Gera playing for Fulham in August 2009 |
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Zoltán Gera | ||
| Date of birth | 22 April 1979 | ||
| Place of birth | Pécs, Hungary | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) [1] | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | West Bromwich Albion | ||
| Number | 22 | ||
| 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 | 123 | (34) |
| 2004–2008 | West Bromwich Albion | 154 | (25) |
| 2008–2011 | Fulham | 104 | (16) |
| 2011– | West Bromwich Albion | 3 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 1999–2000 | Hungary U21 | 3 | (0) |
| 2002– | Hungary | 73 | (21) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 5 April 2011. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Zoltán Gera (Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈzoltaːn ˈɡɛrɒ]) (born 22 April 1979) is a Hungarian footballer who currently plays for 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 is well known for his overhead-kick goals and his cartwheel to back-flip celebration, which he demonstrated particularly in Fulham's Europa League quarter-final win against Juventus in April 2010. 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's Player of the Season.
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Born in Pécs, Gera was signed by Pécsi Mecsek FC in 1997, where under Antal Roth they played 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 8 April, 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 27 May, 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.
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.
Gera joined West Bromwich Albion on 30 July 2004 for a fee of £1.5 million.[2] He signed a three-year contract with Albion, with a further one year option at the club's option.
He made his Premier League debut 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 XI 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]
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][7] 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 a 2–2 draw.[8] On 28 December 2009, he then scored his second goal of the season at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea, when he hooked the ball over Petr Čech from 12 yards to stun the home crowd after four 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.[9] He went on to score two 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 Hamburger SV.[10][11] Having scored 10 goals in all competitions, Gera was voted the fans' player of the season for the 2009–10 season.
Gera started the 2010–11 season positively, scoring a hat-trick after coming off the bench in the 66th minute against Werder Bremen in a 5–1 friendly win, and a brace against Port Vale in the second round of the League Cup. His first League goal of the new campaign, a fortunate 30-yard volley which deflected off the post and then off the goalkeeper, came at the Hawthorns against old-side West Brom. Despite this, Mark Hughes did not regularly start Gera, despite him being a fan favourite, and used him more sparingly as a substitute. Gera was sent off in Fulham's final match of the 2010-11 season on 22 May 2011, a 2-2 draw against Arsenal.[12] This was the first red card Fulham had received all season and it nearly cost them a place in the Europa League through UEFA's Fair Play League, but the Cottagers finished ahead of closest challengers Blackpool by just 0.01 points to win the qualifying berth.[13]
On 16 June, Fulham announced that Gera was available on a free transfer, as one of three player that were being released by the club [14] After which Gera was nearing a reunion with his former club West Brom.[15]
On August 2, West Brom boss Roy Hodgson announced that the club had signed Gera on a 2 year deal.[16]
| Club | Season | Premiership | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | ||
| Fulham | 2010–11 | 24 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | — | — | 29 | 4 |
| 2009–10 | 27 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 6 | 50 | 10 | |
| 2008–09 | 32 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 38 | 3 | |
| Subtotal | 83 | 5 | 11 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 18 | 6 | 117 | 17 | |
| 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[20] | 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 | 407 | 76 | 27 | 9 | 10 | 5 | 29 | 8 | 473 | 98 | |
(Statistics correct as of 13:45, 5 April 2011)
As of 9 October 2010
| National team | Year | Friendly | Competitive | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Hungary | 2011 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | |
| 2010 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 1 | ||
| 2009 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 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 | ||
| Career Total | 32 | 5 | 39 | 16 | 71 | 21 | ||
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 14 October 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.[21]
On 23 July 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 11 August 2010 against England. On 29 March 2011, Zoltán Gera scored twice against the Netherlands in the Amsterdam ArenA in front of 51,700 spectators. He scored the first goal in the 50th minute (1-2) and his second goal in the 75th minute (3-3) in the Euro 2012 Qualifiers.
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.[22][23]
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.[24]
Ferencvárosi TC
West Bromwich Albion F.C.
Fulham F.C.
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