Bobby Zamora

At 43 years old, Bobby Zamora has this physical status:

Robert Lester Zamora (born January 1981) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker.

Zamora began his football career with Bristol Rovers, but Brighton & Hove Albion followed him shortly, where he found first-team success.

Zamora played 77 goals in three seasons and helped the club win two consecutive promotions. Zamora was signed by West Ham United, where he played for five years and gained promotion to the Premier League after a stint with Tottenham Hotspur.

Zamora joined Fulham in 2008, where he played regularly but not scored in his first season.

However, Zamora's form in the 2009-2010 season earned attention, and the player was given a call-up for England.

Before transferring to Queens Park Rangers in January 2012, Zamora was instrumental in Fulham's victories in the Premier League, FA Cup, and UEFA Europa League.

In 2015, he returned to play for Brighton again and then retired from football in December 2016. Zamora also played for the England national under-21 team before winning his first full cap at senior level almost a decade later.

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Club career

Zamora began playing for Bristol Rovers in August 1999, making six substitute appearances for the Bristol Rovers in all competitions before joining Bath City on a one-month loan in early 2000, where he scored 11 goals in eight appearances, and then Brighton & Hove Albion on loan in February 2000.

Zamora joined Brighton in February 2000 on a three-month loan until the end of the 1999–2000 season, scoring six goals in six appearances. In August 2000, he made a permanent move to Brighton for a £100,000 fee. He quickly established himself as a prolific goalscorer, breaking into the England national under-21 squad and attracting attention from a number of top-division clubs. He scored 83 times for the club in 136 appearances, helping Brighton win two consecutive championships as the team advanced to the Championship. "It's Amore" was the Brighton fans' chant, not Shearer or Cole": "It's Zamora" when the ball hits the goal.

Zamora departed Tottenham Hotspur for a £1.5 million fee in July 2003 after being watched for much of the previous two seasons by then manager Glenn Hoddle. However, he failed to win a solid first-team spot at White Hart Lane, making only 18 cup and league appearances, 11 as replacement, and scoring a single goal, knocking West Ham United out of the League Cup in October 2003.

Zamora joined West Ham in January 2004 in a transfer that saw Jermain Defoe and Tottenham Hotspur go the other way. As West Ham came from behind to defeat Bradford City and then on his home debut against Cardiff City, he made his mark by scoring on his debut.

Zamora scored 13 goals, including two in the first leg and two others in the Championship play-off semifinal against Preston North End in the 2005 Premier League, moving West Ham into the Premier League for the first time in the 2004 season. As West Ham finished in the top half of the Premier League and reached the FA Cup final in 2005, he made 42 league and cup appearances and scored ten goals. He was given a new four-year contract in January 2006 and then extended it to 2011. "I'm excited to have extended my service and I'm looking forward to spending my long-term future at Upton Park." I've been here for almost three years, and there is no other place I'd rather be. I have a dream to do this.

He started the 2006–07 season strong, scoring five of West Ham's six goals in the first four games of the season, but unfortunately, the West Hams did not score again until January 2007. However, he finished the season with 11 goals, including a controversial goal against Blackburn Rovers in March 2007 and being the first player to score a winning goal against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium in April 2007, giving West Ham a rare escape from relegation. In 2007, he made 14 appearances for West Ham in the 2007-08 season after suffering with tendinitis in August 2007, but scored against Derby in West Ham's 2–1 win. Zamora had appeared in all West Ham competitions by the end of the 2007-08 season, scoring 40 goals.

Fulham and teammate John Paintsil were paid £6.3 million in July 2008, with Zamora accounting for £4.8 million of the bill. Zamora struggled to find the net in his first season with Fulham, scoring just twice in 35 league appearances over the 2008–09 season. Fulham and Hull City decided a fee on July 15th, which would have seen Zamora move to Hull for £5 million, which would have ended the season. Zamora turned down a bid to remain with Fulham.

He played in a friendly against Peterborough United and scored twice in a 3–3 draw, just shy of his turndown Hull. He made his UEFA Europa League debut against FK Vátra of Lithuania on Thursday, scoring once and setting up two goals to give Fulham a 3–0 away advantage going into the second leg. On the first day of the season, he opened his 2009–10 Premier League account by hitting him on the back and defeating David James in the Portsmouth goal. Fulham defeated Hull 2–0 on October 19, 2009, in his second game of the season. Zamora doubled his output from the previous season with his fourth goal of the season. Zamora held his finger against his lips in reaction to the Fulham supporters who had previously mocked him.

Zamora scored twice against Basel in a 3–2 victory at St. Jakob-Park on December 17, 2009, with Fulham needing a victory to advance from Group E in the UEFA Europa League. Zamora defeated Manchester United 3–0 at Craven Cottage, sparking talk of a call-up to the England squad two days later. During Fulham's 3–2 loss to Stoke City on January 5, he dislocated his shoulder at the Britannia Stadium.

In Fulham's UEFA Europa League Round 32 first leg match against Shakhtar Donetsk, Zamora struck the winner, bringing the Premier League team a 2–1 victory. Zamora continued his scoring form against Birmingham City on February 22, 2010 after scoring a last-minute free-kick as Fulham came from behind to win 2–1. Zamora also scored Fulham's first goal in what was a UEFA Europa League comeback against Juventus, with Fulham winning 4–1 on the night and 5–4 on aggregate. Zamora was largely praised for the difficulties he caused Juventus' veteran captain Fabio Cannavaro, who was dismissed in the 27th minute after saying that the Italian was past his best before the match. Fulham's man continued to impress on the European stage, scoring in both legs of a 3–1 aggregate victory over reigning Bundesliga champions Wolfsburg as Fulham progressed to the UEFA Europa League semi-finals. He scored in just 22 seconds on the second leg of Germany. Fulham went on to qualify for the final of the UEFA Europa League, but Zamora's fitness was in question, they were defeated 2–1 by Atlético Madrid of Spain.

Zamora signed a new four-year deal with Fulham on September 10, 2010, extending his stay at the London club until the summer of 2014. Following a challenge from Karl Henry that sparked outrage, Zamora broke his leg during a match against Wolverhampton Wanderers the next day. In the FA-Cup match against Bolton Wanderers on February 21, 2011, Zamora recovered from injury as a replacement. With a game-deciding penalty against Blackburn Rovers on March 5, 2011, he marked his Premier League return as a replacement.

Zamora joined Fulham's west London Premier League rivals Queens Park Rangers on a two-and-a-half year deal for a fee estimated to be around £4 million. In a 2–1 loss to Wolverhampton Wanderers on February 4, he scored on his debut on February 4th. Zamora will be out for three months due to a hip injury requiring surgery on a hip. Zamora was a member of the Queens Park Rangers team that defeated Derby County 11-0 in the 2014 Championship play-off final 1–0 at Wembley Stadium on May 24th. After a one-season absence, QPR returned to the Premier League in the 90th minute for the first time in the match. Queens Park Rangers announced the release of Zamora in May 2015.

Zamora joined Brighton on a free transfer on August 3rd. He said he turned down a bid by a side competing in the UEFA Champions League to return to Brighton. On return to Brighton, he was an 89th-minute winner over Leeds United on October 17, 2015, 4,549 days after his last goal for the club in a 2–2 draw at Grimsby on May 4, 2003. Zamora was fired by Brighton after his deal came to an end in 2015–16.

In December 2016, Zamora resigned from football. He hadn't played since March 2016, and he was dealing with a hip injury for which he had undergone surgery. Other than football, Mark Noble and Rio Ferdinand are interested in a social housing project.

International career

In April 2002, Zamora was called up to the England Under-21 squad for a friendly against Portugal. Zamora was selected in the England Under-21 Championship 2002 with David Platt, then England under-21 manager, saying, "My mistake was not going to have a look at him earlier than I did." He was in one squad, did well in preparation, and came on for 25 minutes and did excellent. If I need a goal and a look at my bench, there is a chance that he might play again. He argues for his position. "Zmora was capped six times for the England Under-21 team," Zamora said.

Leo Beenhakker, the Trinidad and Tobago coach who also talked to his club manager at the time Alan Pardew, was watching Zamora. Zamora denied the chance of participating in the 2006 FIFA World Cup with Trinidad and Tobago in August 2005, saying, "Trinidad is my dad's home country and playing in the finals would be a dream," says Zamora, but West Ham are more relevant. At the moment, I am only thinking about the club and do not want to be distracted from it."

Zamora and Jlloyd Samuel had obtained their Trinidadian passports and would play for the Soca Warriors against El Salvador on August 7th, 2009. However, Zamora did not get his first cap due to an injury he suffered while training. Zamora's appearance in the 2009–10 season prompted calls for his call up to the England squad, and there had been rumors that Fabio Capello had been to Craven Cottage to look at his results. However, he did not qualify for Fabio Capello's provisional squad of 30 players for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, which was announced on May 10th, 2010 due to an Achilles injury.

Zamora was one of five uncapped players named in the England squad for their friendly against Hungary on August 7th, alongside Jack Wilshere, Kieran Gibbs, Michael Dawson, and Gary Cahill. Zamora, a ten-time substitute against Hungary in a 2–1 win at Wembley Stadium on August 11, earned his first England cap in a friendly.

Zamora was selected for the England squad against Switzerland in the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifier at Wembley Stadium on May 23, 2011. Zamora made his full England debut on November 15, 2011 by launching the 1–0 friendly victory over Sweden at Wembley Stadium.

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