‘What have we got here, Pele?’ – Liverpool cult hero amazed team-mates before blunt transfer request

Liverpool’s tradition of cult heroes continued with the signing of Titi Camara…but Gerard Houllier lost faith at a crucial time

On this day in 1972, Titi Camara was born. The forward signed for Liverpool in 1999 and scored 10 goals in 37 appearances.

Back in 2020, this piece on Camara’s curious Reds career was written by ECHO reporter Dan Kay – and it proved very popular with readers.

Dan passed away suddenly in May 2023 aged 45. The second Annual Dan Kay Memorial Match was played in September 2024. Find out more details here.

Liverpool have always had a tradition of cult heroes.

Over the years, from Joey Jones’ clenched fists to the Kop – which would result in arguably the most famous Liverpool banner of all time – to Kolo Toure’s perma-smiling face and sibling-related dance moves which got fans and players boogying alike, certain players have arrived at Anfield and captured hearts and minds as much for their character and personality as their footballing abilities.

For a player regarded as such to be voted in the club’s top 100 players of all time in a poll on the club’s website despite having spent only 18 months at the club while playing barely three dozen matches indicates there must have been some special talent added to the mix as well.

And that was certainly the case when it came to Titi Camara, the flamboyant Guinean forward.

He arrived at Anfield as Gerard Houllier was attempting to kick-start a revolution he knew was badly needed as he sifted through the wreckage of an first abortive season at the club which had been overshadowed by the sad end of Roy Evans’ 35 years service following the doomed joint-manager experiment.

Liverpool’s clear decline from the exciting yet ultimately unfulfilling mid-point of the decade when Evans’ attacking yet defensively-flawed side had flirted with major honours had been painfully highlighted by bitter rivals Manchester United winning an unprecedented Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League double, while the Reds had finished a distant seventh, barely winning more league matches than they lost (15 to 14).

Anfield was in dire need of some feel-good factor and the board recognised that by backing the manager significantly in the transfer market.

A new defensive spine was added with the recruitment of £4m goalkeeper Sander Westerveld from Vitesse Arnhem and a pair of centre backs, £3.5m Swiss stopper Stephane Henchoz from Blackburn and the ludicrously under-priced £2.6m Sami Hyypia from Vitesse Arnhem.

£8m German Dietmar Hamann was brought in from Newcastle to add steel in the middle of the park with a further £4.2m being spent on Lens’ attacking midfielder Vladimir Smicer and German forward Erik Meijer arriving from Bayer Leverkusen on a free.

The £2.6m capture of 27-year-old Camara from Marseille in early June flew somewhat under the radar, with those who had seen his performance in the French club’s limp UEFA Cup final defeat to Parma in Moscow not holding too many hopes of the impact their new frontman may be able to make.

While nearly all of that summer’s signings went on enjoy longer and more successful Liverpool careers however, it was Camara who arguably made the biggest first impression and helped set the tone for an uplifting season of real positivity and progress which tapered out sadly in the final weeks and down in no small place to the Guinean’s fall from grace in the eyes of his manager.