	1–0	2–0	2000 African Cup of Nations qualifier
3.	25 January 2000	Sani Abacha Stadium, Kano	Burkina Faso	1–0	3–1	2000 African Cup of Nations
4.	1 February 2000	National Stadium, Lagos	Zambia	1–0	2–2	2000 African Cup of Nations
5.	10 March 2001	Stade Leopold Senghor, Dakar	Namibia	4–0	4–0	2002 World Cup qualifier
6.	24 March 2001	Stade Leopold Senghor, Dakar	Uganda	2–0	2–0	2002 African Cup of Nations qualifier
7.	30 December 2001	Stade Leopold Senghor, Dakar	Algeria	1–0	1–0	Friendly
8.	16 June 2002	Ōita Bank Dome, Ōita	Sweden	1–1	2–1	2002 World Cup
9.				2–1
10.	8 September 2002	Setsoso Stadium, Maseru	Lesotho	1–0	1–0	2004 African Cup of Nations qualifier
11.	7 June 2003	Stade Leopold Senghor, Dakar	Gambia	2–0	3–1	2004 African Cup of Nations qualifier
12.	14 June 2003	Stade Leopold Senghor, Dakar	Lesotho	2–0	3–0	2004 African Cup of Nations qualifier
13.				3–0
14.	18 August 2004	Stade Pierre de Coubertin, Avignon	Ivory Coast	1–0	1–2	Friendly
15.	5 September 2004	Stade 26 mars, Bamako	Mali	1–1	2–2	2006 World Cup qualifier
16.	10 October 2004	National Complex, Paynesville	Liberia	2–0	3–0	2006 World Cup qualifier
17.				3–0
18.	26 March 2005	Stade Leopold Senghor, Dakar	Liberia	4–0	6–1	2006 World Cup qualifier
19.	18 June 2005	Stade Leopold Senghor, Dakar	Togo	2–1	2–2	2006 World Cup qualifier
20.	8 October 2005	Stade Leopold Senghor, Dakar	Mali	1–0	3–0	2006 World Cup qualifier
21.				3–0
22.	23 January 2006	Port Said Stadium, Port Said	Zimbabwe	1–0	2–0	2006 Africa Cup of Nations
23.	3 February 2006	Harras El-Hedoud Stadium, Alexandria	Guinea	3–1	3–2	2006 Africa Cup of Nations
24.	8 September 2007	Stade Leopold Senghor, Dakar	Burkina Faso	3–1	5–1	2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier
25.				4–1
26.	17 November 2007	Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir, Colombes	Mali	1–0	3–2	Friendly
27.	12 January 2008	Stade Leopold Senghor, Dakar	Namibia	3–1	3–1	Friendly
28.	31 January 2008	Baba Yara Stadium, Kumasi	South Africa	1–1	1–1	2008 Africa Cup of Nations
29.	21 June 2008	Stade Leopold Senghor, Dakar	Liberia	3–0	3–1	2010 World Cup qualifier

Personal life

Camara has a son, Henri Jr. (born 11 November 2006) with his wife.^{[citation needed]}

References

External links

• Henri Camara career stats at Soccerbase
• Sporting-heroes Photos & stats

Senegal squads v t e Senegal squad – 2000 Africa Cup of Nations 1 Diallo 2 Daf 3 Traoré 4 P.Diop 5 H.N'Diaye 6 Sene 7 Camara 8 Badji 9 A.N'Diaye 10 Fadiga 11 Keita 12 Touré 13 O.Diop 14 M.N'Diaye 15 Fall 16 Ba 17 Sarr 18 Ndiour 19 Sylla 20 Faye 21 Mbaye 22 Ly Coach: Schnittger v t e Senegal squad – 2002 African Cup of Nations Runners-up 1 Sylva 2 Daf 3 Sarr 4 Malick Diop 5 N'Dour 6 Cissé 7 H. Camara 8 Traoré 9 S. Camara 10 Fadiga 11 Diouf 12 Faye 13 Diatta 14 Moussa N'Diaye 15 Diao 16 Diallo 17 Coly 18 Thiaw 19 Bouba Diop 20 S. N'Diaye 21 Beye 22 Makhtar N'Diaye Coach: Metsu v t e Senegal squad – 2002 FIFA World Cup 1 Sylva 2 Daf 3 Sarr 4 Malick Diop 5 N'Dour 6 Cissé (c) 7 H. Camara 8 Traoré 9 S. Camara 10 Fadiga 11 Diouf 12 Faye 13 Diatta 14 Moussa N'Diaye 15 Diao 16 Diallo 17 Coly 18 Thiaw 19 Bouba Diop 20 S. N'Diaye 21 Beye 22 Cissokho 23 Makhtar N'Diaye Coach: Metsu v t e Senegal squad – 2004 African Cup of Nations 1 Sylva 2 Daf 3 Faye 4 Malick Diop 5 Diawara 6 Cissé 7 Camara 8 N'Diaye 9 Kamara 10 Sakho 11 Diouf 12 Mendy 13 Diatta 14 N'Doye 15 Diao 16 Diallo 17 Coly 18 Niang 19 Bouba Diop 20 Diagne-Faye 21 Beye 22 Cissokho Coach: Stéphan v t e Senegal squad – 2006 Africa Cup of Nations Fourth Place 1 Sylva 2 Daf 3 N'Daw 4 Diakhaté 5 Diawara 6 Barry 7 H. Camara 8 Niang 9 S. Camara 10 Ba 11 E. Diouf 12 A. Faye 13 Diatta 14 Mendy 15 Kamara 16 M. Diouf 17 Coly 18 Dramé 19 Bouba Diop 20 Diagne-Faye 21 Beye 22 N'Diaye 23 Djiba Coach: Sarr v t e Senegal squad – 2008 Africa Cup of Nations 1 Sylva 2 Sonko 3 N'Daw 4 Sarr 5 Diawara 6 I. Faye 7 Camara 8 Niang 9 Gueye 10 N'Doye 11 Diouf 12 Bayal Sall 13 Diatta 14 Papa Waigo 15 Kamara 16 C. N'Diaye 17 Sougou 18 Mendy 19 Bouba Diop 20 Diagne-Faye 21 Beye 22 Ba 23 Coundoul Coach: Kasperczak (L. N'Diaye)

v t e Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. Player of the Year 2000: Pollet 2001: Naylor 2002: Rae 2003: Lescott 2004: Camara 2005: Lescott 2006: Miller 2007: Murray 2008: Hennessey 2009: Foley 2010: Craddock 2011: Jarvis 2012: Hennessey 2013: Sako

Persondata
Name	Camara, Henri
Alternative names
Short description	Footballer
Date of birth	10 May 1977
Place of birth	Dakar, Senegal
Date of death
Place of death