Carlos Kameni

Carlos Kameni

Kameni playing for Cameroon in 2009
Personal information
Full name Idriss Carlos Kameni
Date of birth (1984-02-18) 18 February 1984
Place of birth Douala, Cameroon
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position Goalkeeper
Club information
Current team
 Málaga
Number 1
Youth career
1995–2000 Kadji Sports
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2000–2004 Le Havre 2 (0)
2002–2003 → Saint-Étienne (loan) 0 (0)
2004–2012 Espanyol 222 (0)
2012– Málaga 90 (0)
National team‡
1999 Cameroon U20 3 (0)
2000 Cameroon U23 3 (0)
2001– Cameroon 71 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21 November 2016.

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 00:00, 18 November 2015 (UTC)

Idriss Carlos Kameni (born 18 February 1984) is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays for Spanish club Málaga CF as a goalkeeper.

He spent the vast majority of his career in Spain, mainly with Espanyol, with which he appeared in 229 official games over the course of eight La Liga seasons.

A Cameroonian international before he was 20, Kameni represented the country in two World Cups and five Africa Cup of Nations tournaments.

Club career

France

Born in Douala, Kameni was first spotted when, aged 16, he became the youngest footballer to win an Olympic gold medal, in 2000.[1] This earned him a transfer to French club Le Havre AC but he was unable to break into the first team, and remained a reserve throughout his four-year stay, also being loaned to AS Saint-Étienne and also failing to gain any playing time there; in 2001 he was linked with a move to Juventus FC,[2] but nothing came of it.

Kameni almost moved to Premier League's Wolverhampton Wanderers on a season-long loan for 2003–04, but the deal collapsed after he was not granted a United Kingdom work permit.[3]

Espanyol

20-year-old Kameni left for Spanish side RCD Espanyol in July 2004, for US$600,000,[4] and became first-choice in his second year, winning the Copa del Rey as backup to Gorka Iraizoz, who started in La Liga. In 2006–07, the opposite: Kameni was the undisputed starter, and Iraizoz was picked for the Catalans' UEFA Cup runner-up campaign; early in 2006, the club suspended two fans for racist abuse towards the player.[5]

In 2008–09, a tense season for Espanyol, which ranked in the bottom three for a lengthy period, Kameni had two incidents: first, he had a near-physical confrontation with a fan (who first insulted the player) after a training session in January,[6] then fought with teammate Grégory Béranger again in training, in May.[7] He still featured in 37 out of 38 league games, being essential to the side's maintenance and, during the campaign, also broke countryman's Thomas N'Kono record of minutes without conceding a goal, at 497.

Málaga

After two more seasons as starter, Kameni was demoted to third-choice for 2011–12, with Argentine Mauricio Pochettino still as Espanyol's manager. On 13 January 2012 he moved to fellow league side Málaga CF,[8] making his league debut on 25 March after replacing injured Willy Caballero during the first half of a 2–1 away win against his former team, and keeping a clean sheet during his time on the pitch.[9]

After Caballero left for Manchester City, Kameni became the starter. On 26 September 2015, in a game where Real Madrid registered 31 shots, he put on a Man of the match performance in a 0–0 draw at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.[10] The following matchday, he became the first club goalkeeper to provide an assist in the Spanish top flight, as Charles scored the second of his three goals in a 3–1 home win against Real Sociedad.[11]

On 2 March 2016, Kameni scored a bizarre own goal in an eventual 1–2 home loss to Valencia CF.[12] Three days later, at Deportivo de La Coruña, he had to be replaced shortly before half-time due to injury, as the match went on to end 3–3.[13]

On 19 November 2016, Kameni denied hosts FC Barcelona on several occasions, in a 0–0 draw.[14]

International career

A Cameroonian international since the age of 17, Kameni was part of the national team squads at the 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, starting in all but the first. In addition he also represented the nation at the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup, also as first-choice for the eventual runners-up.

In 2002, aged 18, Kameni was picked for Cameroon's squad-of-23 at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He was named Best African Goalkeeper for 2006–07,[15] after being runner-up in the previous season.

Kameni was also chosen for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, being expected to start by many observers. However, he ended up on the bench as coach Paul Le Guen preferred Souleymanou Hamidou over him, and the national side was the first team to be eliminated from the tournament, eventually losing all three group matches.

On 27 October 2015, more than two years after being left out of consideration for selection for "trying to orchestrate disorder", Kameni was called by new manager Volker Finke for a game against Niger for the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.[16][17]

Personal life

Kameni's older brother, Mathurin, was also a footballer and a goalkeeper.

Honours

Club

Espanyol

Country

References

  1. ↑ "Cameroon: Idriss Kameni". BBC Sport. 20 May 2002.
  2. ↑ Juventus want Cameroon keeper; BBC Sport, 1 November 2001
  3. ↑ "Wolves wait on Kameni verdict". BBC Sport. 21 August 2003.
  4. ↑ Minshull, Phil (28 July 2004). "Espanyol sign Kameni". BBC Sport.
  5. ↑ Espanyol suspend fans over racism; BBC Sport, 11 February 2006
  6. ↑ Kameni se encara con un aficionado después del entrenamiento (Kameni confronts fan after training); Marca, 5 January 2009 (Spanish)
  7. ↑ Incidente entre Béranger y Kameni (Incident between Béranger and Kameni); El Espanyol, 16 May 2009 (Spanish)
  8. ↑ Official: Malaga signs Espanyol's Carlos Kameni on a free transfer; Goal.com, 13 January 2012
  9. ↑ Kameni: "No me imaginaba un debut así ni en sueños" (Kameni: "Not even in my wildest dreams did i imagine such a debut"); Marca, 27 March 2012 (Spanish)
  10. ↑ "Cameroon keeper Carlos Kameni blanks out Cristiano Ronaldo". Kick Off. 27 September 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  11. ↑ "Carlos Kameni: dans l'histoire de la Liga" [Carlos Kameni: in La Liga's history] (in French). Africa Top Sports. 5 October 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  12. ↑ "Malaga goalkeeper Carlos Kameni scores bizarre own-goal against Valencia". Sky Sports. 3 March 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  13. ↑ "Ochoa es el primer portero mexicano que debuta en la Liga" [Ochoa is first Mexican goalkeeper to debut in League] (in Spanish). Marca. 5 March 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  14. ↑ "Messi estornuda y el Barça se resfría" [Messi sneezes and Barça catches a cold] (in Spanish). Marca. 19 November 2016. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  15. ↑ "Who is Who in the Lions Den". The Post Online. 7 January 2008.
  16. ↑ "Lions indomptables: Idris Carlos Kameni rappelé en pompier" [Indomitable lions: Idris Carlos Kameni called to put out the fire] (in French). La Nouvelle Expression. 3 November 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  17. ↑ "Mondial 2018: Kameni de retour avec le Cameroun" [2018 World Cup: Kameni returns for Cameroon] (in French). Press Afrik. 3 November 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  18. ↑ "¡Increíble Espanyol!" [Incredible Espanyol!] (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. 13 April 2006. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  19. ↑ Atkin, John (17 May 2007). "Palop lauds perfect performance". UEFA.com. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  20. ↑ "Liga: Idris Carlos Kameni, meilleur joueur de Malaga 2014–2015" [Liga: Idris Carlos Kameni, best Málaga player 2014–2015] (in French). News du Camer. 9 October 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  21. ↑ "Sidney 2000: Oro negro" [Sidney 2000: Black gold] (in Spanish). Recuerdos de Nigeria. 26 May 2009. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  22. ↑ "African Nations Cup 2002 – Final Tournament Details". RSSSF. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  23. ↑ "FIFA Confederations Cup France 2003 (archived)". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 12 August 2003. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
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