Welcome to Last Word on Football’s ‘Returning Players’ series. In this edition, we take a look at former striker Bobby Zamora.
Zamora is highly revered at the club and regarded as one of Brighton & Hove Albion’s greatest players of all time after scoring 90 goals for the Seagulls in two separate spells, becoming synonymous with the club’s success during the early years of their stay at Withdean.
His success was not limited to Brighton though, having also represented Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and Queens Park Rangers, while earning two England caps before returning to the Seagulls.
Returning Players – Bobby Zamora
First Spell at Brighton
Bobby Zamora began his career at Bristol Rovers and initially joined the Seagulls on loan in February 2000 to reignite Brighton’s season in the old Division Three (now League Two).
He hit the ground running, netting on his debut in a 1-1 draw with Plymouth Argyle before scoring a hat-trick in an emphatic 7-1 win away at Chester and a brace in a 2-1 win over Halifax Town.
Six goals in six games during that loan spell was enough to convince the hierarchy to bring Zamora in on a permanent deal ahead of the 2000/01 Division Three title-winning season.
What followed were two unforgettable campaigns for the Seagulls, as Zamora played a pivotal role in the club’s successive promotions to Division One (now the Championship).
The frontman was in irresistible form during those two seasons, scoring 66 goals that propelled the club to the second tier.
There were so many highlights to pour over, from the hat-tricks in 6-2 and 4-1 wins over Torquay United and Macclesfield Town during that first season, to the sheer goalscoring consistency in that 2001/02 campaign.
Zamora scored in ten consecutive games during that Division Two title triumph and found the net 32 times in total, beating the previous campaign’s tally of 31.
But life in Division One proved to be far less straightforward, and despite netting a further 14 goals in 2002/03, the club succumbed to relegation back to Division Two which ultimately led to Zamora looking for pastures new.
Teams Zamora Played for in Between
Zamora’s goalscoring exploits caught the eye of Glenn Hoddle at Tottenham, and the north London club splashed out £1.5 million for his services in July 2003.
The frontman struggled to break his way into Hoddle’s plans though and lack of game time at White Hart Lane saw him score just once in 18 appearances across all competitions, before moving across London to join West Ham in January 2004.
The deal saw Hammers forward Jermain Defoe move in the opposite direction, as the east Londoners looked for fresh impetus upfront in their bid to return to the Premier League.
He made an immediate impact, scoring on his debut in a 2-1 win away at Bradford City and netting a further four times that season as the Hammers were beaten 1-0 by Crystal Palace in the Championship play-off final in Cardiff.
But the Hammers went one better in 2004/05 as Zamora scored 13 times in their promotion-winning season – this included the decisive goal in a 1-0 play-off final victory over Preston North End that ended a two-year absence of top-flight football for the club.
Zamora had another crack at the Premier League and netted a further ten goals in 2005/06, as Alan Pardew’s men secured a respectable ninth-place finish and an appearance in the FA Cup Final.
A further 11 goals followed in the club’s great escape season of 2006/07, but he missed five months of the following campaign and scored just once in 2007/08 before he moved onto Fulham.
The 2008/09 season was not vintage Zamora – the striker scored just four times in 41 appearances across all competitions, but the following campaign was certainly one to remember.
He netted 19 goals in total and played his role in Fulham’s amazing run to the Europa League Final, scoring in the round of 32, the round of 16 and the quarter-finals.
Zamora kick-started the Cottagers’ comeback against Juventus in the last 16, as the west Londoners overturned a 3-1 deficit from the first leg to win 4-1 in the second.
Two goals followed in the two quarter-final ties against Wolfsburg, as Roy Hodgson’s side were ultimately beaten 2-1 in the final by Atletico Madrid.
The first of two caps for his country came in August 2010, replacing Frank Lampard at half-time in a 2-1 friendly victory over Hungary. He scored seven goals in 17 appearances for Fulham in that 2010/11 season.
Another Europa League jaunt awaited the Cottagers in 2011/12, but there wasn’t to be a replication of the heroics two years previously and Fulham exited the competition at the group stages.
Zamora moved across west London to join Queens Park Rangers halfway through that season in a fee believed to be in the region of £5 million.
He scored on his debut once again, this time in a 2-1 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers in a season where QPR narrowly avoided relegation from the Premier League.
A drop to the second tier followed at the end of the 2012/13 season, but QPR made an immediate return to the top flight via the play-offs the next season – Zamora scored the winner in another Championship play-off final as the Hoops beat Derby County 1-0 at Wembley.
There was to be one more season in the Premier League for Zamora, but an underwhelming tally of three goals in 33 appearances triggered his release from the Loftus Road club.
Return to Brighton
Zamora returned to Brighton in August 2015 amidst plenty of fanfare, in what was an impressive summer of recruitment for the Seagulls that saw the likes of Tomer Hemed, Liam Rosenior, Uwe Hünemeier and Gaetan Bong arrive at the club.
He was off the mark in his second spell with a delightful chipped finish at Elland Road to secure a 2-1 win away at Leeds United.
Further goals came against promotion rivals Burnley and at home to Birmingham City, before playing his part in a thrilling 3-2 comeback victory over Charlton Athletic at the Amex.
His 90th and final goal for the Seagulls came in a 2-1 win at home to Huddersfield Town in January 2016, as Zamora was released from the club at the end of that season after struggling with a hip injury.
The inevitable news of Zamora’s retirement followed in December 2016, pulling down the curtain on a brilliant career.
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