Gábor Király
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Gábor Király | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gábor Király | |
| Date of birth | April 1, 1976 | |
| Place of birth | Szombathely, Hungary | |
| Position | Goalkeeper | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Crystal Palace | |
| Number | 28 | |
| Professional clubs* | ||
| Years | Club | Apps (goals) |
| 1993-1997 1997-2004 2004- 2006 |
Szombathelyi Haladás Hertha BSC Berlin Crystal Palace → West Ham United (loan) |
68 (0) 198 (0) 97 (0) 0 (0) |
| National team** | ||
| 1998- | Hungary | 65 (0) |
|
* Professional club appearances and goals |
||
Gábor Király (born April 1, 1976) (IPA: [gaːbor kir̪̪aːj]) is a Hungarian footballer who plays for Crystal Palace. He wears the number 28 shirt at Crystal Palace and is a goalkeeper.
Király was born in Szombathely and began his career playing for a local club Szombathelyi Haladás, whence he moved to German Bundesliga club Hertha Berlin in 1997. Crystal Palace made him their first signing of the summer of 2004, he signed a three-year deal with the club which will last until July 2007. After losing his place in the Hertha Berlin side to Christian Fiedler, Gábor was told his contract would only be renewed if he took a pay cut. Crystal Palace had also signed Argentine 'keeper Julián Speroni. Julian had been training since with Palace for some time, so Gábor felt it was unfair on Julian if he walked straight into the starting eleven. It took 6 games for Palace fans to see Gábor in goal, in the Carling Cup game at home to Hartlepool United and he impressed so much that, combined with Julian Speroni's poor form, he stayed in the first team for over 12 months, apart from cup games (only losing his place in the first team shortly before Christmas 2005, due to needing a rest). After the rest, he went straight back into the Palace side, and has been there ever since.
On May 18, 2006, however, Gábor did what many expected, and handed in a transfer request. With the signing of Scott Flinders, it seemed Gábor's wish would be granted shortly. However, Bob Dowie (Palace's director of football) revealed that the club had received no offers for Gábor's services, and thus it looked as if he was set to stay a third season in SE25. These suspicions were furthered when new manager Peter Taylor installed Király as his number one choice in goal, with Flinders as his backup, and Julián Speroni as the Reserve team goalkeeper. Another interesting development was when academy goalkeeper David Wilkinson was handed a squad number for the first time. This may mean that Palace are preparing for Gábor's departure after all, and these rumours increased when Flinders was recalled from a loan spell, and replaced Király in the starting line-up. However, Flinders only played two games, conceeding seven goals, and giving Király an apparent express route back into the side, disjointed by a two-week loan spell at West Ham, due to injuries to James Walker and Roy Carroll. The loan deal is expected to be extended, since Palace have signed Iain Turner on a month-long loan from Everton to replace Király, and could lead to a permanent deal in January.
In his time in the Premiership with Crystal Palace, Gábor proved himself to be one of the most able goalkeepers in the division, and was rumored to have been approached by high-profile clubs, including Arsenal and Newcastle United. His chances of securing a move to The Premiership increased on May 30, when he impressed for Hungary in their 3-1 defeat to England national football team, saving a penalty by Frank Lampard in the process.
Gábor appeared in more than 50 international matches for the Hungarian national team. He is also recognizable for wearing a pair of tracksuit bottoms instead of shorts in almost every match he plays.
[edit] External links
- Gábor Király career stats at Soccerbase
- (German) Gábor Király's profile and stats at Weltfussball.de
| Crystal Palace F.C. - Current Squad |
|---|
|
1 Flinders | 2 Lawrence | 3 Granville | 4 Ward | 5 Hudson | 6 Cort | 7 McAnuff | 8 Scowcroft | 9 Freedman | 11 Morrison | 12 Speroni | 14 Watson | 15 Kennedy | 17 Hughes | 18 Borrowdale | 19 Soares | 20 Butterfield | 22 Reich | 23 Fletcher | 25 Green | 28 Király | 29 Turner | 31 Fray | 32 Kuqi | 33 Grabban | 34 Starkey | 35 Wiggins | 36 Spence | 37 Sheringham | 38 Wilkinson | Manager: Taylor |
