In the BBC interview that you gave after the match, what struck me most - beside the fact that you were tired - was how natural you were, lacking all artificiality.

I had to give a lot of interviews, but I didn't really pay attention to what the British press wrote about me. Since Friday, many people had told me that the papers were full of articles about me. I'd seen the front pages of a few of them in the changing room, but I hadn't actually read them. Popularity is important, of course, but the team cannot really survive on that during the following match.

Watching your goal, and the indescribable joy of the Fulham fans is still a great pleasure, even for the fiftieth time.

That ball that I received, the one I scored the winning goal with, came at the right moment. But my goal would not have been enough if my team member hadn't scored that first goal just at the right moment. Now it's me they're celebrating, but the whole team deserves credit for the result.

Is it true that you were close to tears after you scored the goal?

There was a lot at stake. We were all extremely tense, and it was a wonderful feeling when I scored that goal. It was actually the most important goal of my life. In a situation like this, one's feelings inevitably come to the surface.

You made many people happy here at home by shouting "Hello, Hungarians!" into the camera at the end of the match.

That was completely spontaneous. I know that many people in Hungary watch Fulham's matches because of me. They cheer for me and I'm extremely grateful to them for this.

After scoring the goal, you raised your arms towards the sky. It was evident who you were grateful to.

When I wasn't too successful in football, it was hard for me to accept that I could only play in a match for five minutes. I knew that it was up to me to improve myself, but I prayed to God and asked Him to help me improve my technique. I have often found that hard times are only temporary phases of one's life. This is true for everyone, but we react differently to it. Some blame their lack of success on others, some blame it on their circumstances, while others blame it on God, instead of looking more critically at themselves and realising how they should change. I want God to lead me in every area of my life, and it is to Him that I owe all my success.

You were still a substitute at the time, but on Eurosport you spoke of your coach, Roy Hodgson, with so much warmth, as if he were a second father to you. What did he think of the way you played, right from the start?

He was already satisfied with me last year, when only a few people appreciated the way I played, because they couldn't see how much I was actually working for the team. Even then, Roy Hodgson told me that he really appreciated the way I played. Not long ago, he told me that he was really pleased that I was playing so well in my position behind the striker - which he had thought out for me. I was pleased, too, because my style of play is more spectacular from here, and I can score goals more easily. It is important for me to feel that people trust me, because if I do, I can be worthy of their trust. Like now, when I play for Fulham.

Many people are wondering whether your present good form and the team's position in the European League qualifying matches is actually the summit of your career.

I know that the match against Juventus - where I scored two goals - was one of the best matches of my life, and the most important goals of my present life. As I grow older, I'm in ever better form. They say I have a boyish face, but I would prefer it if my movements, the way I played, looked younger than my actual age, instead of my face.

Together with the European League qualifying matches, you're heading towards your seventieth match since July. This must have been a really tiring season for you.

It's true that we've had a lot of matches, but if you're successful, you don't feel so tired. Nevertheless, it feels good to know that we have only three more matches to play, and then we can rest, finally.

What will your holidays be like, when can you come home?

We're heading for home as soon as the season ends. Of course, I would like to go away somewhere with my wife and daughter, just the three of us, but we'll be spending most of our holidays at home. I don't want to start listing all the things and all the people from home that we miss.

ZOLTÁN GERA midfield player, striker/forward

He was born in Pécs in 1979. • He started his career in 1996 with the Harkány Sports Club, a year later, he joined Pécs SC. • From 2000 he played for four years in Ferencváros. • In 2004 he joined West Bromwich Albion, then in 2008 he joined Fulham. • He has been capped by the Hungarian national team sixty-three times. • Some of the names his fans call him are: Gerzson, Magical Magyar, Muppet, Zolly, Whispering Death (Suttogó Halál).