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Boubacar Kamara

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Boubacar Kamara
Kamara warming up for Marseille in 2022
Personal information
Full name Boubacar Bernard Kamara[1]
Date of birth (1999-11-23) 23 November 1999 (age 24)[2]
Place of birth Marseille, France
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Aston Villa
Number 44
Youth career
2005–2017 Marseille
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2018 Marseille II 28 (0)
2017–2022 Marseille 130 (3)
2022– Aston Villa 47 (0)
International career‡
2015–2016 France U17 9 (0)
2016–2017 France U18 9 (0)
2017–2018 France U19 14 (0)
2018–2019 France U20 7 (0)
2019–2021 France U21 9 (0)
2022– France 5 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 9 November 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 18 November 2023 (UTC)

Boubacar Bernard Kamara (born 23 November 1999) is a French professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Premier League club Aston Villa and the France national team.[3] Mainly a defensive midfielder, he can also play as a centre-back.[4]

Club career

[edit]

Marseille

[edit]

In September 2005, "Bouba", aged 5, entered the Olympique de Marseille Academy where he progressed through all the categories. He eventually became the captain of the U19 team that made its way to the final of the Coupe Gambardella.[5] At the age of 16, he was promoted to Marseille's reserve team, also making his debut with the senior team. As coach of the reserves, Jacques Abardonado made him a regular starter.

Kamara made his debut as a professional side on 13 December 2016 against Sochaux in a Coupe de la Ligue match. He started the match and was replaced by Hiroki Sakai in the 82nd minute of a 1–1 (4–3) away loss on penalties.[6] He scored his first professional goal on 5 February 2019, a header in a 1–0 home Ligue 1 victory over Bordeaux.[7]

Kamara went onto play 170 times for his boyhood club, under several different managers - being utilised mainly as a defensive midfielder, but also featuring as a right-back, left-back, central midfielder and right-sided midfielder.[8]

Aston Villa

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On 23 May 2022, it was announced that Kamara had signed a five-year contract with English Premier League club Aston Villa ahead of the expiry of his Marseille contract on 1 July.[9] He made his Aston Villa debut on 6 August 2022, in a 2–0 defeat to AFC Bournemouth.[10] On 16 September 2022, during a 1–0 victory over Southampton, Kamara jarred his knee in a tackle with Mohamed Elyounoussi - the subsequent ligament strain ruled Kamara out until November, meaning that he missed the 2022 FIFA World Cup.[11] Kamara returned to the pitch slightly ahead of schedule on 6 November 2022, in a 3–1 victory over Manchester United.[12]

On 27 September 2023, Kamara scored his first goal for Aston Villa in a 2–1 EFL Cup defeat to Everton.[13]

On 11 February 2024, Kamara suffered another knee injury in a league defeat to Manchester United, this time a more serious ACL injury that was expected to leave him sidelined for the rest of the season at the shortest.[14][15]

Kamara returned to football on 5 October 2024, playing 45 minutes for Aston Villa's Under-21 team in a Premier League 2 game against Newcastle United.[16] He made his full return to the first team on 22 October 2024, as a substitute in a 2–0 UEFA Champions League victory over Bologna.[17]

International career

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Kamara was eligible to play for the national teams of France through birth, and Senegal through his family heritage. He played youth football for France at U17, U18, U19, U20 and U21 levels. Featuring in the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup and the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship for France.[8]

In 2022, Kamara was contacted directly by Senegal manager Aliou Cissé to convince him to declare for the Senegalese team after their 2021 Africa Cup of Nations victory to fill the space of aging midfielders Idrissa Gueye and Cheikhou Kouyaté.[18]

However, despite Cissé stating that there was an "agreement in principle" between the parties, on 19 May 2022, Kamara was selected in the France first team for the first time.[19] Kamara made his debut on 6 June 2022, as a second half substitute in a 1–1 away UEFA Nations League draw against Croatia, thus committing his international future to France.[20]

Personal life

[edit]

Kamara was born in France to a Senegalese father and a French mother.[21] Kamara has been a supporter of OM since he was a child after going to the Stade Vélodrome with his mother Cathy.[22] He has two sons and a daughter with Coralie Porrovecchio.[23] According to BBC, Kamara is a Muslim.[24]

Career statistics

[edit]

Club

[edit]
As of match played 9 November 2024[4]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Marseille II 2015–16 Championnat National 2 8 0 — — — — 8 0
2016–17 Championnat National 2 15 0 — — — — 15 0
2017–18 Championnat National 2 4 0 — — — — 4 0
2018–19 Championnat National 2 1 0 — — — — 1 0
Total 28 0 — — — — 28 0
Marseille 2016–17 Ligue 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 — — 1 0
2017–18 Ligue 1 6 0 2 0 0 0 6[c] 0 — 14 0
2018–19 Ligue 1 31 1 0 0 0 0 5[c] 0 — 36 1
2019–20 Ligue 1 24 1 3 1 1 0 — — 28 2
2020–21 Ligue 1 35 0 2 0 — 5[d] 0 1[e] 0 43 0
2021–22 Ligue 1 34 1 2 0 — 12[f] 0 — 48 1
Total 130 3 9 1 2 0 28 0 1 0 170 4
Aston Villa 2022–23 Premier League 24 0 0 0 2 0 — — 26 0
2023–24 Premier League 20 0 3 0 1 1 6[g] 0 — 30 1
2024–25 Premier League 3 0 0 0 1 0 2[d] 0 — 6 0
Total 47 0 3 0 4 1 8 0 — 62 1
Career total 205 3 12 1 6 1 36 0 1 0 260 5
  1. ^ Includes Coupe de France, FA Cup
  2. ^ Includes Coupe de la Ligue, EFL Cup
  3. ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  4. ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  5. ^ Appearance in Trophée des Champions
  6. ^ Five appearances in UEFA Europa League, seven appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
  7. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

International

[edit]
As of match played 18 November 2023[25]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
France 2022 3 0
2023 2 0
Total 5 0

Honours

[edit]

Marseille

References

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  1. ^ "FIFA U-20 World Cup Poland 2019: List of Players: France" (PDF). FIFA. 13 June 2019. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 February 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Boubacar Kamara". Premier League. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  3. ^ "Aston Villa sign Boubacar Kamara from Marseille on a five-year contract". BBC. 23 May 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  4. ^ a b Boubacar Kamara at Soccerway
  5. ^ "Boubacar Kamara".
  6. ^ "Sochaux vs. Olympique Marseille - 13 December 2016 - Soccerway". soccerway.com. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  7. ^ "Marseille win behind closed doors". BBC Sport. 5 February 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  8. ^ a b "Five things to know about Boubacar Kamara". Aston Villa Football Club. 23 May 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  9. ^ "Aston Villa announce Boubacar Kamara signing". Aston Villa Football Club. 23 May 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  10. ^ "Bournemouth beat Villa on return to top flight". BBC Sport. 6 August 2022. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  11. ^ "Boubacar Kamara (Aston Villa) probablement forfait pour la Coupe du monde avec les Bleus". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  12. ^ Preece, Ashley (6 November 2022). "Aston Villa 3-1 Man United reaction and highlights". BirminghamLive. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  13. ^ "Calvert-Lewin nets as Everton send Aston Villa out". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  14. ^ Ornstein, David (12 February 2024). "Villa's Kamara suffers suspected ACL injury, out for season". The Athletic. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  15. ^ "Boubacar Kamara injury update". Aston Villa Football Club. 12 February 2024. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  16. ^ "U21s: Aston Villa 2-3 Newcastle United". Aston Villa Football Club. 5 October 2024. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  17. ^ UEFA.com. "Aston Villa vs Bologna | Match info: UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League phase". UEFA.com. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  18. ^ "Boubacar Kamara set to declare for Senegal | Get French Football News". www.getfootballnewsfrance.com. 19 April 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  19. ^ "France team: the surprise Boubacar Kamara, who finally chooses the Blues rather than Senegal". California18. 19 May 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)[permanent dead link]
  20. ^ "France held by Croatia in Nations League". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  21. ^ Football, Mauritanie (30 October 2016). "Ligue 1 : Boubacar Kamara, un mauritanien promoteur convoqué chez les pros à Marseille". Archived from the original on 10 September 2017. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  22. ^ "Olympique de Marseille : Boubacar Kamara, de minot à costaud". 18 May 2019.
  23. ^ "Coralie Porrovecchio : elle partage des photos inédites de..." Télé Star (in French). 23 July 2020. Archived from the original on 24 July 2020. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  24. ^ "Aston Villa latest to sign Muslim athlete charter". BBC Sport. 21 August 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  25. ^ "Kamara, Boubacar". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  26. ^ "Atletico Madrid win Europa League with 3-0 victory over Marseille". BBC Sport. 16 May 2018. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
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