Bernard Pascal Maurice Lama (born 7 April 1963) is a French former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

. As a member of the

France national team France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, he won the

1998 FIFA World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 1 ...

and

UEFA Euro 2000 The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. The finals tournament was ...

. Lama most notably played in the French Division 1 for

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

, Brest,

Lens A lens is a transmissive optical device that focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements'') ...

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top d ...

and

Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...

, and in the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

for

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

. In 2006, Lama briefly coached the Kenya national team, his only professional managerial experience.

Early life

Bernard Pascal Maurice Lama was born on 7 April 1963 in , Indre-et-Loire, a commune that merged into the neighboring

Tours Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...

in 1964.

Club career

Early years

Lama left

Guiana The Guianas, also spelled Guyanas or Guayanas, are a geographical region in north-eastern South America. Strictly, the term refers to the three Guianas: Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana, formerly British, Dutch, and French Guiana respectiv ...

in 1981 to come to metropolitan France, without his father's consent but determined to become a professional footballer, where he was first signed by Division 1 club

. He was loaned to

Abbeville Abbeville (; ; ) is a commune in the Somme department and in Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is the of one of the arrondissements of Somme. Located on the river Somme, it was the capital of Ponthieu. Geography Location A ...

in 1982, where he failed to make a single appearance, and he returned to Lille after just one year, only to be loaned again to

Besançon Besançon (, ; , ; archaic ; ) is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzerland. Capi ...

. He did get some play time that year, and his performances were convincing enough for Lille to agree to keep him for the following season. From then on, Lama played regularly, and even scored a goal (a

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

during the 8–0 win over Laval on 31 May 1989), but was never the indisputable number 1 keeper he aspired to be, and so he decided to leave. He spent one year in

, and then took part in Brest's last season in first division. Lama actually played every single league game during those two seasons. He then spent one year with

, where his performances attracted the attention of

, who offered him a five-year contract.

The golden years

In Paris, Lama had to replace the iconic Joël Bats, and his impressive performances quickly showed he was up for the task. His career took a new dimension when he took part in European competitions, and even got called up for the

. He won the

Coupe de France The Coupe de France (), also known in English language, English as the French Cup or less commonly as the France Cup, is the premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in French football organised by the French Football Fed ...

twice in

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

and

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

, and in 1996, his most prestigious trophy yet, the

European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...

Downfall

Despite an interest from

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

giants

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, Lama decided to stay in Paris, and had an excellent start of season that was cut short by a serious knee injury in September 1996 after he saved a

penalty Penalty, The Penalty, Penalization, Penalisation, Penalize or Penalise may refer to: Sports * Foul (sports) ** Penalty (golf) ** Penalty (gridiron football) ** Penalty (ice hockey) ** Penalty (rugby) ** Penalty (rugby union) ** Penalty kick (assoc ...

against

Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...

, having not conceded a single goal so far that season. Shortly after his return, he received a two-month ban for consumption of

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...

in February 1997. This led PSG to look for a new goalkeeper, and Lama was notified during the summer 1997 (while he was still suspended) that

Christophe Revault Christophe Maurice Robert Revault (22 March 1972 – 6 May 2021) was a French professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. After his playing career, he was the sporting director of his former club Le Havre. Early life Christophe Maurice R ...

would be the starting goalkeeper for the following season, and that Lama was free to look for a new destination. Lama found himself without a club at the start of the 1997–98 season, training with the PSG reserve team. During the winter transfer window and only six months away from the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

, he finally agreed on a short-term contract with

club

West Ham West Ham is a district in East London, England and is in the London Borough of Newham. It is an inner-city suburb located east of Charing Cross. The area was originally an ancient parish formed to serve parts of the older Manor of Ham, a ...

. Though signed on 21 December, he did not start in a match until 2 March against Arsenal, whereupon he kept a clean sheet. He would finish the season with twelve league appearances in ''The Hammers' '' colours. He also played in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

against Arsenal in a tie that went to a penalty shootout after a replay, however Arsenal won the shootout to eliminate West Ham. His performances were good enough to interest West Ham in making him a permanent signing, but they were unable to retain the player after the World Cup and he re-signed with Paris Saint-Germain.

End of career

After six months spent in England, he made the most of the change of president in Paris ( Charles Biétry replacing

Michel Denisot Michel Maurice Daniel Denisot (; born 16 April 1945)Michel Denisot
on ''premiere.fr''. is a F ...

) to return to the capital's club, where he spent two more seasons. Despite a more than decent 1999–00 season, he was notified that, due to Paris' youth policy, his services were no longer needed, and that Lionel Letizi would replace him as the club's first choice goalkeeper. He quickly found a new club,

, where he spent a very good season, at the end of which he expressed his desire to fulfill his childhood's dream and play for a Brazilian club. Unfortunately for him, no club expressed any interest in signing him, which led to his announcing the end of his career.

International career

Lama's debut with the

was on 17 February 1993 against

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

in a 4–0 victory, and he would go on to win 44 caps for his nation. Lama played in the Euro 1996 finals, and was a substitute at the Euro 2000 finals. He also won the

as a substitute of

Fabien Barthez Fabien Alain Barthez (born 28 June 1971) is a French racing driver and former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. At club level, he played football in both France and England with Toulouse, Marseille, Monaco, Manchester United and ...

but did not play a single match.

Coaching career

On 21 July 2006, Lama was appointed coach of the Kenya national team. Kenya, however, lost on his debut to

Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...

on 2 September 2006, during an

African Nations Cup The Africa Cup of Nations, commonly abbreviated as AFCON and officially known as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, is the main biennial international men's association football competition in Africa. It is s ...

qualifier, and he quit just two months later, citing the lack of professionalism of the

Kenya Football Federation Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the List of countries and dependencies by population, 27th-most-populous country in ...

, and was replaced by Tom Olaba.

Honours

Paris Saint-Germain * Division 1: 1993–94 *

: 1992–93, 1994–95 *

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...

: 1995–96 *

Trophée des Champions The Trophée des Champions (, ) is a French association football trophy contested in an annual match between the champions of Ligue 1 and the winners of the Coupe de France. It is equivalent to the Super cup, super cups found in many other count ...

France *

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro or Euros, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition ...

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

Individual *

Onze Mondial ''Onze Mondial'' is a French language quarterly football magazine published in Paris, France. History and profile The magazine was established with name ''Onze'' in 1976. In 1989 the magazine merged with another sports magazine, ''Mondial'', an ...

: 1993, 1994, 1995 *

France Football ''France Football'' is a French monthly magazine containing football news from all over the world. It is considered to be one of the most reputable sports publications in Europe, mostly because of its photographic reports, in-depth and exclus ...

's best French player award: 1994 Orders *

Knight of the Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

: 1998

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lama, Bernard 1963 births Living people Footballers from Indre-et-Loire French men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Lille OSC players SC Abbeville players Racing Besançon players FC Metz players Stade Brestois 29 players RC Lens players Paris Saint-Germain FC players Stade Rennais FC players West Ham United F.C. players Ligue 1 players Premier League players France men's international footballers UEFA Euro 1996 players 1998 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2000 players FIFA World Cup–winning players UEFA European Championship–winning players European champions for France French football managers Knights of the Legion of Honour Black French sportspeople French expatriate men's footballers French expatriate football managers French expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England French expatriate sportspeople in Kenya Expatriate football managers in Kenya Association football people awarded knighthoods Doping cases in association football French sportspeople in doping cases French people of French Guianan descent 20th-century French sportsmen