Abdoul Camara

Abdoul Razzagui Camara
Born	(1990-02-20) February 20, 1990 Mamou, Guinea
Occupation	Professional footballer (retired)
Years active	2007–2018
Known for	Football striker and left winger

Abdoul Razzagui Camara (born 20 February 1990) is a retired professional footballer from Guinea who primarily operated as a striker and frequently featured as a left-winger.

Early life

Born in Mamou, Guinea, Camara relocated to France during his early years. He acquired French citizenship through naturalization on 28 June 2002.

Youth development

Camara began his football journey in 1999 with OS Fives, a local club located in the Lille suburb of Fives. In June 2004, he progressed to the youth academy at Stade Rennais.

Rennes

While at Rennes, Camara was part of a promising youth cohort alongside players such as Yann M'Vila and Yacine Brahimi. This group secured the under-18 championship title in the 2006–07 season and triumphed in the Coupe Gambardella in 2008. On 15 August 2007, Camara signed his inaugural professional contract for three years, joining M'Vila and Damien Le Tallec in this milestone.

Throughout the 2007–08 campaign, he predominantly featured for the club’s amateur and under-18 squads. Elevated to the senior team for the 2008–09 season, Camara still spent considerable time with the CFA side, making 30 appearances and netting four goals, contributing to their top finish in the group stage and subsequent playoff qualification. His professional debut came on the closing day of the 2008–09 Ligue 1 season when he appeared as a substitute during a 4–0 defeat against Marseille.

On 3 August 2009, Rennes arranged a season-long loan for Camara to Ligue 2 outfit Vannes OC. Assigned the number nine jersey, he made his debut off the bench in a 3–0 victory over Metz and went on to participate in 37 league matches, scoring four times.

Returning to Rennes for the 2010–11 season, Camara saw limited first-team action but played eight games for the B team, scoring three goals.

Sochaux

In summer 2011, Camara transferred to Sochaux-Montbéliard for approximately £1.5 million. He featured in 21 matches during his initial season and appeared in 15 games during the first half of the following campaign before securing a loan move to Greek club PAOK in January 2013. At PAOK, he scored twice across 13 appearances in the Greek Super League. After returning to Sochaux for the first half of the 2013–14 season, Camara was loaned out on 31 January 2014 to La Liga side Mallorca.

Angers

Following the expiration of his Sochaux contract, Camara signed a three-year contract with Angers SCO on 1 July 2014. In his debut season, he played in 27 league fixtures and scored six goals. During the 2015–16 campaign, operating within manager Stephane Moulin’s 4–3–3 setup, he contributed two goals over 17 appearances, aiding Angers to achieve third place at his departure.

Derby County

Camara joined Championship club Derby County on 4 January 2016, signing a three-and-a-half-year deal for an undisclosed fee reported to be around £1.25 million. His debut came on 9 January against Hartlepool United in an FA Cup tie, and he scored his first goal for Derby during an FA Cup match against Leicester City on 8 February 2017.

Retirement

Due to health concerns, Camara announced his retirement from professional football in September 2018.

International career

Camara represented France at under-17, under-18, and under-21 levels and was part of the French under-17 squad that reached the quarter-finals of the 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup.

He made his senior international debut for the Guinea national team on 24 January 2012 during the 2012 African Cup of Nations, coming off the bench in a defeat against Mali. Throughout the group stage, he scored twice: once during a commanding 6–1 victory over Botswana and once to level the score against Ghana. Additionally, Camara participated in the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, where Guinea advanced to the quarter-finals.

Style of play

Camara predominantly features as a striker but is also capable of performing on the left wing. He characterizes himself as "a fast player" who takes pleasure in dribbling, supporting his teammates, and contributing defensively. During the 2015–16 campaign, he earned the distinction of being the fastest player in French football.

Career statistics

Appearances and goals broken down by club, season, and competition

Club	Season	League			Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Rennes	2008–09	Ligue 1	28	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	28	0
	2010–11		24	0	2	1	1	0	0	0	27	1
	2011–12		2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	4	0
	Total		54	0	2	1	1	0	2	0	59	1
Vannes (loan)	2009–10	Ligue 2	37	4	2	1	2	1	0	0	41	6
Rennes B	2010–11	CFA	8	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	3
Sochaux	2011–12	Ligue 1	21	1	0	0	1	1	0	0	22	2
	2012–13		15	0	2	0	2	0	0	0	19	0
	2013–14		11	0	1	2	0	0	0	0	12	2
	Total		47	1	3	2	3	1	0	0	52	4
Sochaux B	2011–12	CFA	6	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	2
	2013–14		2	1								2	1
	Total		8	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	3
PAOK (loan)	2012–13	Superleague Greece	13	2	3	٠	٠	٠	٠	٠	16	٢
RCD Mallorca (loan)	2013–14 Segunda División	Segunda División	6	٠	٠	٠	٠	٠	٠	٠	6	٠
Angers SCO	2014–15 Ligue 2	Ligue ٢	27	6	١	٠	٢	٠	٠	٠	30	6
	2015–16 Ligue ١	Ligue١	17	٢	٠	٠	٠	٠	٠	٠	17	٢
	Total	44	٨	١	٠	٢	٠	٠	٠	47	٨
Derby County F.C.	2015-16 Football League Championship	rowspan="٢" EFL Championship	٥	٠	٢	٠	٠	٠	٠	٠	٧	٠
2016-17 EFL Championship	١٥	٠	٣	١	١	٠	٠	٠	١٩ ،١
Total	20	۰	۵	۱	۱	۰	۰	۰	26	۱
En Avant de Guingamp	2017-18 Ligue ١	Ligue١	۱۴ ،۲ ،۰ ،۰ ،۱ ،۰ ،۱۵ ،۲
Career total	251	23	16	5	9	2	2	۰	278	30

Honours

Rennes

• Coupe Gambardella: 2008