Exclusive | Monaco’s Lamine Camara on proving his dad wrong, his inspirations, ambitions, and Senegal’s ‘favourites’ tag heading into AFCON | OneFootball

Ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), Get French Football News sat down with AS Monaco midfielder Lamine Camara (21) to discuss his rapid rise through Génération Foot, his adaptation in Europe and in the Principality, his relationship with Paul Pogba, his future ambitions, and the AFCON.

Camara on integrating Génération Foot in Senegal

My dad didn’t want me to play football, and my mum didn’t really know about the profession either, so it was my dad who was the problem. He had never seen me play, but people came up to him and said, ‘Your son knows how to play, you have to help him’. But he had never seen me play and he didn’t know anything about football either. I only ever wanted to play football. I wasn’t focused on anything but football, even at school. When I left, I came and played with my friends in my neighbourhood. 

But my dad didn’t want me to play football. He wanted me to continue my studies and then on one beautiful day, I decided to go and speak with him and I told him that I was going to end my studies and focus on football. It was then that he said he wanted me to play football. 

I went to play with a team called Galaxy in Dakar and that’s where I started, but it didn’t go too well. Then I went to Casa Sports in the Ziguinchor region, but they didn’t take me in the first team because they said that I was small and that I didn’t have the physique to even play for the junior team, and so they didn’t sign me to a contract. I just played without signing. 

Then we were told that there was a regional competition in the Casamance region. We played a team from Dakar who beat us in the semi-finals, unfortunately, but fortunately, I finished as the best player in the competition. That is when Génération Foot found me, asked if I had a contract with Casa Sports. I said no and they were shocked. They (Génération Foot) took me straight to their centre, even if they knew that they weren’t allowed to, but they didn’t want me to go back to Casamance and for another club to sign me. 

So they took me straight away. I was shocked that Génération Foot were interested in me because it is the biggest centre in Senegal (and one with a partnership with FC Metz). The next day, I signed a contract. They didn’t want to face any time!

Camara on the move to Europe

I would say the moment [that kick-started my career] was when we went to Algeria for the CHAN (similar to the AFCON but for players playing in their domestic leagues). That’s where everything started for me, at this championship in 2023. I was with the manager who is now the manager of the national team, Pape Thiaw. He selected me and there we managed to win the title and I ended the tournament as the best player. Two weeks after that, there was a U20 AFCON. And another manager, Malick Taf, called me up. I remember that I told him, ‘Honestly, I’m tired. I don’t have the strength for another competition and if I go, I won’t be at 100%.’ He said, ‘We need you. You have experience’, and so I said, ‘Ok’, given that it is my country and I will never say no to my country. And it went well for me. We won the tournament, and I finished as best player. That’s when Metz recruited me to come to Europe.

Adapting has never been a problem for me. The proof is that I have always been alone. Even in Metz, I lived alone, as I do in Monaco now, too. I live alone; my family has never come to Europe. They want me to focus on football and don’t want me to be distracted by other things. But I also like to be alone. They respect that. The adaptation is thanks to my teammates, the clubs [that I’ve played for], and the staff, who have helped me wherever I’ve been. 

At Metz, I arrived with seven games to go and they immediately trusted me. I benefited from that, from the manager’s trust. [At Monaco] I have been welcomed well, too. The staff put me at ease, as did experienced players like Thilo (Kehrer) and (Denis) Zakaria. I really benefit from that.

Camara on his inspirations

My game [is about pressing]; sometimes I’m on the limit, and at points in games, I don’t manage to control my efforts. It is a bit of a fault of mine. Sometimes I need to manage my efforts. But to do things well, to want to help my teammates, I need to surpass some of my limits. Since the manager is happy with that and with my play, I’ll keep going like this.

Zakaria brings me a lot. He speaks to me a lot on the pitch. He is a really cool guy on and off the pitch. Playing alongside him really helps me. I benefit from playing alongside him and I learn from him. He knows that, too. He knows that I’m still young and he doesn’t hesitate to talk to me and advise me. He is really someone that I admire a lot.

I also really admire Kevin De Bruyne and Fede Valverde. [The latter] gives everything that he has! He is a guy who works for the team; he isn’t there for individual statistics. He is a player that I really admire a lot. There is also a player that I know from the national team as well – Gana Gueye. I have always followed him and always liked his game. I have had a lot of models. There’s what they do on the pitch and off the pitch, too. De Bruyne, who is modest, who says that he isn’t interested in the most beautiful clothes, these are players that I really try to copy.

Camara on Monaco and the arrival of Paul Pogba

Paul Pogba? Honestly, even when I heard that Monaco were interested in him, I told myself that we are really lucky to have him in our squad. The day that I saw him, when I saw him in the dressing room, I said that it wasn’t the Pogba that we see on the pitch, because he is so humble, he really puts himself at our level. Even if he is a world-class player, he doesn’t show it [in the dressing room]. He is still humble, he stays himself. We know that he is a player who will bring us a lot. We don’t hesitate to ask him questions, even at the table, we ask him questions about his career all the time. He is open, and he doesn’t hesitate to share his life with us.

I ask him all the questions! (laughs) I even ask him what Senegalese dishes he likes. He says it’s Thieboudienne… like everyone! And on the pitch, too, you see it on the pitch, on the touchline. Even when we scored against Galatasaray, he called me straight over. He told me that I had to continue to push, to keep the ball. He is someone who is always there. We hope that he will be fit again soon. We really need him this season. 

Coming off the bench against Stade Brestois, we all saw what he can bring, what he can do. He put us at ease, especially me. He is someone who gives you confidence, and as I said, when I’m back from AFCON, I hope I’ll be able to share a pitch with him again.

Sébastien Pocognoli? First of all, I see a manager who is calm, who approaches things calmly, who helps us to be calm, too, both on and off the pitch. It is true that we’re in a ‘false dynamic’ (ninth in Ligue 1). We know that we are losing points that we shouldn’t. In these moments, we see a manager who reassures us, who always tells us that he is behind us. We will surely get through this period. 

We receive his confidence. He doesn’t hesitate to come and tease us in training, to play with us… it gives us confidence. We know that this ‘false dynamic’ won’t last. We hope that we will share lots of good times with him.

Camara on his ambitions and objectives

For now, I would say that I am very happy at Monaco. It is a team in which I am really at ease. There are players who are really kind here, who are really ambitious, too. I also have a manager who really counts on me. The Premier League is a league that I follow a lot; everyone follows it. Most players really like it, but I would say that I am very happy at Monaco and really focused on Monaco. My personal objective is to help the team; I would also like to score and make assists for the team. I am not thinking about changing club, but at the end of the season, we will see what happens.

Camara on Senegal, AFCON and that win over England

It is true that, representing your country, especially in a competition like AFCON, is really a big deal, even if I’ve already played one. Wearing the shirt means a lot to me. I would say that Senegal are the favourites. We can’t hide it. If you play England and you beat them in their own country. 

The England win (3-1, in Nottingham in a friendly on 10th June)? Honestly, it went well for us! It is true that, at the start, it was a bit difficult for me because I lost the ball for England’s goal. But I’ve always been calm and I also had experienced players behind me like (Kalidou) Koulibaly and (Moussa) Niakhaté, who really got my head back into the match. It was a memorable moment because beating England is not easy. It’s true that not a lot of people believe in us […] but we believed in ourselves. With the team we have, we knew we could do it. 

Camara on his Africa Young Player of the Year trophies

Honestly, I haven’t leaned on these trophies too much. I just said that it was the fruit of my work. I worked a lot for these two Africa Young Player of the Year trophies (2023, 2024). Why not push and win the Africa Player of the Year? 

But I don’t think about it too much. There is El-Hadji Diouf who teases me all the time, who never stops talking about the two Africa Player of the Year trophies that he won. I have set myself this objective, too. I have told him, ‘So long as I don’t have two Africa POTY awards, you’ll never drop it, so I’ll forget about these two awards, given that they’re [only] small. It doesn’t matter. I will try to focus on football, continue to work hard and why not win the Africa POTY one day?’

GFFN | Luke Entwistle