Quick Facts
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Zoumana Camara (born 3 April 1979) is a French retired professional footballer who played as a central defender.
After starting out at Saint-Étienne, he went on to amass Ligue 1 totals of 344 games and six goals over the course of 15 seasons, representing mainly in the competition Paris Saint-Germain and winning eight major titles with that club. He also had a brief spell in England with Leeds United.
Camara appeared for France at the 2001 Confederations Cup.
Club career
Born in Colombes, Hauts-de-Seine, Camara made his professional debuts at only 17, appearing in two Ligue 2 seasons with AS Saint-Étienne. In the 1998 summer he was purchased by Inter Milan in Italy, but only managed to appear in two Coppa Italia matches with the Nerazzurri, also being loaned twice during his two-year spell: after a five-month stint with Empoli FC (suffering relegation from Serie A), he spent one season back in his country with SC Bastia, helping the Corsicans to a 10th-place finish in Ligue 1.
After one and a half seasons with Olympique de Marseille – one as a starter, the other as backup – Camara joined RC Lens. He spent the 2003–04 season on loan to English club Leeds United, scoring in a 3–2 away win against Middlesbrough on 30 August 2003 but eventually being relegated from the Premier League. Two months before leaving the Whites he blasted the organization, claiming he would not have accepted the club's offer had he known about its financial predicament.
Camara returned to Saint-Étienne in the 2004 off-season, only missing six games for Les Verts during three top division seasons combined. In 2007, he signed a four-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain FC, being first-choice in his first three seasons.
On 12 May 2014, aged 35, Camara signed a new one-year deal with PSG. In June of the following year, after having contributed with ten appearances to the conquest of four titles, scoring in a 1–1 league draw at Stade Rennais FC, he retired from football.
Subsequently, Camara worked for Paris Saint-Germain as assistant manager.
International career
Camara earned his only cap for France on 1 June 2001, at the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup, starting in the second group stage game against Australia (0–1 loss), with the national team eventually winning the tournament.
Honours
Club
- Paris Saint-Germain
- Ligue 1: 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15
- Coupe de France: 2009–10, 2014–15
- Coupe de la Ligue: 2007–08, 2013–14
- Trophée des Champions: 2014
International
- France
- FIFA Confederations Cup: 2001