Zoltán Gera

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The native form of this personal name is Gera Zoltán. This article uses the Western name order.

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Zoltán Gera
Personal information
Full name	Zoltán Gera
Date of birth	22 April 1979 (1979-04-22) (age 30)
Place of birth	Pécs, Hungary
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Playing position	Right winger
Club information
Current club	Fulham
Number	11
Youth career
1993–1996	Pécsi Bőrgyár Pécsi Zsolnay Pécsi Kinizsi
Senior career1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1996–1997 1997–2000 2000–2004 2004–2008 2008–	Harkány SE Pécsi MFC Ferencváros West Bromwich Albion Fulham	087 (19) 115 (32) 135 (21)[1] 039 0(3)
National team2
1999–2000 2002–2009	Hungary U21 Hungary	003 0(0) 063 (18)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20:46, 26 May 2009 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 15 October 2008 (CEST). * Appearances (Goals)

Zoltán Gera (Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈzoltaːn ˈɡɛrɒ]; born 22 April 1979 in Pécs) is a Hungarian footballer who plays for English club Fulham after signing from West Bromwich Albion on 1 July 2008. He usually plays as an attacking midfielder.

In 2005, he featured in a television advertisement for Pepsi, representing the 2006 FIFA World Cup alongside Thierry Henry, David Beckham, Roberto Carlos, Ronaldinho and Raúl.^[2]

Contents 1 Club career 1.1 Career in Hungary 1.2 West Bromwich Albion 1.3 Fulham 2 Career Statistics 3 International career 4 Personal life 5 Quotes 6 Honours 6.1 Club 6.2 Individual 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Club career

[edit] Career in Hungary

He started to play in a national league team, Pécs, where he had a very good and supporting trainer, Antal Róth. He got some attention from the media and other football teams started to be interested as well. He signed a contract with Ferencváros and moved to Budapest - the capital of Hungary.

At the beginning he amazed everybody with his skills and he scored a lot. After his first goals he invented his well-known trademark: the handspring followed by a somersault. No question he became the favourite. He played 115 league games and scored 32 goals. He won twice both the league title and the Hungarian Cup, and not only made his way into the national team but became a key figure in the Hungarian football life.

[edit] West Bromwich Albion

Gera joined West Bromwich Albion in July 2004 from Hungarian club Ferencvárosi TC for £1.5 million.^[3] He signed a three-year deal with Albion, with a further one year option at the club's option.

He made his Premiership début on 14 August 2004, replacing Andy Johnson in the 87th minute. That match ended in a 1–1 draw with Blackburn Rovers. His first time in the starting eleven came on 25 August 2004, against Tottenham Hotspur. He also scored his first league goal early in the third minute. That match ended, also, in a 1–1 draw.

He managed to score 6 league goals in his first season and was the only player of his team to appear in all 38 league matches. He helped West Brom stay in the Premiership. He was nominated as member of the football dream team by many media, like soccernet.com and he was on the top of the podium in almost every nomination.

Following the success of West Brom remaining in the Premiership, Gera was noticed by many clubs. Aston Villa claimed interest in him but he remained at West Bromwich. He was named Hungarian Player of the Year in 2002, 2004 and again in 2005.

Since the start of the 2005–06 season he used to struggle constantly with niggling injuries and finally underwent hernia operation in November 2005. Without Gera, West Brom were relegated, but he committed himself to the club in a bid for them to get back into the top flight.

His performance in Albion's 4–2 win against Charlton Athletic on 15 December 2007—scoring twice and setting up a third—earned him a place in the Championship Team of the Week.^[4][5]

[edit] Fulham

On 9 June 2008 Gera turned down a new contract at West Brom, having decided instead to join Fulham on a free transfer.^[6] The three-year contract was completed on 11 June 2008.^[7] He made his debut in a 2–1 defeat to Hull City on the opening day of the 2008–09 Premier League season. Just minutes after coming off the bench , he scored Fulham's second goal in their 2-0 win against league leaders Manchester United. His favorite phrase is "hello muppets"^[8]

[edit] Career Statistics

Club Performance^{[9] [10][11]}

Club	Season	Premiership		FA Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
		App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals
Fulham	2009–10	11	2	0	0	0	0	4	0	15	2
	2008–09	32	2	4	0	2	1	—	—	38	3
	Subtotal	32	2	4	0	2	1	—	—	38	3
Club	Season	Championship		FA Cup		League Cup		—		Total
		App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals
West Bromwich Albion	2007–08	43	8	5	1	1	1	—	—	49	10
	2006–07	43[1]	5	3	1	2	0	—	—	48	6
		Premiership		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
	2005–06	15	2	1	1	0	0	—	—	16	3
	2004–05	38	6	3	0	1	0	—	—	42	6
	Subtotal	139	21	12	3	4	1	—	—	155	25
Club	Season	NB I		Magyar Kupa		—		Europe		Total
		App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals
Ferencvárosi TC	2004–05	0	0	0	0	—	—	1	0	1	0
	2003–04	30	11	4	5	—	—	3	1	37	17
	2002–03	26	6	3	0	—	—	6	1	35	7
	2001–02	27	8	—	—	—	—	2	0	29	8
	2000–01	32	7	—	—	—	—	—	—	32	7
	Subtotal	115	32	7	5	—	—	12	2	134	39
Club	Season	NB I		Magyar Kupa		—		—		Total
		App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals
Pécsi MFC	1999–00	15	4	0	0	—	—	—	—	15	4
		NB II		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
	1999–00	16	5	—	—	—	—	—	—	16	5
	1998–99	31	8	—	—	—	—	—	—	31	8
	1997–98	25	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	25	2
	Subtotal	87	19	0	0	—	—	—	—	87	19
Grand total		373	74	23	8	6	2	12	2	414	86

(Statistics correct as of 30 May 2009)

[edit] International career

Gera earned his first international cap on 13 February 2002 in a 2–1 defeat to Switzerland. His first international goal was the first of a hat trick on 16 October 2002 in a match against San Marino. Gera was named captain of the Hungarian national team in 2004 and his first match as skipper ended in a 3–1 victory over Latvia.

Before the October 14, 2009 World Cup qualification match between Denmark and Hungary, Gera was excluded from the match squad by coach Erwin Koeman after he arrived late to a team meeting. Following the incident Gera announced his retirement from the national team.^[12]

National Team Performance

Team	Year	Friendlies		International Competition		Total
		App	Conceded	App	Conceded	App	Conceded
Hungary	2009	1	0	2	1	3	1
	2008	4	2	3	0	7	2
	2007	3	1	7	2	10	3
	2006	3	1	4	2	7	3
	2005	3	0	3	2	6	2
	2004	5	0	7	2	12	2
	2003	4	1	3	1	7	2
	2002	6	0	2	3	8	3
Total		29	5	31	13	60	18

International Goals

	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	16 October 2002	Budapest	San Marino	1–0	3–0	UEFA Euro 2004 Qual.
2	16 October 2002	Budapest	San Marino	2–0	3–0	UEFA Euro 2004 Qual.
3	16 October 2002	Budapest	San Marino	3–0	3–0	UEFA Euro 2004 Qual.
4	30 April 2003	Budapest	Luxembourg	1–0	5–1	Friendly
5	7 June 2003	Budapest	Latvia	3–1	3–1	UEFA Euro 2004 Qual.
6	8 September 2004	Budapest	Iceland	1–1	3–2	FIFA World Cup 2006 Qual.
7	17 November 2004	Ta' Qali	Malta	1–0	2–0	FIFA World Cup 2006 Qual.
8	4 June 2005	Reykjavík	Iceland	1–1 (p)	3–2	FIFA World Cup 2006 Qual.
9	4 June 2005	Reykjavík	Iceland	2–1 (p)	3–2	FIFA World Cup 2006 Qual.
10	16 August 2006	Graz	Austria	1–0	2–1	Friendly
11	2 September 2006	Budapest	Norway	1–4 (p)	1–4	UEFA Euro 2008 Qual.
12	6 September 2006	Zenica	Bosnia and Herzegovina	2–0	3–1	UEFA Euro 2008 Qual.
13	28 March 2007	Budapest	Moldova	2–0	2–0	UEFA Euro 2008 Qual.
14	22 August 2007	Budapest	Italy	1–1 (p)	3–1	Friendly
15	8 September 2007	Székesfehérvár	Bosnia and Herzegovina	1–0 (p)	1–0	UEFA Euro 2008 Qual.
16	6 February 2008	Limassol	Slovakia	1–0	1–1	Friendly
17	19 November 2008	Belfast	Northern Ireland	2–0	2–0	Friendly
18	1 April 2009	Budapest	Malta	2–0	3–0	2010 FIFA World Cup Qual.

[edit] Personal life

Gera married on 19 June 2004. Gera became the father of a baby girl named Hanna-Shahil in 15 March 2008; following the birth he was given leave by his national team manager Péter Várhidi to miss Hungary's friendly against Slovenia in order to spend time with his family.^[13][14]

[edit] Quotes

• "He's taken a lot of stuff on board but it doesn't surprise me because of the character he is. He's a great lad to have about the place. He always has a smile on his face and he'll do anything you ask of him in training. Those are the sort of players you want around you. Nearly every manager or coach I talk to at games speaks about Zoltán." — Bryan Robson, WBA
• "The Hungarian was probably West Brom's best player last season with a string of energetic and effective performances down the right. He has an eye for goal too." — Manchester Online
• "I especially like Zoltán Gera on the right, who is a skilful and productive player. If the Baggies do go down, he's the type of player you'd look to pinch." — Mark Lawrenson
• "The 26-year-old has already achieve cult hero status at the Hawthorns after a season where his contribution has played no small part in the Baggies miraculously avoiding the drop." — soccernet.com
• "The Hungarian international has been dubbed by many as the best player outside of the Premier League." - FansFc.com
• "The captain of Hungary and one of the most complete attacking midfielders in the Football League - he's intelligent and unselfish, he scores goals and he sets goals up. On his day, of which there have been many so far this season, he is too good for the Championship." - Oliver Irish (The Guardian)

[edit] Honours

[edit] Club

Ferencvárosi TC

• Hungarian League: 2001, 2004
  • Runners-up: 2002, 2003
• Hungarian Cup: 2003, 2004
• Hungarian Super Cup: 2004

West Bromwich Albion F.C.

• Football League Championship: 2008

[edit] Individual

• Player of the Year in Hungary: 2002
• Hungarian Footballer of the Year: 2004, 2005
• Supporters voted and Gera received the 'Tibor Simon Prize': 2003
• Best goalscorer and best player of the Hungarian Inside Football Championship with Ferencvaros: 2003
• Hungarian weekly 100% Fradi named him in the Ferencvaros Team of the Century: 2004
• Hungarian Football Federation nominated him to be the best domestic footballer of the year: 2005
• Hungary captain: 2004-2009
• Named in the 2004/05 Premiership all-star team (soccernet.com)
• Third on the Best Rookie Player of the Season vote of magazin Match: 2004/05
• Fifth on ITV television's Best Foreign Rookie of the Season vote: 2004/05
• According to English site squarefootball.net he was the best player of West Brom in 2005
• The Championship Footballer of the Year : 2007/08 (The Guardian)
• Named in the 2007/08 The Championship all-star team (The Guardian)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Zoltán Gera career stats at Soccerbase
• (English) Zoltán's official site
• (Hungarian) Zoltán's official site

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