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
Playing position	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)
National team
1993–1994	Hungary U18	6	(0)
1996–1997	Hungary U21	5	(0)
1998–2016	Hungary	108	(0)
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

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

Király played football for 25 years. He spent most of his career playing for clubs in Germany and England. In Germany, he played for Hertha BSC and 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 play for his hometown team, Szombathelyi Haladás.

Gábor Király also played for the Hungarian national team. He made his first international appearance in 1998. He played a record 108 games for Hungary. He even played in the UEFA Euro 2016 tournament. On 14 June 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 record set by Lothar Matthäus. Király stopped playing for the national team after that tournament.

Gábor Király's Club Career

Starting Out in Hungary and Germany

Gábor Király was born in Szombathely, Hungary. He began his football journey with his local club, Szombathelyi Haladás, in 1993. After a few years, he moved to Germany in 1997 to play for Bundesliga club Hertha BSC.

Playing for Hertha BSC

When Király first joined Hertha, he was the second-choice goalkeeper. But after the team struggled, he got his chance to play. On 28 September 1997, he played his first Bundesliga match against 1. FC Köln. Hertha won that game, and Király became the main goalkeeper. He even played in 10 UEFA Champions League matches for Hertha during the 1999–2000 season.

Later, a new coach arrived in 2003. Király lost his starting spot and decided to leave the club. He had played nearly 200 top-level matches for Hertha.

Time in England with Crystal Palace

In 2004, Király joined Crystal Palace in England. At first, another goalkeeper was chosen to start. But Király got his chance in a League Cup game. His good performance helped him become the main goalkeeper for Crystal Palace.

He played 32 matches in the Premier League before Crystal Palace was moved down to a lower league in 2005. He continued to play for them in the Championship for the next season.

Loan Spells and Leaving Palace

In 2006, Király asked to leave Crystal Palace. He had short loan periods with two other Premier League teams: West Ham United and Aston Villa. He didn't play any games for West Ham. At Aston Villa, he played a few matches, which meant he was back in the Premier League after 18 months.

After his loan spells, he returned to Crystal Palace and played until the end of the 2006–07 season. He then left the club.

Moving to Burnley and 1860 Munich

Király joined Burnley in May 2007. In January 2009, he had another short loan spell, this time with Bayer Leverkusen in Germany.

In June 2009, Király signed a three-year contract with TSV 1860 Munich back in Germany. He played many games for them. In 2014, he was temporarily moved from the main team to the second squad.

Final Years with Fulham and Haladás

On 28 August 2014, Király signed with English team Fulham. He made his debut for Fulham in September 2014. He played a few matches for them before leaving.

In 2015, Király returned to his first club, Szombathelyi Haladás, in Hungary. He played for them until May 2019, when he announced he was retiring from playing football.

Gábor Király's International Career

Gábor Király played for the Hungarian national team for many years. His first game was against Austria on 25 March 1998. Just four minutes into the game, he saved a penalty kick! Hungary went on to win the match 3–2.

He played in all ten of Hungary's qualifying matches for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Reaching 100 Caps and Euro 2016

On 12 November 2015, Király played his 100th game for Hungary. This was during a match against Norway in the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying play-offs. He became only the second Hungarian player to reach 100 international games.

Király was chosen to be part of Hungary's team for the UEFA Euro 2016 tournament.

• On 14 June 2016, he played in Hungary's first group match against Austria. Hungary won 2–0. In this game, Király became the oldest player ever to play in the European Championship, at 40 years and 74 days old.
• He also played in the next two group matches against Iceland and Portugal.
• He played in the Round of 16 match against Belgium. Hungary lost 4–0. In this game, he extended his record as the oldest player in the tournament, being 40 years and 86 days old.

Király announced he was retiring from international football on 2 August 2016. However, he played one last special "testimonial" match against Sweden on 15 November 2016. He played for the first 30 minutes of that game.

Why the Tracksuit Bottoms?

Gábor Király is famous for always wearing a pair of grey tracksuit bottoms instead of shorts. He has worn them in almost every match since 1996. Many people have noticed his unusual choice of clothing.

He once said in an interview that the grey color brings him good luck. He also explained that it's about comfort. He said, "I'm a goalie, not a top model." He mentioned playing on cold or frozen fields, which can hurt your legs when you dive. So, tracksuit bottoms felt like the right choice. He always picked a size bigger to make it easier to move around. He tried wearing shorts when he played in Germany and England, but it just didn't feel right for him. For Király, the most important thing was how he played, not how he looked.

Király SZE: His Own 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 footballers with 100 or more caps