Zoltán Gera

Football player infobox
playername = Zoltán Gera


height = height|ft=6|in=0
fullname =
nickname = "Gerzson", "The Magic Magyar"
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1979|4|22|df=yes
cityofbirth = Pécs
countryofbirth = Hungary
currentclub = Fulham
clubnumber = 11
position = Attacking Midfielder/ Winger
youthyears = 1993–1996
youthclubs = Pécsi Bőrgyár
Pécsi Zsolnay
Pécsi Kinizsi
years = 1996–1997
1997–2000
2000–2004
2004–2008
2008–
clubs = Harkány SE
Pécsi MFC
Ferencváros
West Bromwich Albion
Fulham
caps(goals) = 00? 0(?)
087 (19)
115 (32)
135 (21)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.]
005 0(1)
nationalyears = 2002–
nationalteam = Hungary
nationalcaps(goals) = 055 (16)
pcupdate = 16:03, 14 September 2008 (UTC)
ntupdate = 14 Sept 2008 (CEST)

Zoltán Gera ( IPA2|ˈzoltaːn 'ɡɛrɒ; born 22 April 1979 in Pécs) is a Hungarian footballer who plays for English club Fulham FC after signing from West Bromwich Albion on 1 July 2008. He usually plays as an attacking midfielder.

Personal life

Gera is married and became the father of a baby girl named Hanna in 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. [cite news
title=PHOTO GALLERY: Albion 1 Leicester 4
url=http://www.wba.premiumtv.co.uk/page/Gallery/0,,10366~1266305,00.html
publisher=West Bromwich Albion F.C.
date=2008-03-15
accessdate=2008-03-15] [cite news
title=Gera granted baby break by Hungary
url=http://www.wba.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/0,,10366~1271267,00.html
publisher=West Bromwich Albion F.C.
date=2008-03-22
accessdate=2008-03-24]

Club career

Career in Hungary

Gera captured the Hungarian domestic league and cup double for Ferencvárosi TC.

West Bromwich Albion

Gera joined West Bromwich Albion in July 2004 from Hungarian club Ferencvárosi TC for £1.5 million. [cite news
date=2004-07-30
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/w/west_bromwich_albion/3940947.stm
title=Albion bag Gera
publisher=BBC Sport
accessdate=2007-04-30] 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.

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.

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

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. [cite news
title=WBA vs Charlton
url=http://www.wba.premiumtv.co.uk/page/MatchReport/0,,10366~37314,00.html
publisher=West Bromwich Albion F.C.
date=2007-12-15
accessdate=2008-01-08] [cite web
url=http://www.football-league.premiumtv.co.uk/staticFiles/5a/c8/0,,10794~116826,00.pdf
title=Coca-Cola Championship Team Of The Week. (17/12/2007)
publisher=The Football League
format=PDF
date=2007-12-17
accessdate=2008-01-08]

Fulham

On 9 June 2008 Gera turned down a new contract at West Brom, having decided instead to join Fulham on a free transfer. [cite news
title=Gera decides to join Fulham
url=http://www.wba.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/0,,10366~1325649,00.html
publisher=West Bromwich Albion F.C.
date=2008-06-09
accessdate=2008-06-09] The three-year contract was completed on 11 June 2008. [cite news
title=Gera joins Fulham from West Brom
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/f/fulham/7435637.stm
publisher=BBC Sport
date=2008-06-11
accessdate=2008-06-11] He made his debut in a 2–1 defeat to Hull City on the opening day of the 2008–09 Premier League season.

Career Statistics

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)

Honours

Club

flagicon|Hungary "'Ferencvárosi TC
*Hungarian League: 2001, 2004
**Runners-up: 2002, 2003
*Hungarian Cup: 2003, 2004
*Hungarian Super Cup: 2004

flagicon|England "'West Bromwich Albion F.C.
*Football League Championship: 2008

Individual

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

References

External links

*soccerbase|id=30134|name=Zoltán Gera
*en icon [http://origo.hu/zoltangera/index.html Zoltán's official site]
*hu icon [http://origo.hu/gerazoltan/index.html Zoltán's official site]