Bobby Zamora

Robert Lester "Bobby" Zamora (born January 16, 1981 in Barking, London) is a native born England Football (soccer) of Trinidad and Tobago background who plays for English Premier League club, West Ham United F.C..

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. A life-long West Ham fan, he started his footballing career as an apprentice at the club's famed "The Academy of Football" but was released from the East London club on the same day as Jlloyd Samuel, Fitz Hall and Paul Konchesky, the latter of whom also returned to the Hammers.

Club career

Bristol Rovers

Zamora joined Bristol Rovers F.C. as a trainee in August 1999, making a total of six substitute appearances for Bristol Rovers in all competitions, before joining Bath City F.C. on a one-month loan in early 2000, and then Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. 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 in English football season, scoring six goals in six games. During his tenure he quickly established himself as a prolific goalscorer, breaking into the England under-21 team and attracting interest from several higher-division clubs. He scored 83 times for the club in 136 appearances, 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!"

Tottenham Hotspur

Having been watched for much of the previous two seasons by the then manager Glen Hoddle, Zamora moved to Tottenham Hotspur for £1.5 million in July 2003.

West Ham United

In January 2004, Zamora joined West Ham in a deal which saw Jermain Defoe go the other way to Tottenham Hotspur F.C.. He quickly made his mark, scoring on his debut as West Ham came from behind to beat Bradford City F.C. and also on his home debut, when he scored the winning goal against Cardiff City F.C. In the 2004-05 in English football season, Zamora scored 13 goals, including one in the first leg and two in the second leg of the Championship play-off semi-final against Ipswich Town F.C. and the only goal in West Ham's 1-0 victory over Preston North End F.C. in the Championship play-off final sending West Ham into the FA Premier League. In the 2005-06 in English football season, he made 42 league and cup appearances and scored ten goals 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, 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." He started the 2006-07 in English football season well, scoring five of the Hammers' six goal in the first four games of the season and being the first player to score a winning goal against Arsenal F.C. at the Emirates Stadium in April 2007, as West Ham pulled off an unexpected escape from relegation. At the end of the 2006-07 in English football season, Zamora had made 138 league and cup appearances for West Ham, scoring 39 goals. Zamora was capped six times for the England Under-21 team.

Zamora was watched by the Trinidad and Tobago coach, Leo Beenhakker, who also spoke to Alan 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."