Абубакар "Тити" Камара: Футбольная легенда Гвинеи

Guinean footballer

Aboubacar Sidiki "Titi" Camara (born 17 November 1972) is a Guinean former professional footballer who played as a striker. He was also the coach of the Guinea national team, which he captained and played for. He was also the Guinea sports minister, before being replaced in October 2012. He is best known for his stint with Liverpool in the 1999–2000 season, where he scored 10 goals in 37 games in all competitions, memorably scoring the winner in a game against Arsenal at Highbury.

Camara played for Saint Étienne, Lens and Marseille in France, (playing in the 1999 UEFA Cup Final for the latter) before being transferred to Liverpool.

A cult hero and crowd favourite at Anfield, Camara is best remembered for playing at Anfield against West Ham in October 1999, the morning after the death of his father, scoring the winning goal and then dropping to his knees in front of the Anfield Road stand with tears flowing. On 13 February, he scored the winner at Highbury, leading Liverpool to a 1–0 win over Arsenal. Despite his short spell at Liverpool, he was voted in 91st position in the 2006 poll "100 Players Who Shook The Kop", which was conducted by the official Liverpool Football Club web site. Camara's placing made him the second highest placed African player, behind Bruce Grobbelaar.

Signed by manager Harry Redknapp on 21 December 2000 for a fee of £1.5 million which, depending on other factors, could have risen to £2.6 million, Camara announced, "I've come to West Ham to play, play, play – and score, score, score. If it was a question of money, I could have stayed at Liverpool and picked it up. I need to play, and if I don't it is totally pointless." Making his West Ham debut on 23 December 2000 in a 2–1 away defeat to Leicester City, Camara went on to play only fourteen games, in all competitions, without scoring at all.

In January 2003 Camara was sent out on loan to Al Ittihad for the remainder of the 2002–03 season.

Titi Camara was a stalwart of the Guinea team from the early 1990s until the early 2000s. He is regarded as a key protagonist in Guinea's return to respectability in African football and played for his country at the 2004 African Nations Cup, where he scored 3 goals in the group stage, which meant he finished just one goal behind the leading scores of the tournament. Scores and results list Guinea's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Camara goal. + List of international goals scored by Titi Camara No. DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetitionRef. (Reference)114 July 1991Stade du 28 Septembre, Conakry, Guinea2 02 11992 African Cup of Nations qualification216 August 1992Stade Omnisports Idriss Mahamat Ouya, N'Djamena, Chad2 03 01994 African Cup of Nations qualification320 December 1992Stade du 28 Septembre, Conakry, Guinea3 04 01994 FIFA World Cup qualification44 052 May 1993Stade du 28 Septembre, Conakry, Guinea 1 03 01994 FIFA World Cup qualification611 July 1993Intwari Stadium, Bujumbura, Burundi1 12 21994 African Cup of Nations qualification718 January 1994Conakry, Guinea—3 0Friendly829 March 1994Stade Olympique de Sousse, Sousse, Tunisia1 01 21994 African Cup of Nations94 September 1994Botswana National Stadium, Gaborone, Botswana1 01 01996 African Cup of Nations qualification1016 October 1994Stade du 28 Septembre, Conakry, Guinea 2 03 11996 African Cup of Nations qualification1130 July 1995Stade du 28 Septembre, Conakry, Guinea 1 14 11996 African Cup of Nations qualification 122 1131 June 1996Estádio 24 de Setembro, Bissau, Guinea Bissau1 22 31998 FIFA World Cup qualification142 21510 November 1996Stade du 28 Septembre, Conakry, Guinea 1 13 11998 FIFA World Cup qualification168 January 1997Stade de la Paix, Bouaké, Ivory Coast1 01 2Friendly175 April 1997National Stadium, Lagos, Nigeria1 21 21998 FIFA World Cup qualification 1823 April 2000Stade du 28 Septembre, Conakry, Guinea 1 03 02002 FIFA World Cup qualification1918 June 2000Stade du 28 Septembre, Conakry, Guinea 2 03 02002 FIFA World Cup qualification2016 July 2000Stade du 28 Septembre, Conakry, Guinea 1 02 02002 African Cup of Nations qualification2113 January 2002Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat, Morocco1 11 2Friendly228 September 2002Stade du 28 Septembre, Conakry, Guinea 1 03 02004 African Cup of Nations qualification2320 January 2004Stade Gérard Rossi, Sainte Maxime, France1 01 0Friendly2425 January 2004El Menzah Stadium, Tunis, Tunisia1 12 12004 African Cup of Nations2528 January 200415 October Stadium, Bizerte, Tunisia1 01 12004 African Cup of Nations261 February 2004Hammadi Agrebi Stadium, Tunis, Tunisia1 11 12004 African Cup of Nations

In December 2005, he was linked with the vacant manager's job with the Guinea national team. On 13 May 2009, Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, the President of Guinea publicly announced that he wanted him to manage the national team. At the end of May 2009, Camara was named the National Technical Director (NTC). On 9 June 2009, Camara was named the head coach of the Syli National to succeed Robert Nouzaret. Camara was serving in dual capacities of NTC and head coach of the Syli National. On 15 September 2009, three months following his nomination as head coach of the Syli National, Camara was replaced by Mamadi Souaré, a former Captain of the Syli National, following poor results, lack of cooperation/understanding with certain conspicuous members of the Guinean Football Federation (FGF), and absence of "cordial" relations with certain key elements of the Syli National.

In September 2003, alleging breach of contract, Camara sued West Ham United. In 2006, West Ham successfully defended the High Court breach of contract claim brought by Camara.

On 28 December 2010, Camara was made Sports Minister of Guinea by newly elected president Alpha Condé, making him the country's first ex sportsman to hold a government post. He was forced out of his post on 5 October 2012 in a government reshuffle.

Camara holds Guinean and French nationalities.