Gábor Király facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Gábor Király

Király training with 1860 Munich in 2011
Personal information
Full name	Gábor Ferenc Király
Date of birth	(1976-04-01) 1 April 1976 (age 49)
Place of birth	Szombathely, Hungary
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1993–1997	Haladás	96	(0)
1997–2004	Hertha BSC	198	(0)
2004–2007	Crystal Palace	104	(0)
2006	→ West Ham United (loan)	0	(0)
2006–2007	→ Aston Villa (loan)	5	(0)
2007–2009	Burnley	27	(0)
2009	→ Bayer Leverkusen (loan)	0	(0)
2009–2014	1860 Munich	168	(0)
2014–2015	Fulham	4	(0)
2015–2019	Haladás	107	(0)
Total		709	(0)
International career
1993–1994	Hungary U18	6	(0)
1996–1997	Hungary U21	5	(0)
1998–2016	Hungary	108	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Gábor Ferenc Király (born on April 1, 1976) is a Hungarian former professional footballer. He played as a goalkeeper. He is famous for always wearing grey tracksuit bottoms instead of shorts during matches.

Király played football for 25 years. Most of his career was spent playing in Germany and England. He joined Hertha BSC in 1997 and played 198 games for them. Later, he played for 1860 Munich. In England, he played for Crystal Palace, Burnley, and Fulham. He also had short loan periods with West Ham United and Aston Villa. In 2015, he returned to his hometown team, Haladás.

Király played for the Hungarian national team 108 times, which is a record. He played in the UEFA Euro 2016 tournament. On June 14, 2016, he became the oldest player ever to play in a UEFA European Championship. He was 40 years and 74 days old. He broke the old record held by Lothar Matthäus. Király retired from playing for his country after the tournament.

Club Career Highlights

Starting Out in Football

Gábor Király was born in Szombathely, Hungary. He started his football journey with his local club, Haladás, in 1993. In 1997, he moved to Germany to play for Bundesliga club Hertha BSC.

Playing for Hertha BSC

When Király first joined Hertha, he was the second-choice goalkeeper. But after his team struggled for seven games without a win, he got his chance. He became the main goalkeeper for Hertha's home game against 1. FC Köln on September 28, 1997. Hertha won that game, their first victory of the season. Király then became the team's regular goalkeeper. He even played in 10 UEFA Champions League matches during the 1999–2000 season.

However, in 2004, a new coach arrived, and Király lost his starting spot. He was told his contract would only be renewed if he took less money. He played his last few minutes for Hertha in their final game of the season. Overall, he played almost 200 top-level matches for Hertha.

Time at Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace signed Király in 2004. He quickly became their main goalkeeper. During one game, his famous tracksuit bottoms got ripped, and he had to find another pair! He played 32 Premier League games before Crystal Palace moved down to a lower league in 2005. He continued to play for them in the Championship for the next season.

In 2006, Király wanted to move to a Premier League team. He even saved a penalty against England while playing for Hungary. But no offers came, so he stayed at Palace. He had short loan spells at West Ham United and Aston Villa. At Aston Villa, he played in the Premier League again after a long time. He returned to Crystal Palace in early 2007 and played until the end of the season.

Moving to Other Clubs

Király joined Burnley in 2007. In 2009, he had a short loan period at Bayer Leverkusen.

Király at 1860 Munich, 2009

In June 2009, Király signed a three-year contract with TSV 1860 Munich. He played many games for them. In 2014, he had a disagreement with a teammate and was temporarily moved to the second team.

On August 28, 2014, Király signed with English team Fulham. He made his debut against Reading.

Retirement from Playing

Gábor Király announced that he was retiring from playing professional football in May 2019.

International Career for Hungary

Király first played for the Hungarian national team on March 25, 1998, against Austria. In that game, he saved a penalty kick after only four minutes! Hungary won the match 3–2. He played in all ten of Hungary's qualifying matches for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

On November 12, 2015, he played his 100th game for Hungary. This happened in a 1–0 win against Norway. He was only the second Hungarian player to reach 100 international games.

Király was chosen for Hungary's team for UEFA Euro 2016. On June 14, 2016, he played in Hungary's first group match against Austria. Hungary won 2–0. By playing in this game, he became the oldest player ever to appear in the European Championship, at 40 years and 74 days old. He played in all of Hungary's matches at the tournament. His last game was a 4–0 loss to Belgium in the round of 16. In that game, he extended his record to 40 years and 86 days. He announced his retirement from international football on August 2, 2016. However, he played one more special farewell match against Sweden on November 15, 2016.

The Famous Tracksuit Trousers

Throughout his career, Gábor Király was known for wearing grey tracksuit bottoms instead of shorts in almost every match. He started doing this in 1996. Many people noticed his unusual choice of clothing.

Király said that he wore the grey tracksuit bottoms because they brought him good luck. He also explained that comfort was very important to him. He mentioned playing on cold or frozen fields, which could hurt his legs when he dived. So, tracksuit bottoms felt more comfortable and kept him warm. He tried wearing shorts when he played in Germany and England, but he said it just didn't feel right for him. For Király, the most important thing was how he played, not how he looked.

Király SZE Football Club

In 2006, Gábor Király started his very own association football club called Király SZE.

Career Statistics

Honours and Awards

Hertha Berlin

• DFL-Ligapokal: 2001, 2002

Individual Awards

• UEFA Save of the Season: 2015–16

See also

In Spanish: Gábor Király para niños

• List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps