BOBBY ZAMORA

'Robert Lester "Bobby" Zamora' (born January 16, 1981 in Barking, London) is a native born English footballer of Trinidadian background who plays for English Premier League club, West Ham United.

Contents

Background

Club career

Bristol Rovers

Brighton & Hove Albion

Tottenham Hotspur

West Ham United

International career

References

External links

Background

Zamora attended Barking Abbey Secondary School. As a boy, he played for the Senrab football club in east London, alongside John Terry, Ledley King, Paul Konchesky and Jlloyd Samuel.^[1][2] A life-long West Ham fan, he started his footballing career as an apprentice at the club's famed "Academy of Football" but was released from the East London club on the same day as Jlloyd Samuel, Fitz Hall and Paul Konchesky,^[3] the latter of whom also returned to the Hammers.

Club career

Bristol Rovers

Zamora joined Bristol Rovers as a trainee in August 1999, making a total of six substitute appearances for Bristol Rovers in all competitions,''"Soccerbase: Bobby Zamora"'', Racing Post. Retrieved 20 June 2007. before joining Bath City on a one-month loan in early 2000, where he scored eight goals in six games,''"Zamora signs in at Spurs"'', TheFA.com, 18 July 2003. Retrieved 20 June 2007. and then Brighton & Hove Albion on loan in February 2000.

Brighton & Hove Albion

Zamora joined Brighton in February 2000 on a three-month loan until the end of the 1999-00 season, scoring six goals in six games. In August 2000, he made a permanent move to Brighton for £100,000.^[4] During his tenure he quickly established himself as a prolific goalscorer, breaking into the England under-21 team''"Zamora handed Under-21 chance"'', BBC Sport, 13 April 2002. Retrieved 30 June 2007. and attracting interest from several higher-division clubs.^[5][6] He scored 83 times for the club in 136 appearances, helping Brighton win two successive championships as the team won promotion into what became the Championship.^[7] The Brighton fans had a chant they used to sing in his honour, to the tune of Dean Martin's ''That's Amore'': "When the ball hits the goal, it's not Shearer or Cole, it's Zamora!"^[8]

Tottenham Hotspur

Having been watched for much of the previous two seasons by the then manager Glen Hoddle,^[9] Zamora moved to Tottenham Hotspur for £1.5 million in July 2003. However, he struggled to gain a consistent first-team place at White Hart Lane, making only 18 cup and league appearances, eleven as substitute, and scoring a single goal, knocking West Ham out of the Carling Cup in October 2003.^[10]

West Ham United

In January 2004, Zamora joined West Ham in a deal which saw Jermain Defoe go the other way to Tottenham.^[11] He quickly made his mark, scoring on his debut as West Ham came from behind to beat Bradford City^[12] and also on his home debut, when he scored the winning goal against Cardiff City^[13] In the 2004-05 season, Zamora scored 13 goals, including one in the first leg^[14] and two in the second leg^[15] of the Championship play-off semi-final against Ipswich Town and the only goal in West Ham's 1-0 victory over Preston North End in the Championship play-off final sending West Ham into the Premiership.^[16] In the 2005-06 season, he made 42 league and cup appearances and scored ten goals as West Ham finished in the top half of the Premier League and reached the FA Cup final,^[17] for which he received a FA Cup runners-up medal. He was rewarded for his contribution to the team with a new four year contract in January 2006,^[18] and extended it to 2011 in October 2006, saying, ''"I'm delighted to have extended my contract and I'm now looking forward to spending my long-term future at Upton Park. I've been here for almost three years now, and there is really no other place I would rather be. This is my club and wearing a claret and blue shirt is all I have ever wanted to do."''^[19] He started the 2006-07 season well, scoring five of the Hammers' six goal in the first four games of the season but, as West Ham hit a bad patch that saw them struggling in the relegation places, he did not score again until January 2007. However, he ended the season with eleven goals, including a controversial goal against Blackburn Rovers in March 2007^[20] and being the first player to score a winning goal against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium in April 2007,^[21] as West Ham pulled off an unexpected escape from relegation.^[22] At the end of the 2006-07 season, Zamora had made 138 league and cup appearances for West Ham, scoring 39 goals.

International career

Zamora was called up for the England Under-21 squad for a friendly with Portugal in April 2002. Zamora was named in the England Under-21 squad for the 2002 European Under-21 Championship with David Platt, the then England Under-21 team manager, saying of him, ''"My mistake was not going to have a look at him earlier than I did. He's been in one squad, did very well in training and came on for 25 minutes and did great. If I need a goal and look at my bench and see a player who has scored 30 for the past two seasons, there is a chance he could come on. He warrants his place. [...]"''^[23] Zamora was capped six times for the England Under-21 team.^[24]
Zamora was watched by the Trinidad and Tobago coach, Leo Beenhakker, who also spoke to Pardew. However, Zamora turned down the opportunity to play in the World Cup finals with Trinidad and Tobago, saying in August 2005, ''"Trinidad is my dad's country and to play in the finals would be a dream but West Ham are more important. I am only thinking about the club at the moment and do not want to be distracted from that."''^[25]

References

1. ''"Lessons from Senrab's soccer school"'', BBC Sport, 30 March 2004. Retrieved 30 June 2007.
2. ''"Zamora: I want to pick myself"'', TheFA.com, 5 June 2003. Retrieved 30 June 2007.
3. Sam Pilger (October 2003). ''"The Boy's A Bit Special"'', FourFourTwo, issue 110, p. 31.
4. ''"Seagulls swoop for Zamora"'', BBC Sport, 10 August 2000. Retrieved 30 June 2007.
5. ''"Brighton reject record Zamora bid"'', BBC Sport, 19 February 2001. Retrieved 30 June 2007.
6. ''"Everton cool on Zamora"'', BBC Sport, 16 January 2002. Retrieved 30 June 2007.
7. ''"Brighton 0-0 Swindon"'', BBC Sport, 13 April 2002. Retrieved 30 June 2007.
8. ''"Zamora ready for the big time"'', BBC Sport, 18 April 2003. Retrieved 30 June 2007.
9. Hoddle goes for youth with £2m Zamora
10. ''"Tottenham 1-0 West Ham"'', BBC Sport, 29 October 2003. Retrieved 6 July 2007.
11. ''"Spurs sign Defoe"'', BBC Sport, 2 February 2004. Retrieved 20 June 2007.
12. ''"Bradford 1-2 West Ham"'', BBC Sport, 6 February 2004. Retrieved 6 July 2007.
13. ''"West Ham 1-0 Cardiff"'', BBC Sport, 28 February 2004. Retrieved 6 July 2007.
14. ''"West Ham 2-2 Ipswich"'', BBC Sport, 14 May 2005. Retrieved 6 July 2007.
15. ''"Ipswich 0-2 West Ham"'', BBC Sport, 18 May 2005. Retrieved 6 july 2007.
16. puts Hammers back into Premiership"'', BBC Sport, 30 May 2005. Retrieved 5 July 2007.
17. ''"Liverpool 3-3 West Ham (aet)"'', BBC Sport, 13 May 2006. Retrieved 9 July 2007.
18. ''"Zamora pens new Hammers contract"'', BBC Sport, 18 January 2006. Retrieved 10 July 2007.
19. ''"Zamora signs new Hammers contract"'', BBC Sport, 7 October 2006. Retrieved 10 July 2007.
20. ''"Blackburn 1-2 West Ham"'', BBC Sport, 17 March 2007. Retrieved 10 July 2007.
21. ''"Arsenal 0-1 West Ham"'', BBC Sport, 7 April 2007. Retrieved 10 July 2007.
22. ''"Magnusson hails West Ham survival"'', BBC Sport, 13 May 2007. Retrieved 10 July 2007.
23. ''"Platt hails Zamora"'', BBC Sport, 9 May 2002. Retrieved 30 June 2007.
24. ''"England U21 Caps, 1976-present"'', TheFA.com. Retrieved 30 June 2007.
25. ''"Zamora turns down Trinidad call"'', BBC Sport, 21 August 2005. Retrieved 10 July 2007.

External links

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