Diomansy Kamarà

Diomansy Mehdi "Joe" Kamara (born November 8 1980 in Paris, France) is a Senegalese association football who currently plays for the England Premier League club Fulham F.C. as a striker. When Kamara was born, his birth certificate had a typing error that spelled his last name Kamara, instead of Camara which is a holy name in Senegal.

Club career

Early career

The Senegal national football team began his professional career with Parisian club Red Star 93 before joining Italian Serie C2 side F.C. Catanzaro during the 1999–2000 season.

He made 34 league appearances and scored nine times for the Calabrian club before signing for Modena F.C. of Serie B. In two seasons there he scored 11 times in 57 appearances, impressing many with his speed and agility.

Portsmouth

In August 2004, Portsmouth F.C. wanted to sign Kamara for a loan deal but eventually signed him for £2.5million for a permanent transfer, making him their then record signing. However, despite a bright start, Kamara struggled for form and injuries during the 2004–05 FA Premier League season, and after just the one year at Portsmouth they took advantage of a clause in his contract which allowed them to move him on to West Bromwich Albion F.C. whilst only paying £1 million of his initial transfer fee to Modena. Albion paid £1.5 million for Kamara.

West Bromwich Albion

Kamara made his Albion debut on August 13, 2005, replacing Nwankwo Kanu in the 60th minute in a 0–0 draw away at Manchester City F.C.. He picked up a yellow card in each of his first three games for the club. His first goal for West Brom was scored in a 4–1 Hawthorns win over Bradford City A.F.C. in the League Cup, on September 20 2005. It was one of only two goals scored by Kamara during 2005-06 in English football; his first league goal for the club was scored against Manchester City on December 10 2005, Albion winning 2–0. Albion were relegated from the Premiership that season, but 2006-07 in English football saw Kamara hit a rich vein of form, netting 23 goals in all competitions and helping Albion reach the playoff final. His goalscoring exploits earned him the Powerade Championship Player-of-the-Month award for October 2006, as well as the Professional Footballers Association Fans' Player-of-the-Month award for February 2007. He was also named in the PFA Championship team of the year and won the West Bromwich Albion 'Player of the Year' award.

Fulham

On July 9 2007, Kamara signed a five-year deal with Premiership side Fulham F.C.; his £6 million move was a club record sale for West Bromwich Albion. He made his debut for the Cottagers in a 2–1 defeat away at Arsenal F.C. on August 12 2007; Kamara replaced fellow debutant David Healy (footballer) in the second half. Kamara scored his first goal for Fulham in a 1–0 win at Shrewsbury Town F.C. in the League Cup, on August 28 2007. Four days later he notched his first league goal for the Cottagers, a superb late overhead kick to earn a 3–3 draw with Tottenham Hotspur F.C.. Later in the season, after having a relatively dry spell in front of goal, resurrected Fulham's Premiership survival hopes with two goals in the last twenty minutes (plus a Danny Murphy goal) secured a rare away win against Manchester City. Fulham eventually survived relegation, in the last game. Whilst playing for Senegal in a match against Liberia in June 2008, Kamara ruptured his cruciate ligament, an injury which required reconstructive surgery. He is expected to be out until early in 2009.