Zoltán Gera

Zoltán Gera was an attacking midfielder who played at Fulham from 2008 until 2011. A Hungarian international who made just shy of 100 caps, he was a big part of the 2009-10 team who made it to the Europa League Final.

Before Fulham
Zoltán was born in Pécs, a town in the Baranya County of Hungary. It was here where he grew up, joining local club Pécsi Bőrgyár in 1993 at the age of 14. He then played for another Baranya club in Harkány SE, where he spent just one season in 1996-97 until he was spotted and signed for the top professional club in the area - Pécsi MFC, who were playing in Nemzeti Bajnokság II, the second tier of Hungarian football.

After three years with Pécsi MFC and consistent performances, Zoltán was signed by Hungarian giants Ferencváros in the year 2000. Spending four years the club he would later rejoin, he helped them win two national titles and two national cups, as well as gaining his first international caps before departing moving to England.

In the summer of 2004, Zoltán signed for Premier League club West Bromwich Albion for a fee or around £2 million upon their promotion from the Championship. He aided them to survival in his first season with the Baggies but could not prevent them from being relegated back to the Championship in 2006. However, after failing to secure immediate promotion, he helped them win the League at return to the Premier League in 2008 just prior to his move to Craven Cottage.

Fulham (2008-2011)
Zoltán signed for Fulham on 1 July 2008 on a free transfer from West Bromwich Albion following the expiry of his contract. He made his debut in the 2008-09 season opener away to Hull City, in a 2-1 defeat. His first goal for the club came 11 days later in a 3-2 win over Leicester City in the League Cup.

He struggled to maintain the sort of form in his first year that he would go on to show with the club in the following two seasons, but nevertheless made 38 appearances in all competitions during 2008-09, though a notable highlight for him and the club came on 21 March 2009 where he scored the second goal in a 2-0 victory over Premier League champions Manchester United.

The 2009-10 season was by far the best season at the club for Zoltán, where he helped them to achieve a run to the Europa League Final in 2010, whilst scoring the winning goal that took them there during an unforgettable night at Craven Cottage when Fulham beat Hamburg 2-1. He was also voted as the fans' Player of the Season for 2009-10.

Despite starting the 2010-11 season by scoring a hat-trick in a 5-1 friendly win over Werder Bremen and a brace in a 6-0 victory over Port Vale in the League Cup, Zoltán was not often selected as a starter by new manager Mark Hughes and as a result was allowed to leave at the end of the season at the expiry of his contract.

After Fulham
Zoltán re-joined his former club West Bromwich Albion on a free trasfer on 2 August 2011, teaming up once more with former-Fulham manager Roy Hodgson who was then in charge of the club. Unfortunately for Zoltán, he sustained a ruptured anterior cruciate injury in his left knee only three games in against Tottenham Hotspur which kept him out for the entire 2011-12 season.

After playing the first half of the 2012-13 season, Zoltán once more ruptured the same ligament in his knee during an FA Cup tie against Queens Park Rangers in January 2013, which saw him out for another 11 months. Despite making yet another comeback and making another 15 appearances for West Brom, he was released in the summer of 2014.

He returned to his native Hungary and rejoined another former club in Ferencváros on a free trasfer on 9 July 2014. At the age of 35 and with two serious knee injuries behind him, he managed to resurrect his career both at club and international level.

He went on to win another national title, three national cups and two super cups with them before retiring from playing in 2018 at the age of 39. The following season he became both the Ferencváros and Hungarian national team's assistant manager, before taking up the post of Hungary U21 head coach in 2019.