SENEGAL star Lamine Camara was CARRIED off the pitch in tears after suffering Africa Cup of Nations heartbreak in scenes reminiscent of The Bodyguard.
The 19-year-old, who plays for French side Metz, and his team-mates were dumped out of the tournament by Ivory Coast on penalties following a 1-1 draw.
The holders got off to a dream start when Habib Diallo converted a Sadio Mane cross after just four minutes.
But Franck Kessie sent the game into extra-time when he scored from the spot four minutes from the end of normal time.
Then, with neither nation making a breakthrough in the additional 30 minutes, Kessie would convert the winning penalty.
The Elephants’ will now face either Mali or Burkina Faso in the quarter-final on Saturday.
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Senegal’s loss continued the trend of no reigning champion going beyond the first knockout game at Afcon since Egypt in 2010.
And it all proved to be a little too much to handle for midfielder Camara as he was left completely distraught.
He was spotted crying for around ten minutes out on the pitch after the crushing loss.
And he only ended up leaving the turf with the help of his team-mate.
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After several had tried to console him, Nottingham Forest star Cheikhou Kouyate, an unused sub who left the tournament this month to attend his father’s funeral, scooped him up and began carrying him back to the dressing-room.
The footage evoked memories of Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston in the famous scene from Hollywood blockbuster The Bodyguard.
Reacting to the scenes, one fan posted on social media: “Speaks a lot about Cheikhou’s character. Modern day legend.”
Another wrote: “AFCON emotions is unmatched.”
While a third said: “Tough scenes to watch, but it’s heartening to see how much it means to him.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
