Guinea rue day they turned away Senegal's Camara

Henri Camara became the toast of Africa when he took Senegal to the World Cup quarter-finals with two goals against Sweden.

But soccer chiefs in Guinea are rueing the day they sent the player packing.

"The striker (Camara) was suggested to Guinea in 1997, but at the time the federation officials did not take him seriously," Alassane Youla, chief of national competitions at Guinea's Football Federation, said.

Camara's family comes from Kissidougou in southern Guinea, but the 25-year-old grew up in Dakar, the capital of neighbouring Senegal.

He played his way up through club sides in Senegal, ending up at first division side Diaraf Dakar before heading for Europe, where he now plays for French side Sedan.

Youla said Camara's uncle Maxime Camara, himself three times African club champion in the 1970s with Guinean side Hafia, suggested Guinean selectors to consider him for the national side during a trip in 1997.

But they turned him down.

Camara went on to play for Senegal, where he has earned nearly 40 caps and has now helped them reach the World Cup quarter-finals.

Camara is unlikely to have many regrets. Guinea were kicked out of the World Cup qualifiers by FIFA last year after the government fired the board of the national football federation for failing to beat Malawi at home.