UE Santa Coloma goalkeeper Carlos Kameni

Carols Kameni UE Santa Coloma goalkeeper

• He is a Cameroonian professional footballer
• He plays as a goalkeeper
• He plays for Andorran club UE Santa Coloma

Who is Carlos Kameni?

Carlos Kameni is a Cameroonian professional football player born on February 18 1984, who plays as a goalkeeper for Andorran club UE Santa Coloma.

In most of his carer time, Kameni spent in Spain, especially with Espanyol where he appeared in 229 official games over eight La Liga seasons.

The player also competed professionally in France and Turkey, also represented Cameroon at the U-20 level in two world cups and six Africa Cup of Nations.

Carlos Kameni Biography

Career

Before he was 20 years old, Kameni represented Cameroon in two world cups and six Africa Cup of Nations tournaments.

He was first spotted at the age of 16 years while playing in a match as the youngest footballer to win an Olympic gold medal.

Carlos Kameni. Photo/Facebook

That earned him a transfer to the French club Le Havre AC but was not able to join the first team, remaining a reserve for the duration of his spell. He was loaned to AS Saint-Etienne and also failed to get his playing time at the club.

One year later, he joined Juventus FC with no success out of that. In a bid to join Premier League’s Wolverhampton Wanderers on a long-season loan, the deal collapsed after he was denied a working permit by the United Kingdom.

At 20 years, the player signed with Spanish side RCD Espanyol for a fee of $600,000 which made him a first choice in his second year. At the time, he won the Copa del Rey as a backup.

In the following season campaign, Kameni came in as a starter with Iraizoz being picked for the Catalans’ UEFA Cup runner-up run. Kameni suffered racism abuse from two of the club’s fans. As disciplinary action, the club suspended the two fans.

In the next season, it was a tense period for Espanyol when they ranked in the bottom three over a long period, Kameni having a double tragedy. First, a fan insulted the player and they almost had a physical confrontation after a training session.

In the next incident, he was involved in a fight with his teammate Gregory Beranger during a training session. However, he still featured in 37 leagues and only missed one and that was essential for the survival of his team.

He also broke his compatriot record of minutes without conceding a goal.

After two more seasons as a starter, Kameni was demoted to third choice with Argentine Mauricio Pochettino still as Espanyol’s manager and at the beginning of the season, he joined Malaga FC making his debut as a replacement for an injured teammate.

In the match, he played in the first half in a win against his former team keeping a clean sheet on the pitch during his time.

Kameni became a player of the match giving an impressive performance in a game against Real Madrid where he became a starter after Caballero left for Manchester City. The match was held at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.

Carlos Kameni. Photo/Eurosport

In the next match, he provided an assist in the Spanish top flight in a home victory over Real Sociedad. The player later signed a three-year deal with Turkish club Fenerbahce SK making his Super Lig debut, being booked late into a defeat of Alanyaspor.

Kameni left the club on mutual consent after two years. Two years later, he came out of retirement to join Alex Song at Djiboutian club Arta/Solar7 and one year down the line, he moved to Andorran Side Santa Coloma.

Being a Cameroonian international, at 17 years Kameni was part of the national team squads of four Africa Cup of Nations, starting in all but the first.

He was the first-choice goalkeeper as his country finished as runners-up at the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup. At 18 years, Kameni was picked for Cameroon’s squad of 23 at the 2002 FIFA World Cup and was named the Best African Goalkeeper for the 2006-07 season.

Kameni was selected to be part of the squad playing at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa through the coach who preferred someone else over him. However, he was called up for a game against Niger in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.