Sirina Camara

Sirina Camara (born 12 April 1991) is a French footballer who plays for S.League club Home United as a defender. Camara can play either as a left-back or centre-back. Prior to playing for Home United, Camara has also played for Étoile and Young Lions in the S.League.

Sirina Camara
Personal information
Full name Sirina Camara
Date of birth (1991-04-12) 12 April 1991
Place of birth Pierrefitte, Paris, France
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Position(s) Left-back / Centre-back
Club information
Current team
Home United
Number 11
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010 Pierrefitte FC 3 (0)
2011 Étoile 25 (2)
2012 Young Lions 27 (1)
2013–2018 Home United 119 (9)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 12:51, 29 May 2016 (UTC)

Early life

Camara was born in an area north of Paris, known as Pierrefitte. His mother was born in Mali and emigrated to France when she was just 18. Camara is born of Malian descent, and is a Muslim. He started playing football in his teenage years, and went on to join the local amateur club, Pierrefitte FC when he was 14. Four years later, he moved to Singapore in order to improve his chances of building a sustainable footballing career, at the advice of his mother. Camara's mother had advised that it would be very tough for him to be a successful player back in France as he was young, but he might get a better opportunity overseas. Camara subsequently made the move after a coach he knew probed if he was interested to play in Singapore.[2]

Club career

After moving to Singapore, Camara signed professional terms with S.League defending champions Étoile, joining the team to play in the 2011 S.League season. He made his debut in a 0-0 draw against Balestier Khalsa.[3] His first goal for the club would come in the 1-1 draw against Home United in the 2011 Singapore Cup.[4] His first league goal came on 27 September 2011, in the 2-1 victory over Hougang United.[5]

Following the withdrawal of Étoile from the 2012 S.League season, Camara moved to Young Lions before signing for Home United in 2013. He won the Singapore Cup in his maiden season with Home United and earned recognition by being awarded the S.League Young Player of the Year award. With Home United, he was also part of the league's strongest defence that season as they finished eventually as the runner-up.

In 2014, Camara was first called up by the Football Association of Singapore to play for the Singapore Selection XI, a squad of players comprising Singapore international footballers and selected players that were playing in the S.League. Camara played subsequently for the Singapore Selection XI in a friendly against Serie A giants Juventus, losing 5-0. In 2015, Camara was selected to join the squad once again to participate in the 2015 Barclays Asia Trophy which was hosted in Singapore. On 15 July 2015 and 18 July 2015 respectively, he played for the squad against Premier League clubs Stoke City and Arsenal, eventually losing 2-0 and 4-0.

Camara scored his first goal of the 2015 S.League season in the 3rd match of the season, scoring the 2nd goal in a 2-0 win over Tampines Rovers to hand Home United their first win of the season.[6] On 12 August 2015, in a rare display of indiscipline, Camara was sent off in the 15th minute of the RHB Singapore Cup quarter-final, first-leg match against Warriors FC, after seen by the referee uttering something to the linesman. Home United played on with ten men for the remainder of the match, even dropping to nine subsequently after teammate Yasir Hanapi received a second yellow card late into the match. Despite the two dismissals, Home United eventually went on to win 2-1.[7]

International career

In July 2013, Camara had indicated he was receptive to the idea of obtaining Singaporean citizenship and playing for the Singapore national football team.[8] National team coach Bernd Stange had been impressed with Camara's ability to play in several positions, adding that he was capable of playing for a top European club.[9] Stange also mentioned that he would call up Camara if he had a Singapore passport.[10]

Career statistics

Club

As of 12:51, 29 May 2016 (UTC)
Club Season S.League Singapore Cup Singapore
League Cup
Asia Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Étoile 2011 2926100353
Total 292610000353
Young Lions 2012 2200 040260
Total 220004000260
Home United 2013 2646141366
2014 241623160394
2015 221302000271
2016 121100000131
2017 120202080240
2018 72000050122
Total 103918311219015114
Career Total 1541124415219021217

Honours

Club

Home United

Individual

  • S.League Young Player of the Year: 2013

References

  1. "Home United - Sirina Camara". Home United Football Club. Archived from the original on 9 March 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
  2. "An interview with Sirina Camara and Jordan Webb". Home United Football Club. Archived from the original on 9 March 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
  3. "Etoile vs. Balestier Khalsa 0 - 0". Soccerway. 25 February 2011.
  4. "Home United vs. Etoile 1 - 1". Soccerway. 19 September 2011.
  5. "Etoile vs. Hougang United 3 - 1". Soccerway. 27 September 2011.
  6. Shawn, Lim (13 March 2015). "Aw Pleased With First Win Of The Season". S.League. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  7. Chin, Nigel. "S.League.com - Aw Left Disappointed with Camara's Sending Off". S.League.com. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  8. "Camara keen to be a Lion". The New Paper. 17 July 2013. Archived from the original on 9 March 2014.
  9. "Stange applauds Hariss' decision to reject Rio Ave". The New Paper. 6 August 2013. Archived from the original on 9 March 2014.
  10. "Stange has sights on Camara". The New Paper. 16 July 2013. Archived from the original on 9 March 2014.
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