Jump to content

Zoltán Gera

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 86.146.251.207 (talk) at 13:30, 15 August 2010. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

This article is about the Hungarian football player. For the Hungarian actor, see Zoltán Gera (actor).
The native form of this personal name is Gera Zoltán. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.
Zoltán Gera
Personal information
Full name Zoltán Gera
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Position(s) Attacking midfielder/Second striker/Right Winger
Team information
Current team
 Fulham
Number 11
Youth career
1993–1996 Pécsi Bőrgyár
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1996–1997 Harkány SE
1997–2000 Pécsi Mecsek 87 (19)
2000–2004 Ferencváros 115 (32)
2004–2008 West Bromwich Albion[1] 135 (21)
2008– Fulham 59 (4)
International career
1999–2000 Hungary U21 3 (0)
2002– Hungary 64 (18)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:30, 17 April 2010 (UTC)

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. He usually plays as an attacking midfielder, though he has also played on both the right and left wings throughout his career. He has been named Hungarian Player of the Year three times in 2002, 2004 and 2005. For his efforts in the 2009/10 season and his goals in the europa league, Gera was named Fulham F.C. Player of the Season.

Club career

Career in Hungary

Pécsi MFC

Gera, the former way of life because of his very deep, first Harkány gave him confidence. Good performance and exceptional talent saw the Pecs MFC signed him in 1997, where Antal Roth's hands during the play in the NB II. The 1999–2000 season also started there, but less fortunately for the spring, NB-I and players themselves say, but we are not club chance reached. Happened was that the 15 February 2000 the abolition of the Gázszer FC after club chairman Laszlo Nemeth was unable to finance the team, so the site of the agárdiak PMFC was played on the NBI. His first goal 1 April 2000 the Gyor ETO FC against acquired, cleared Ferenczi driver hits 67 minutes, so his team saved points. Not much later, 26 round on April 8, once again proved to be effective, this time in the Vac FC has scored winning goals. 29 Round-the latter part Spartacus gate was introduced, took the lead in the Pécsi MFC. Last match of the season, 34 round on May 27, the FC Nagykanizsa LinAir guests entered the orbit PMFC, in 91 min 1 to 0 of indigenous lead when Gera point once again saved his team. Gera in the spring season, playing 15 games in which 4 goals in 4, and collected a yellow card. 14 times in the starting XI as part of the game vághatott him with four replacements and once changed into. Gerzson say he did not last long in the NB-I Player of Pécs, as the high season for FTC's performance has attracted the interest of the leaders. 1 July 2000 officially became a player in the Ferencvárosi TC.

Ferencvárosi TC

For Ferencvaros, Gera played 115 league games and scored 32 goals. He won the league title and the Hungarian Cup twice and made his way onto the Hungarian National Team.

West Bromwich Albion

Gera joined West Bromwich Albion on 30 July 2004 for £1.5 million.[2] 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.

As the club struggled with relegation for most of the season, Gera was seen in the media as an integral part of Albion's battle to beat the drop and this was evident towards the end of the season, in which Gera became more and more influential as every game passed by. It was no surprise that as Gera produced these stirring performances (including a brilliant match-winning header against high-flying Everton on 3 April 2005), the club's form rapidly picked up, finally securing their status as a Premier League club on the final day of the season, on a day of high emotion, which saw the four bottom teams in the league all scrapping for 17th place and ultimately survival. As West Brom held their nerve to see off Portsmouth 2–0 at the Hawthorns, Southampton's defeat at home to Manchester United, Crystal Palace's home draw with Charlton Athletic and Norwich's crushing 6–0 defeat at the hands of Fulham, meant that for the first time in Premier League history, the club who were bottom of the table on Christmas Day had stayed up, a feat not matched as yet. In total, he managed to score 6 league goals in this his first season and was the only player at the club to appear in all 38 league matches. He was nominated in the end of season dream team by soccernet.com, attracting the attention of Aston Villa.

He was named Hungarian Player of the Year in 2002, 2004 and 2005.

In the 2005–06 season Gera has struggled with injuries and underwent hernia operation in November 2005. At the end of the season, West Brom were relegated though Gera 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.[3][4]

Fulham

Zoltán Gera in action for Fulham F.C.

On 9 June 2008 Gera turned down a new contract at West Brom, having decided instead to join Fulham on a free transfer.[5] The three-year contract was completed on 11 June 2008.[6] He made his debut in a 2–1 defeat to Hull City on the opening day of the 2008–09 Premier League. Just minutes after coming off the bench , he scored Fulham's second goal in their 2–0 win against league leaders Manchester United. During the 2009–10 Premier League season,Gera scored his first goal of the season against West Ham United in the 2–2 draw.[7] On the 28 December 2009, he then scored his second goal of the season at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea F.C, when he hooked the ball over Petr Čech from 12 yards to stun the home crowd after 4 minutes. Despite this early goal, Fulham went on to lose the game 2–1, with a goal from Ivorian forward Didier Drogba and an own goal by fellow team mate Chris Smalling.[8] Zolly, as he has been adopted by the fans, went on to score 2 goals in a Man-of-the-Match performance against Juventus, Fulham winning 4–1 on the night. He scored what proved to be the goal which sent Fulham to their first ever European final in a 2–1 victory against Hamburg, achieving cult status amongst fans in the process. Having scored 10 goals in all competitions, Gera was voted the fans' player of the season for 2009/10. Gera scored a hatrick in a pre-season friendly against Werder Bremen in what Fulham won 5-1.

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 27 2 4 1 1 1 14 6 46 10
2008–09 32 2 4 0 2 1 — — 38 3
Subtotal 59 4 8 1 3 2 13 6 83 13
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 400 76 27 9 7 3 29 8 463 96

(Statistics correct as of 29 April 2010)

International career

Gera earned his first international cap on 13 February 2002 in a 2–1 defeat to Switzerland. Until 2009 he played a total of 63 games in the Hungarian national football team, scoring 18 goals.

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]

On July 23, 2010 the newly appointed board of the Hungarian Football Federation‎, led by president Sándor Csányi, has terminated the contract of Erwin Koeman and appointed Sándor Egervári as the new federal coach. After a personal discussion with Egervári, Gera returned to the national team on August 11, 2010 against England.

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.

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]

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.[15]

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
  • "Zoltan innate talent, the current Hungarian football is the greatest treasure. Something you can on the ball, you can not learn." – Lothar Matthäus
  • "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)
  • "I was at Fulham with Zoltan Gera, who definitely has the weirdest banter of anyone I've ever come across. He is a proper oddball and a very weird kid." – Jimmy Bullard[16]

Honours

Club

Hungary Ferencvárosi TC

England West Bromwich Albion F.C.

England Fulham F.C.

Individual

  • Hungary Player of the Year in Hungary: 2002
  • Hungary Hungarian Footballer of the Year: 2004, 2005
  • Hungary Supporters voted and Gera received the 'Tibor Simon Prize': 2003
  • Hungary Best goalscorer and best player of the Hungarian Inside Football Championship with Ferencvaros: 2003
  • Hungary Hungarian weekly 100% Fradi named him in the Ferencvaros Team of the Century: 2004
  • Hungary Hungarian Football Federation nominated him to be the best domestic footballer of the year: 2005
  • Hungary Hungary captain: 2004–2009
  • England Named in the 2004–05 Premiership all-star team (soccernet.com)
  • England Third on the Best Rookie Player of the Season vote of magazin Match: 2004–05
  • England Fifth on ITV television's Best Foreign Rookie of the Season vote: 2004–05
  • England According to English site squarefootball.net he was the best player of West Brom in 2005
  • England The Championship Footballer of the Year : 2007–08 (The Guardian)
  • England Named in the 2007–08 The Championship all-star team (The Guardian)
  • England Player of the Year in Fulham: 2009-10

References

  1. ^ a b During the season 2006–2007 he had 40 league games and 3 playoff games, but this 3 games don't count towards league games, so the official stats. 2008-04-19.
  2. ^ "Albion bag Gera". BBC Sport. 2004-07-30. Retrieved 2007-04-30.
  3. ^ "WBA vs Charlton". West Bromwich Albion F.C. 2007-12-15. Retrieved 2008-01-08.
  4. ^ "Coca-Cola Championship Team Of The Week. (17/12/2007)" (PDF). The Football League. 2007-12-17. Retrieved 2008-01-08.
  5. ^ "Gera decides to join Fulham". West Bromwich Albion F.C. 2008-06-09. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
  6. ^ "Gera joins Fulham from West Brom". BBC Sport. 2008-06-11. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
  7. ^ "West Ham 2–2 Fulham". BBC Sport. 2009-10-04. Retrieved 2009-10-04.
  8. ^ "Smash and grab from Chelsea in W.London clash". BBC Sport. 2009-12-28. Retrieved 2009-12-28.
  9. ^ "Gera stats". soccerbase.com. 2008-02-07. Retrieved 2008-02-07.
  10. ^ "Stat". origo.hu. 2008-02-07. Retrieved 2008-02-07.
  11. ^ "Gera profile and stats on West Bromwich site". wba.premiumtv.co.uk. 2008-02-07. Retrieved 2008-02-07.
  12. ^ Gera retires from Hungary
  13. ^ "PHOTO GALLERY: Albion 1 Leicester 4". West Bromwich Albion F.C. 2008-03-15. Retrieved 2008-03-15.
  14. ^ "Gera granted baby break by Hungary". West Bromwich Albion F.C. 2008-03-22. Retrieved 2008-03-24.
  15. ^ "Gera joined the Blue Team!". Careers Management Group. 2005. Retrieved 2005. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  16. ^ "60 seconds with Jimmy Bullard". Yahoo!. 2010. Retrieved 2010. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)

Template:Link FA

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Zoltán_Gera&oldid=379042877"