Bobby Zamora once again brushed aside his injury woes on Wednesday evening to put in another heroic performance in the UEFA Europa League Final in Hamburg.
Zamora’s Achilles injury eventually called time on his evening after 54 minutes play but after the match the striker spoke proudly of his Team’s performance despite a heartbreaking finale to Fulham’s European adventure.
“We’re extremely disappointed to lose, but on the whole, we’re so proud of our performance this evening,” said Zamora late on Wednesday night.
“To go to extra time and 117 minutes shows exactly what we’ve been all about this season – we’re hard to beat, determined and have a will to win.
“It’s been extremely disappointing but I’m really pleased with the way the season’s gone. We’ve worked so hard and this has been such a great achievement for Fulham.”
Zamora’s Achilles injury has evidently caused the striker great frustration in recent weeks and the Club’s leading scorer will also now sadly miss out on the opportunity to join up with the England squad this summer.
“It’s been a bit depressing not being able to train but there was no way I was going to miss the Final. We worked all season to try and get here and I’d have been happy with ten minutes to be honest.
“I think half time killed me to be honest with sitting down and it stiffening up but on the whole I’m extremely proud of all the boys and myself this year.
“I’m going to speak to the medical guys in the next couple of days and see what’s happening. I’m not doing England justice or myself by going out there. It’s very disappointing but you’ve got to look at the bigger picture."
Zamora has quite rightly earned high praise this season following a truly memorable campaign and despite Wednesday’s European heartbreak the striker is clearly proud of his achievements this year.
“It’s been a lot of hard work and determination to prove people wrong," explained Zamora. "I just wanted to work hard and do well for the Club. I knew the goals would come.
"I’ve managed to hold the ball up and bring people into play and score goals this year - so I’m extremely pleased with the whole season. Everybody this year has been unbelievable."