Gabor Kiraly

Gabor Ferenc Kiraly (Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈɡaːbor ˈfɛrɛnt͡s ˈkiraːj]; born 1 April 1976) is a Hungarian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

In his 25-year-long playing career, Kiraly spent most of his career in Germany and England. He signed for Hertha BSC in 1997, going on to appear in 198 official games, and played for 1860 Munich later in his career. In England, he represented Crystal Palace, Burnley, and Fulham and had loan spells with West Ham United, and Aston Villa. In 2015, he re-joined his hometown team Szombathelyi Haladas.

Since making his international debut against Austria in 1998, Kiraly amassed a record 108 caps for the Hungary national team. He represented his nation at UEFA Euro 2016, and on 14 June 2016, he became the oldest player to represent their country at a UEFA European Championship at 40 years and 74 days, beating the previous record of 39 years and 91 days held by Lothar Matthaus. The record was later extended to 40 years and 86 days on 26 June 2016. Kiraly retired from international football after the tournament.

Throughout his career, Kiraly was known for wearing a recognisable pair of grey tracksuit bottoms instead of shorts in almost every match he played.

Club Career

Early career

Born in Szombathely, Kiraly began his career with local club Szombathelyi Haladas in 1993, moving to Bundesliga club Hertha BSC in 1997.

Hertha BSC

At Hertha, he was initially the second-choice keeper, but after a streak of seven matches without a win, he was chosen over the first-choice goalkeeper Christian Fiedler for Hertha's home match against 1. FC Koln on 28 September 1997 in which they managed their first Bundesliga victory that season. He subsequently became the first-choice keeper and Fiedler did not appear in the Bundesliga for more than two years, until February 2000, when Kiraly missed seven league matches due to an injury.

This page also has a version in other languages :  Габор Кирай (russian)