Zoltan Gera is a Hungarian midfielder who can take on both a defensive and attacking role. He performed both at home and abroad, or rather, in England. In addition, he spent almost a hundred matches for the national team of Hungary.
Carier start
Zoltan Gera was born on April 22, 1979 in Hungary, but ended up at the football academy only in 1993, when he was already fourteen years old. For four years, he changed three different academies, until he ended up in the Harkani club system, from where he proceeded to the Pech club, with which he entered into a professional contract. He began performing at a professional level at the same time in 1997, but was unable to break into the main team, so for three years he defended the colors of the club’s double. After spending 74 mats there and scoring 14 goals, Zoltan Gera got a good chance - he was offered a contract with one of the strongest Hungarian clubs - with Ferencvaros. It was there that the midfielder opened up from the best side, having received a ticket to real football life.
Transition to Ferencvaros
In Ferencvaros, Zoltan immediately got a seat at the base and began to play in the position of a central midfielder. For four years, he was one of the key players in the Hungarian club, playing in 115 matches and scoring 32 goals. Together with the club, he won the Hungarian Championship three times and won the Hungarian Cup four times. Moreover, he stood out as one of the strongest Hungarian football players of that time, so in 2004 he was inevitably followed by invitations from clubs from the leading European championships. The most attractive was the offer from West Brom, who paid two and a half million euros for the Hungarian.
Relocation to England
It was then that everyone learned about who Hera was - in the first two seasons, when the club played in the Higher League, he played in 58 matches, scoring 9 goals. But then West Bromwich flew to the Championship - and Zoltan did not leave his club in trouble. For two more years he played for West Bromwich, adding 97 matches and 16 goals, but his level was clearly higher than the Second League, so he did not renew his contract with the club. And in 2008, the 29-year-old midfielder moved to a new club, which was Fulham, who played in the Premier League.
The game for Fulham
Hera quickly joined the Fulham and spent three great seasons there, for which he entered the field in 120 matches, scoring 17 goals. Moreover, it was in Fulham, in his second season, that he made his debut in Eurocups, having played in the Europa League in 18 matches. But in 2011, the club was faced with financial problems, because of which it was forced to release a number of leading players for free - among them was Hera, who decided to return to West Brom.
Return to West Bromwich
Returning to his old club, the Hungarian spent three more years there, but given the fact that he was 32 years old at the time of his arrival, he did not receive much playing practice. Over the three seasons, Hera played only 36 matches, scoring five goals. In 2014, the contract of the 35-year-old player came to an end, and Zoltan returned again - this time to Ferencvaros.
Return to the Ferencvaros
At Ferencvaros, Hera has already spent two seasons, having played in 74 matches and scored 14 goals. This season, 13 matches, scoring two goals in them - he is already 37, and his current contract with the club expires in 2017.
Team appearances
Zoltan Gera is one of the champions of the national team of Hungary - he played 95 matches for her. By this indicator, he is second only to goalkeeper Gabor Kirali, and to Jozsef Bozik who played in the middle of the last century. In addition, he is one of the six top scorers with 25 goals. And it’s worth separately telling about the goal of Zoltan Gera at Euro 2016. This tournament was the first in the history of modern football Hungary, to which this country was able to break through. The midfielder played in all four matches, but it was with the Portuguese that Zoltan Gera was able to distinguish himself. Portugal missed a goal from him, which was eventually recognized as the most beautiful in the entire tournament.