Mohamed Camara – Red Bull Salzburg’s anchor man
Red Bull Salzburg are building a fine lineage of Malian midfielders with Diadie Samassekou, Amadou Haidara and now Mohamed Camara and Youba Diarra coming through the pipeline. Samassekou, Haidara and Camara all played for Real Bamako in Africa’s new footballing hot-spot, Mali as Camara has only been in Austria for a year but has been crucial to their latest Austrian Bundesliga title triumph. He was the subject of European interest after his performances with the Malian U17s as the 20-year-old decided to follow the path of Haidara and Samassekou to Salzburg as he will continue to be a stalwart at the base of their midfield going forward.
2020 has not been an easy year for Camara as he suffered an injury and had to deal with the death of his mother, returning to Mali to be present at her funeral. When he was ready to return to Salzburg, the COVID-19 pandemic took hold of Austria making travel from Mali more difficult as he had to remain in his home country for longer than he expected. Red Bull Salzburg had to charter a special plane for Camara to return to Austria as once he arrived at the airport, he was poked and prodded with temperature tests while being advised to wear a mask around the country.
With Haidara departing in last year’s winter transfer window and Samassekou last summer, it was obvious that Jesse Marsch would need to implement a midfield shake-up at the beginning of his tenure. He tried a lot of partnerships in different formations during pre-season as Camara was impressive at the base of midfield. The Malian did well to receive the ball in tight spaces and recycle possession while showing mobility to cover for his fullbacks. In the friendly against Chelsea, he lacked the positional training at knowing when to push to press the ball or maintain his position as Marsch would use Antoine Bernede at the base of his midfield when the season began.
However, in the minutes, he managed to accrue, he made a point of showing his development as against SC Rheindorf Altach, he pushed forward to regain possession before threading a pass through to Patson Daka to finish with aplomb. This move was a microcosm of Camara’s attributes as he is a deep-lying midfielder that can cover short distances quickly while being unafraid to put his body on the line by making well-timed crunching challenges on opponents to regain possession. He has a strapping and muscle-bound physique while he has the mobility to shuttle around and make challenges in the defensive aspect of the game as well as winning the ball in the high pressing and counter-pressing phase.
In the possession phase, Camara thrives at dropping into the six-space to command possession as his strength allows him to turn out of pressure, outmuscling opponents to work passes through the lines or switch the ball to the weak side. The 20-year-old Malian loves to receive the ball and overpower his marker to give himself the time and space to look for a pass through the central lines, casually prodding the ball forward before threading a pass through the lines to a teammate. There are situations where he will receive the ball and play one touch switch balls to the wide areas while facing his own goal as his distribution brings an element of press resistance to Salzburg’s play.
In Salzburg’s title run-in after the Austrian Bundesliga restart, he became the perfect foil for Enock Mwepu’s inventive genius, overcoming his personal issues to become a key player for his side. Before the COVID-19 lockdown, Marsch began to trust him more as in the second-leg of their Europa League tie against Eintracht Frankfurt, the American Head Coach trusted Camara to bring some solidity and authority to a midfield that lacked it dearly in the first leg as his side played an attacking shape to overcome a large deficit. He constantly nudged his way out of tight situations to work the ball forward as he made movements in the six-space and dropped in between his centre-backs to receive possession. He even had a moment where he received a pass from Andre Ramalho as he took his first touch with the outside of his boot while he was facing his own goal to then ping an accurate switch to Andreas Ulmer on the flank.
Away to Hartberg, him and Mwepu put together an immense performance in midfield as Camara brought rigidity to the side, allowing Mwepu to push forward in attacking situations as well as in pressing situations. Camara’s dribbling ability as well as his feel for the game allowed him to maintain possession when he received the ball from Dominik Szoboszlai to turn past an onrushing marker to maintain possession. When Salzburg played Hartberg at home, a corner was cleared into the path of Camara who cleverly threaded Ramalho in behind with a through ball for the Brazilian centre-back to have a shot on goal.
Camara also continuously worked passes through to Hwang-Hee Chan in the ten space as his distribution allows him to instigate attacks from deep while he can win possession in the higher areas during the pressing phase, to create opportunities for teammates. In a short space of time, Camara has become a defensive midfield specialist with a well-rounded skillset, operating at the base of midfield and pushing his team forward while shielding the defence. He has moved up a congested midfield pecking order and will certainly be someone who could challenge himself in the UEFA Champions League next season against tougher opponents.
His main goal is also to follow in the footsteps of his teammate and best friend, Sekou Koita and play for Mali in another congested midfield battle that would include Haidara and Samassekou. The African Cup of Nations being pushed back a year will allow him to establish himself at club and international level before playing in what would undoubtedly be one of Africa’s most talented young teams. At club level, he will have to contend with the experienced Zlatko Junuzovic, Antoine Bernede, Majeed Ashimeru as well as Mwepu if Salzburg manage to keep him this season. His well-rounded ability at the base of midfield will give him an edge, especially in some of the bigger games.
Red Bull Salzburg’s pipeline of highly talented African midfielders continues to reap gems as Camara is the latest and has shown tremendous potential at the tender age of 20. It will be interesting to see how he develops at club and international level as he has the skillset and tactical knowledge to play at the highest level in Europe. He has had to be patient with his yearning for playing time this season as whenever he has been given the opportunity to start, he has impressed. The Malian recently extended his contract till the summer of 2025 as Salzburg look to make him an influential part of their core going forward. He is a modern day deep-lying midfielder who should already be on the shortlists of some of Europe’s elite for the medium to long-term future.
