Zoltán Gera facts for kids
Gera playing for Hungary at Euro 2016
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 22 April 1979 | ||
| Place of birth | Pécs, Hungary | ||
| Height | 1.83 m | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Vasas SC (manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1993–1996 | Pécsi Bőrgyár | ||
| Pécsi Zsolnay | |||
| Pécsi Kinizsi | |||
| 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 | 86 | (5) |
| 2011–2014 | West Bromwich Albion | 30 | (4) |
| 2014–2018 | Ferencváros | 89 | (15) |
| Total | 526 | (91) | |
| National team | |||
| 1999–2000 | Hungary U21 | 3 | (0) |
| 2002–2017 | Hungary | 97 | (26) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2018–2019 | Ferencváros (assistant manager) | ||
| 2018–2021 | Hungary (assistant manager) | ||
| 2019–2024 | Hungary U21 | ||
| 2024 | Vasas SC | ||
| 2024– | Kecskeméti TE | ||
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Zoltán Gera (born 22 April 1979) is a famous Hungarian former footballer. He played as a midfielder for many teams, including Fulham, Pécsi Mecsek, and Harkány SE. He also had two different times playing for Ferencváros and West Bromwich Albion.
Gera was well-known for his amazing overhead-kick goals. He also had a cool celebration: a cartwheel followed by a back-flip! He showed this off during a big game for Fulham against Juventus in 2010. He was named Hungarian Player of the Year three times: in 2002, 2004, and 2005. Because of his great playing in the 2009–10 season, especially his goals in the Europa League, Fulham fans voted him their Player of the Season.
Zoltán Gera first played for the Hungarian national team in 2002. He retired briefly in 2009 after a disagreement with the coach. But he came back in 2010 and even played for Hungary in the 2016 UEFA European Championship. He officially stopped playing football on 28 June 2018.
Contents
Zoltán Gera: A Football Star
Early Club Career
Zoltán Gera began his professional football journey with Harkány SE in 1996. He played there for one year.
After that, he joined Pécsi Mecsek in 1997. He played 87 games and scored 16 goals for them over three years. On 1 July 2000, Gera moved to one of Hungary's biggest clubs, Ferencváros.
Success with Ferencváros
During his first four years at Ferencváros, Gera played 115 league games and scored 32 goals. He helped his team win the Hungarian league title in 2001 and 2004. They also won the Magyar Kupa (Hungarian Cup) in 2003 and 2004, and the Szuperkupa (Super Cup) in 2004. While playing for Ferencváros, he was first called up to play for the Hungarian national team.
Playing in England: West Bromwich Albion
On 30 July 2004, Gera moved to England to play for Premier League club West Bromwich Albion. He signed a three-year contract. He played his first Premier League game on 14 August 2004.
Gera quickly became an important player for West Brom. He scored his first league goal in his first start on 25 August 2004. West Brom was fighting to stay in the Premier League that season, and Gera's strong performances, like scoring a winning goal against Everton, helped them stay up. He scored six goals and played in all 38 league matches that season.
During the 2005–06 season, Gera had some injuries. West Brom was relegated to the Championship, but Gera decided to stay with the club. He helped them get promoted back to the Premier League in the 2007–08 season. On 9 June 2008, he decided to leave West Brom and join Fulham in the Premier League.
Fulham Adventures
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Gera made his debut for Fulham in August 2008. He scored his first goal for them in a 2–0 win against Manchester United.
The 2009–10 Premier League season was a big one for Gera. He scored important goals, including two in a fantastic 4–1 win against Juventus. He also scored the goal that sent Fulham to their first-ever European final in a 2–1 victory against Hamburger SV. Fulham lost the final 2–1, but Gera provided the assist for their only goal. Because of his great play, fans voted him Fulham's Player of the Season for that year.
In the 2010–11 season, Gera scored a hat-trick in a friendly game and two goals in a League Cup match. His first league goal was a powerful shot against his old club, West Brom. He was sent off in Fulham's last game of the season, but Fulham still managed to qualify for the Europa League.
In June 2011, Fulham announced that Gera would be leaving the club.
Back to West Bromwich Albion
On 2 August 2011, Zoltán Gera rejoined West Bromwich Albion. He made his second debut for the club in November 2011. However, he got injured later that month and missed the rest of the season.
After nine months, Gera returned to play for West Brom on the first day of the 2012–13 Premier League season. He scored a great goal from 25 yards, helping his team win 3–0 against Liverpool. Sadly, he got another knee injury in January 2013, which kept him out for the rest of that season too. Gera's contract with West Brom ended in 2014, and he left the club.
Return to Ferencváros
In 2014, Gera returned to his former club, Ferencváros. On 2 April 2016, he became a Hungarian League champion with Ferencváros.
He scored the winning goal in the 2016 Magyar Kupa Final on 7 May 2016 against their big rivals, Újpest FC.
International Games for Hungary
Zoltán Gera played his first international game for the Hungary national team on 13 February 2002. By 2009, he had played 63 games and scored 18 goals for Hungary.
In 2009, he briefly retired from the national team after a disagreement with the coach. But in 2010, a new coach was appointed, and Gera returned to the team.
On 29 March 2011, Gera scored two goals against the Netherlands in a UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying match. Even though he scored twice, Hungary lost the game 5–3. He also scored important goals in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Turkey.
Euro 2016 Performance
On 31 May 2016, Gera was chosen as the vice-captain for the Hungarian team at Euro 2016 in France. He played in all of Hungary's group matches.
In the last group match against Portugal on 22 June, Gera scored the first goal with an amazing shot from far away. He was 37 years and 62 days old, making him one of the oldest goalscorers in the history of the European Championship. His goal was later voted the "Goal of the Tournament" by fans!
Managerial Career
Hungary U-21
In 2019, Zoltán Gera became the head coach of the Hungary national under-21 football team. His first game as coach was a draw against Denmark on 6 September 2019. He resigned from this role on 26 February 2024.
Vasas
On 26 February 2024, he was appointed as the manager of Vasas SC, a club in the second division of Hungarian football. However, Vasas did not get promoted to the top division. He left Vasas on 21 August 2024.
Kecskemét
On 16 October 2024, Gera became the manager of Kecskeméti TE, a club in the top Hungarian league. His first game as coach for Kecskemét ended in a 3-0 loss.
Personal Life
Zoltán Gera got married on 19 June 2004. His son, Szabolcs, was born on 15 March 2008. In 2005, Gera appeared in a TV advertisement for Pepsi for the 2006 World Cup. He was in the ad with other famous footballers like Thierry Henry and David Beckham.
Honours
Ferencváros
- Nemzeti Bajnokság I (Hungarian League): 2000–01, 2003–04, 2015–16
- Magyar Kupa (Hungarian Cup): 2002–03, 2003–04, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17
- Ligakupa (League Cup): 2014–15
- Szuperkupa (Super Cup): 2004, 2015, 2016
West Bromwich Albion
- Football League Championship: 2007–08 (promoted to Premier League)
Fulham
- UEFA Europa League runner-up: 2009–10 (reached the final)
Individual Awards
- Tibor Simon Award: 2003
- Hungarian Footballer of the Year: 2004 & 2005
- Fulham Player of the Year: 2009–10
- UEFA Euro 2016 Fan's Goal of the Tournament
Images for kids
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Gera played in the 2010 UEFA Europa League Final.
See also
In Spanish: Zoltán Gera para niños
