Zoltán Gera

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This article is about the Hungarian footballer. For the Hungarian actor, see Zoltán Gera (actor).

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

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Zoltán Gera
Zoltan.JPG
Gera playing for Fulham in August 2009
Personal information
Full name Zoltán Gera
Date of birth (1979-04-22) 22 April 1979 (age 45)
Place of birth Pécs, Hungary
Height Script error: No such module "person height".
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Ferencváros
Number 20
Youth career
1993–1996 Pécsi Bőrgyár
Pécsi Zsolnay
Pécsi Kinizi
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1996–1997 Harkány SE
1997–2000 Pécs 71 (14)
2000–2004 Ferencváros 115 (32)
2004–2008 West Bromwich Albion 135 (21)
2008–2011 Fulham 120 (17)
2011–2014 West Bromwich Albion 30 (4)
2014– Ferencváros 34 (4)
International career‡
1999–2000 Hungary U21 3 (0)
2002– Hungary 86 (24)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 1 October 2015
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21:02, 1 October 2015 (UTC)

Zoltán Gera (Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈzoltaːn ˈɡɛrɒ]; born 22 April 1979) is a Hungarian footballer who currently plays for Ferencváros in the Nemzeti Bajnokság I and the Hungarian national team as an attacking midfielder. He has previously played for Fulham, Ferencváros, Pécsi Mecsek and Harkány SE, as well as enjoying two spells at West Bromwich Albion.

Gera is known for his overhead-kick goals and his cartwheel to back-flip celebration, which he demonstrated in Fulham's Europa League quarter-final win against Juventus in 2010. He was named Hungarian Player of the Year 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.

Gera made his international debut in 2002 against Switzerland, losing 2–1. In 2009, Gera briefly retired from the national team following a dispute with then-manager Erwin Koeman. Koeman was replaced by Sándor Egervári in 2010 and Gera returned to Hungary's international squad.

Club career

Harkany SE

Gera started his professional career for Harkány SE in 1996, remaining there for one year before signing for Pécsi Mecsek FC.[2]

Pécsi Mecsek FC

Gera was signed by Pécsi Mecsek FC in 1997. During his three-year spell with the club, Gera made 87 appearances and scored 16 times. On 1 July 2000, Gera moved to major Hungarian side Ferencváros on a free transfer.[2]

Ferencváros

During his four-year spell at Ferencváros, Gera played 115 league games and scored 32 goals. He won the Hungarian league title in 2001 and 2004, the Magyar Kupa in 2003 and 2004, and the Szuperkupa in 2004. He also received his first international call up.

West Bromwich Albion

On 30 July 2004, Gera moved to English Premier League club West Bromwich Albion for a fee of GB£1.5 million.[3] He signed a three-year contract with Albion, with a further one-year option in the clubs favour. He made his Premier League debut on 14 August 2004, replacing Andy Johnson in the 87th minute against Blackburn Rovers. The match ended in a 1–1 draw. Gera's first appearance in the starting lineup came on 25 August 2004 against Tottenham Hotspur. He scored his first league goal early in the third minute; that match also ended in a 1–1 draw.[citation needed]

The club struggled against relegation for most of the season, and Gera was portrayed by the media as an integral part of this struggle. Towards the end of the season Gera's influence grew. He produced stirring performances, including a match-winning header against Everton on 3 April 2005. The club's form quickly improved, securing its continued Premier League status on the last day of the season. Gera scored six 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.[citation needed]

During the 2005–06 season, Gera struggled with injuries and underwent a hernia operation in November 2005. At the end of the season, West Bromwich was relegated and Gera committed himself to the club.[citation needed] His performance in Albion's 4–2 win against Charlton Athletic on 15 December 2007—scoring twice and setting up a third goal—earned him a place in the Championship Team of the Week.[4][5] Gera helped Albion gain promotion in the 2007–08 season; on 9 June 2008, he turned down a new contract at West Brom, having decided instead to join Fulham on a free transfer.[6] The three-year contract was completed on 11 June 2008.[7][8]

Fulham

Zoltán Gera in action playing for Fulham in August 2009.
Zoltán Gera played in the 2010 UEFA Europa League Final

Gera made his Fulham debut in a 2–1 defeat to Hull City on the opening day of the 2008–09 Premier League. Minutes after coming off the bench, he scored Fulham's second goal in a 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.[9] On 28 December 2009, Gera scored his second goal of the season at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea, when he hooked the ball over Petr Čech from 12 yards after four minutes. Despite this early goal, Fulham lost the game 2–1.[10] Gera went on to score two goals in a Man-of-the-Match performance against Juventus, Fulham winning 4–1. He scored the goal which sent Fulham to its first ever European final in a 2–1 victory against Hamburger SV.[11][12] Having scored 10 goals in all competitions, Gera was voted the fans' player of the season for the 2009–10 season.[13]

Gera started the 2010–11 season by 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 30-yard volley which deflected off the post and then off the goalkeeper, came at the Hawthorns against West Bromwich Albion. Despite this, Mark Hughes did not regularly start Gera, despite him being a fan favourite, and used him 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.[14] 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 Fulham finished ahead of closest challengers Blackpool by 0.01 points to win the qualifying berth.[15]

On 16 June 2011, Fulham announced that Gera was available on a free transfer as one of three players that were being released by the club[16] Subsequently, Gera looked to rejoin his former club West Bromwich Albion.[17]

Return to West Bromwich Albion

On 2 August 2011, West Bromwich Albion boss Roy Hodgson announced that the club had signed Gera on a 2-year deal.[18] On 5 Nov 2011, Gera made his second debut for Albion in the starting lineup against Arsenal. Albion lost 3–0.[19] After three first team appearances, Gera was injured in a 3–1 defeat against Tottenham on 26 November 2011; he was unavailable for the remainder of the season.[20] After nine months out because of his injury, Gera returned to the starting lineup against Liverpool on the first day of the 2012–13 Premier League season, opening the scoring with a volley from 25 yards, leading to a 3–0 win.[21] On 8 January 2013, it was confirmed Gera would be out injured for the rest of the season after he injured a knee in a game against Queen's Park Rangers.[22] On 1 July 2013, Gera's contract with West Bromwich Albion expired, making him a free agent for a short period until he signed a new contract for another year with the club.[23][24] Gera left West Brom in 2014 after his contract expired.[25]

Club statistics

As of 7 December 2014
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Pécsi MFC 1997–98[26] Nemzeti Bajnokság II 25 2 0 0 — — — 25 2
1998–99[26] Nemzeti Bajnokság II 31 8 0 0 — — — 31 8
1999–2000[26] Nemzeti Bajnokság I 15 4 0 0 — — — 15 4
Total 71 14 0 0 — — — 71 14
Ferencváros 2000–01[27] Nemzeti Bajnokság I 32 7 0 0 — — — 32 7
2001–02[27] Nemzeti Bajnokság I 27 8 0 0 — 0 0 — 27 8
2002–03[27] Nemzeti Bajnokság I 26 6 0 0 — 0 0 — 26 6
2003–04[27] Nemzeti Bajnokság I 30 11 0 0 — 0 0 — 30 11
Total 115 32 0 0 — 0 0 — 115 32
West Bromwich Albion 2004–05[28] FA Premier League 38 6 3 0 1 0 — — 42 6
2005–06[29] FA Premier League 15 2 1 1 0 0 — — 16 3
2006–07[30] Championship 39 5 3 1 2 0 — 3[lower-alpha 1] 0 47 6
2007–08[31] Championship 43 8 5 1 1 1 — — 49 10
Total 135 21 12 3 4 1 — 3 0 154 25
Fulham 2008–09[32] Premier League 32 2 4 0 2 1 — — 38 3
2009–10[33] Premier League 27 2 4 1 1 1 18[lower-alpha 2] 6 — 50 10
2010–11[34] Premier League 27 1 3 1 2 2 — — 32 4
Total 86 5 11 2 5 4 18 6 — 120 17
West Bromwich Albion 2011–12[35] Premier League 3 0 0 0 0 0 — — 3 0
2012–13[36] Premier League 14 4 1 0 1 0 — — 16 4
2013–14 Premier League 13 0 1 0 0 0 — — 14 0
Total 30 4 2 0 1 0 — — 33 4
Ferencváros 2013–14[27] Nemzeti Bajnokság I 16 3 1 0 0 0 1 0 — 18 3
Total 16 3 1 0 0 0 1 0 — 18 3
Career totals 453 84 26 5 10 5 19 6 3 0 511 100
  1. ↑ Appearances in Football League Championship play-offs
  2. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa League

International career

Zoltán Gera playing for national team in November 2011.

Gera earned his first international cap on 13 February 2002 in a 2–1 defeat to Switzerland. Up to 2009 he had played 63 games in the Hungarian national football team, scoring 18 goals. Before the World Cup qualification match on 14 October 2009 between Denmark and Hungary, Gera was excluded from the match squad by coach Erwin Koeman after he arrived late at a team meeting. Following the incident Gera announced his retirement from the national team.[37] On 23 July 2010, the newly appointed board of the Hungarian Football Federation terminated the contract of Erwin Koeman and appointed Sándor Egervári as the new national team 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. On 7 September, Hungary started the FIFA world cup 2014 qualifying with a 5–0 win in Andorra; Gera scored the second goal.[38] On 16 October 2012, Hungary beat Turkey at home 3–1. Gera scored the third Hungarian goal.[39][40]

International statistics

National team Season Apps Goals
Hungary 2002 8 3
2003 6 2
2004 13 2
2005 6 2
2006 7 3
2007 10 3
2008 7 2
2009 6 1
2010 5 1
2011 5 2
2012 4 2
2013 0 0
2014 3 1
2015 6 0
Total 86 24

International goals

Personal life

Gera married on 19 June 2004; his wife gave birth to a boy named Szabolcs 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 to spend time with his family.[41][42] In 2005, Gera featured in a television advertisement for Pepsi, representing the 2006 FIFA World Cup alongside Thierry Henry, David Beckham, Roberto Carlos, Ronaldinho, Nicklas Bendtner, Neil Ruddock and Raúl.[43] Gera is a member of the Faith Church and was featured in billboard advertisements promoting the organization. He has often defended the church from its critics and promoted it several times in the media.[44]

Honours

Club

Ferencvárosi TC

West Bromwich Albion

Fulham

Individual

  • Tibor Simon Award: 2003
  • Hungarian Footballer of the Year: 2004 & 2005 [45]
  • Fulham Player of the Year: 2009–10

References

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  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Zoltan Gera signs new one-year contract with West Brom. Sky Sports. 14 August 2013.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.Lua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 28: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 27.3 27.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Appearances and goals for this season are taken from:
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  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. ↑ Gera retires from Hungary
  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  40. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  41. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  42. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  43. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  44. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  45. ↑ http://www.worldfootball.net/fussballer_des_jahres/ungarn/

External links

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