Zoltán Gera

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

Zoltán Gera Personal information Date of birth April 22, 1979(1979-04-22) (age 29) Place of birth Pécs, HungaryHeight 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Playing position Attacking Midfielder/ Right MidfielderClub information Current club FulhamNumber TBA Youth clubs 1993–1996 Pécsi Bőrgyár
Pécsi Zsolnay
Pécsi Kinizsi Senior clubs1 Years Club App (Gls)* 1996–1997
1997–2000
2000–2004
2004–2008
2008– Harkány SE
Pécsi MFC
Ferencváros
West Bromwich Albion
Fulham00? 0(?)
087 (19)
115 (32)
135 (21)[1]
000 0(0) National team2 2002– Hungary053 (16)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 13:00, 11 June 2008 (UTC).
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of 25 May 2008 (CEST).
* Appearances (Goals)

This article is about the Hungarian football player. For the Hungarian actor see Zoltán Gera (actor)

Zoltán Gera ( IPA: [ˈZoltaːn 'Gɛrɒ]; born April 22, 1979 in Pécs) is a Hungarian footballer who is to join English club Fulham FC at the beginning of the transfer window on 1 July. He usually plays as an attacking midfielder.

1 Personal life
2 Club career
3 International career
4 Quotes
5 Honours
- 5.1 Club
- 5.2 Individual
6 References
7 External links

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.[2][3]

Club career

Hungary

Gera joined West Brom in July 2004 from Hungarian club Ferencvárosi TC for £1.5 million.[4] He had captured the Hungarian domestic league and cup double for FTC before joining the club. He signed a three-year deal with The Baggies, with a further one year option at the club's option.

West Brom

Gera made his Premiership début on August 14, 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 August 25, 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 remains 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 2006, 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.[5][6]

Fulham

On 9 June 2008 Gera turned down a new contract at West Brom, having decided instead to join Fulham on a free transfer,[7] which was completed on 11 June 2008.[8]

Club Performance[9][10][11]Club Season Premiership FA Cup League Cup— Total App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals Fulham2008–09 — — — — — — — — — — Subtotal — — — — — — — — — — Club Season Championship FA Cup League Cup— Total App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals West Bromwich Albion2007–08 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— EuropeTotal App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals Ferencvárosi TC2004–05 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 MFC1999–00 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 341 72 19 8 4 1 12 2 376 83

(Statistics correct as of 4 May 2008)

International career

Gera earned his first international cap on February 13, 2002 in a 2–1 defeat to Switzerland. His first international goal was the first of a hat trick on October 16, 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.

National Team Performance Team Year Friendlies World Cup Qual.Euro Cup Qual.Other Total App Conceded App Conceded App Conceded App Conceded App Conceded Hungary2008 3 1 - - - - - - 3 1 Hungary2007 3 1 - - 7 2 - - 10 3 Hungary2006 3 1 - - 4 2 - - 7 3 Hungary2005 3 0 3 2 - - - - 6 2 Hungary2004 5 0 4 2 - - 3 0 12 2 Hungary2003 3 1 - - 3 1 - - 6 2 Hungary2002 6 0 - - 2 3 - - 8 3 Total 26 4 7 4 16 8 3 0 53 16

International Goals Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1 16 October 2002 Budapest San Marino3-0 Win UEFA Euro 2004 Qual.2 16 October 2002 Budapest San Marino3-0 Win UEFA Euro 2004 Qual.3 16 October 2002 Budapest San Marino3-0 Win UEFA Euro 2004 Qual.4 30 April 2003 Budapest Luxembourg5-1 Win Friendly 5 7 June 2003 Budapest Latvia3-1 Win UEFA Euro 2004 Qual.6 8 September 2004 Budapest Iceland3-2 Win FIFA World Cup 2006 Qual.7 17 November 2004 Ta' Qali Malta2-0 Win FIFA World Cup 2006 Qual.8 4 June 2005 Reykjavík Iceland3-2 Win FIFA World Cup 2006 Qual.9 4 June 2005 Reykjavík Iceland3-2 Win FIFA World Cup 2006 Qual.10 16 August 2006 Graz Austria2-1 Win Friendly 11 2 September 2006 Budapest Norway1-4 Loss UEFA Euro 2008 Qual.12 6 September 2006 Zenica Bosnia and Herzegovina3-1 Win UEFA Euro 2008 Qual.13 28 March 2007 Budapest Moldova2-0 Win UEFA Euro 2008 Qual.14 22 August 2007 Budapest Italy3-1 Win Friendly 15 8 September 2007 Székesfehérvár Bosnia and Herzegovina1-0 Win UEFA Euro 2008 Qual.16 6 February 2008 Limassol Slovakia1-1 Draw Friendly

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

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

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
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)