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Day: 15 August 2022

Camara signs five-year deal at Monaco

by: Luke Entwistle
15/08/2022

AS Monaco have completed their fifth signing of the summer transfer window with the arrival of Mali international midfielder Mohamed Camara on a five-year deal.

Camara was spotted at the Stade Louis II on Saturday, before the transfer was officialised on Sunday. The fee remains undisclosed, although L’Équipe report the figure to be around €15m.

His arrival marks an end to a protracted search to replace Aurélien Tchouaméni. Since the Frenchman’s reported €100m departure to Real Madrid earlier in the summer, Monaco have been scouring the market for replacements.

Names such as Amadou Onana and Danilo cropped up, whilst the club were reportedly hot on the trail of Leicester’s Boubakary Soumaré. However, the search comes to an end with the arrival of Camara from Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg. He has excelled during his time in Austria, winning the title in three consecutive seasons and featuring in the ‘team of the season’ at the end of the last campaign.

Given his experience and his reputation as one of the most exciting defensive midfielders in Europe, he will likely find a place in Philippe Clement’s starting eleven, alongside Youssouf Fofana. Despite the latter’s red card against Rennes on Saturday, he has nonetheless begun the season brightly, picking up where he left off last campaign.

Speaking in a press release, the new signing said, “I am very happy to join a big club like AS Monaco. I had the opportunity to experience very good seasons with RB Salzburg, where I strengthened and where I managed to have a magnificent first experience in Europe. I am now fully focused on this new step in my career.”

Sporting director Paul Mitchell added, “At just 22 years of age, Mohamed already has an impressive record for his age. In addition to the titles he has won with Red Bull Salzburg, he has also had several successes with Mali’s youth teams. Mohamed has made steady progress over the last few seasons, putting in top performances both in the league and internationally, in the Champions League and with the Mali national team.”

The Englishman continued, “Mohamed has a winning mentality and team spirit. His profile as a powerful midfielder will be an additional asset to our collective.”

Given Fofana’s likely suspension following last weekend’s red card against Rennes, Camara may quickly be called into action, and he could make his home debut as soon as Saturday, when Les Monégasuqes face RC Lens at the Stade Louis II.

 

 

Photo source: AS Monaco

 

 

 

 

New fire erupts in southern France despite rains

by: Stephanie Horsman
15/08/2022

A forest fire in southern France has flared up, causing over a thousand people to flee their homes on Sunday, whilst rain in other parts of the country brought flames under control.

It has been a brutal summer in France. This year will go down in the record books for off the charts temperatures, major drought conditions and horrendous forest fires.

One such fire is in the southern Aveyron region, which has blazed since last Monday and appeared to be waning by Saturday when it suddenly regained strength and reignited in what the local prefecture called a “virulent manner”, burning through over 500 more hectares of land.

An estimated thousand people were evacuated from the village of Mostuejols and six other nearby hamlets, the prefecture said. Roughly 3,000 inhabitants had already been asked to leave due to the fire but were allowed back when it first appeared to be under control. No casualties are associated with the fire, but it has burned a total of 1,260 hectares so far.

The fire is thought to be accidental, caused by a local man whose car had scraped the road, sending sparks into tinder-dry vegetation.

Meanwhile, the situation in the region around Bordeaux has improved thanks to overnight rain where a huge fire has been raging since last Tuesday.

The situation “considerably improved during the night,” Arnaud Mendousse of the Gironde fire and rescue said, adding that there had been between 10 and 30mm of rain in the region but on “terrain that is extremely dry”.

He made clear the threat is far from over, though. “We know that this offers a respite but does no signify an end to the fight. We know that if it does not rain in the next 48 to 72 hours the risk will increase considerably.”

In the northwest Broceliande forest region of Brittany, a mythical place where King Arthur is said to have roamed and where wildfires are a rarity, a fire was contained after rain fell overnight, but remained under watch after burning through 400 hectares, officials said.

Sunday’s rain over a large part of France has improved not only the fire situation but has brought temperatures down and raised humidity levels, making daily life for people much more manageable.

 

 

Watch the Perseid meteor shower at Monaco’s history museum

by: Stephanie Horsman
15/08/2022

The Museum of Prehistoric Anthropology is inviting people to join them in wishing upon a shooting star Thursday night as they host a night of exhibitions, conferences and a chance to see the Perseid meteor shower.

The Perseid meteor shower is an annual event that greets stargazers with an unparalleled display of shooting stars in the summer months in the northern hemisphere. The displays, which usually last between mid-July and mid-August, are created by Earth’s transit through an ice and rock debris field left behind by the Swift-Tuttle comet. On good years, anywhere from 150 to 160 meteors can be seen in a single hour.

The Museum of Prehistoric Anthropology in Monaco is taking advantage of the last days of the showers to invite guests to join them for a full evening on Thursday 18th August from 8:30pm to 11pm for ‘The Night of the Shooting Stars’, in conjunction with their partners at the Spéléo (Caving) Club of Monaco.

The event will open with an astronomy exhibition of equipment, photographs and tools of the trade for sky watchers. This will be followed by two short talks. The first is ‘The Great February 23, 1887 Earthquake of the Riviera’ presented by André Laurenti, author of the Azurseisme.com site, and the other talk will be on ‘The Constellations seen by Mythology’, given by Bruno Mongellaz from the Science Partage Information Côte d’Azur (SPICA).

At 10pm, the grand finale commences, with the spectators being provided with telescopes and special glasses to watch as the meteors rain down from the skies.

 

 

Week in review at AS Monaco: Beehives, academy graduates & a new kit

by: Luke Entwistle
15/08/2022

As well as competing in three games within a week, it has also been a busy period for AS Monaco off the pitch, with a flurry of activity in many departments.

A hive for everyone 10 goals

As well as hoping to create a buzz around the stadium, AS Monaco are also committing to helping the bees. For everyone 10 goals scored in the league this season, the club will finance a beehive, consisting of 40,000 bees.

The scheme, named ‘Red and White Bees,’ is the club’s latest commitment to the environmental cause. Whilst the goals scored in Ligue 1 will hopefully help Philippe Clement’s men challenge at the summit of the table, they will also help the Bee scene to thrive within the Principality. The Beehives will be situated in one of the Terrae’s urban farms in le Larvotto, just metres away from the Stade Louis II.

Third kit release

Whilst Monaco are going green off the pitch, they will (sometimes) be wearing purple on it. In a club-first, Monaco’s third kit will be light purple this season. Whilst avant-gardish, some traditions still remain. As well as the club’s ‘Rise, Risk, Repeat’ motto, the shirt will also feature thin diagonals, iconic of the Principality club. It is already available to purchase at the club’s official shop.

Four new professionals

Blending tradition with modernity is the philosophy of the club in many ways, and their new third kit is an example of that. Another example is the club’s continued push to integrate young academy players into the first team. The first step of that is often the signing of the first professional contract, and last week saw the graduation of four more academy players.

Eliesse Ben Seghir, Edan Diop, Melamine Efekele and Jordan Semedo Varela all signed their first professional deal with their formatory club. Ben Seghir, Efekele and Diop all featured during AS Monaco’s pre-season friendlies this summer.

Monaco have a tradition of youth development, and the club are ensuring the continuation of that tradition through a policy of promoting, and playing, their academy products.

Speaking in a press release, Paul Mitchell said, “The development of our Academy talent is an essential part of the Club’s sporting project. This is why we do everything possible to ensure that our young players work in the best possible conditions and thus enable them to progress to the highest level.”

Pelé departs

The latest academy graduates will be hoping to earn competitive minutes in a Monaco jersey this season, but one player that won’t feature is Pelé, The Portuguese midfielder has left on loan to join Famalicão for the 2022/23 season. He has just one year left on his AS Monaco contract. Since arriving in Monaco, he has made only 11 appearances, and has spent time on loan at Nottingham Forest, Reading and Rio Ave.