Lamine Camara: one of the most gifted Senegalese of all time by Harold Monteiro

Born on January 5, 2004 in Diouloulou, Lamine Camara is a midfielder who recently signed with FC Metz from Generation Foot.

Often compared to Pape Matar Sarr, I find that they are not so close. They are good at recovery but Lamine is smaller, more compact and powerful. He is also better with the ball and offensively. He does not hesitate to project himself, dribble, shoot from distance or use his long range passing.

He is an elegant box-to-box player, effective in both parts of the field and valuable in the recovery of the ball. He is also a threat from set pieces, able to take a direct shot on free kick or cross for a teammate.

He started playing football at Galaxy FA, a club in Dakar, but only stayed there for one year before returning to his native region: Casamance. Once there, he joined the flagship club: Casa Sport. At the age of 15 he was already playing with the club’s U17 team and during a tournament they played against Generation Foot. He made a strong impression and they decided to follow his progress, even after the tournament was over. A few months later, Lamine Camara made another name for himself but this time with the Ziguinchor selection. They won a tournament and he was of course named the best player.

Since he did not yet have a contract with Casa Sport, Generation Foot took the opportunity to sign him in November 2019. He quickly climbed the ladder thanks to his talent as he will start in the Senegalese first division in 2022 at only 18 years old. He also quickly established himself as one of the best players in the Senegalese Ligue 1 thanks to his technical quality and physical abilities.

The same year he will be called with the local team of Senegal for the first time after they have been invited for the Cosafa Cup. Lamine Camara will have another good tournament, scoring a goal from a free kick and providing an assist, and Senegal will finish in third place. He was Senegal’s best player again.

After this, he distinguished himself at the CHAN (African Nations Championship), reserved for African players playing in their native country. Despite his young age, he dictated the tempo in the midfield and showed great abilities to recover the ball. He was close to scoring a nice free kick which found the post but which was recovered by a teammate who was able to score. He was named man of the match three times, best young player in the group stage and best young player in the tournament and named in the best XI of the CHAN. Senegal won the CHAN for the first time in its history.

Lamine Camara has one last mission before joining FC Metz, he has been called for the CAN U20 which takes place from 18 February to 12 March 2023 in Egypt. Then he will be able to join Les Grenats and illuminate their midfield.