Idriss Carlos Kameni

Carlos Kameni

Personal information
Full name	Idriss Carlos Kameni
Date of birth	18 February 1984 (1984-02-18)
Place of birth	Douala, Cameroon
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club	Málaga
Number	25
Youth career
	Kadji Sports
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2000–2004	Le Havre	20	(0)
2002–2003	→ Saint-Étienne (loan)	0	(0)
2004–2012	Espanyol	222	(0)
2012–	Málaga	0	(0)
National team‡
2001–	Cameroon	63	(0)
Honours Competitor for Cameroon Men's Football Gold 2000 Sydney Team Competition
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 6 November 2011. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 7 October 2011

Idriss Carlos Kameni (born 18 February 1984 in Douala) is a Cameroonian footballer who plays for Málaga CF in La Liga, as a goalkeeper.

Club career

France

Kameni was first spotted when, aged 16, he became the youngest footballer to win an Olympic gold medal, in 2000. This earned him a move 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.

Kameni almost moved to Premier League Wolverhampton Wanderers on a season-long loan for 2003–04, but the deal collapsed after he was not granted a UK work permit.

Espanyol

Aged 20, Kameni left for Spanish side RCD Espanyol in July 2004, for $600,000, and became first-choice in his second year, winning the Copa del Rey as second-choice to Gorka Iraizoz, who started in La Liga. In 2006–07, the opposite: Kameni was the undisputed starter, so 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.

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, then fought with teammate Grégory Béranger in another training session, in May. He still featured in 37 out of 38 league contests, being essential to the side's maintenance and, during the campaign, also broke countryman's Thomas Nkono record of minutes without conceding a goal, at 497.

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 top-divisioner Málaga CF.

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 in the first; in addition, he also represented the nation at the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup, also as first-choice (at only 19), 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, 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 games.

Honours

Club

Espanyol

• Spanish Cup: 2005–06
• UEFA Cup: Runner-up 2006–07

Country

• Summer Olympics: 2000
• Africa Cup of Nations: 2002

Individual

• Best African Goalkeeper: 2006–07

Personal life

Kameni's older brother, Mathurin, is also a footballer, a goalkeeper, and a Cameroon international.

External links

• Espanyol official profile
• BDFutbol profile
• Carlos Kameni at National-Football-Teams.com
• Carlos Kameni – FIFA competition record
• Transfermarkt profile
• Carlos Kameni career stats at Soccerbase