Former England striker Bobby Zamora turns 36 today, and we at Shoot! would like the wish the forward a very happy birthday!

Zamora began his professional career at Bristol Rovers, before securing a permanent move to Brighton & Hove Albion in 2000 following a successful loan spell at the club.

He made 136 appearances and scored 83 goals to help the Seagulls achieve back-to-back promotions to the second tier of English football, before moving to Premier League side Tottenham for £1.5 million in the summer of 2013.

However, Zamora struggled to adapt to Premier League football, and moved across London to West Ham in January 2004, where he would help the club win promotion to the top-flight by 2005, and then help solidify their position in the Premier League over the subsequent three seasons.

In 2008, the 36-year-old forward once again moved across London, this time to Fulham, where he went on to score 37 goals in 137 games for the Cottagers, including eight in their run to the Europa League final in 2010.

Zamora then secured a £4 million move to Queens Park Rangers in January 2012 and, although they were relegated in his first full season at Loftus Road, it was he who scored the winner in the Championship Play-Off final to help the Hoops return to the top-flight at the first time of asking in 2014.

A one season stay in the Premier League followed before he returned to Brighton in 2015, although he was released by the club at the end of the 2015/16 campaign.

Nonetheless, on his 36th birthday, we at Shoot! have used pictures to take us back through Zamora’s professional career…

Tottenham

Zamora began his professional career at Bristol Rovers before securing a move to Brighton and Hove Albion in 2000.

He then went on to score 83 goals in just 136 games for the Seagulls, and thus earned himself a move to Premier League outfit Tottenham in 2003.

Here he is pictured in a pre-season friendly against Sporting Lisbon in August 2003, as the striker prepared for his first season in English football’s top division.

Move to West Ham

Things didn’t work out at Tottenham, with Zamora making just 18 appearances for the club and scoring only once in the first half of the 2003/04 season.

Unsurprisingly, the striker left White Hart Lane in the January, and made the move across London to Upton Park to join West Ham, the only club he scored against during his time at Tottenham.

Here he is pictured making one of his earliest appearances for the Hammers in a 1-1 draw at Norwich City.

Play-Off final

After missing out on promotion in 2003/04, Zamora helped the Hammers return to the Premier League the following season.

The forward scored the winning goal in their 1-0 victory over Preston North End in the Play-Off final at the Millenium Stadium to send Alan Pardews side into the Premier League, just two years after being relegated to the second tier.

Here Zamora is pictured celebrating their victory and indeed subsequent promotion back to the top-flight.

Amongst the goals

Zamora netted ten goals in West Ham’s first season back in the Premier League in 2005/06, as Pardew’s men secured a respectable ninth place finish.

However, it was the start of the following season where Zamora was at his best, netting five goals in his first four games to help the Hammers to one win and two draws in their first four matches of the new campaign.

Here he is pictured retrieving the ball after scoring a 65th minute equaliser away at Watford, a game which ended 1-1.

First man to score winning goal against Arsenal at the Emirates

Arsenal moved to the Emirates Stadium at the start of the 2006/07 campaign, but didn’t suffer defeat at their new ground Alan Curbishley’s relegation-threatened West Ham visited in April 2007.

And it was Zamora who became the first man to score a winning goal against the Gunners at the Emirates when he timed his run to perfection to chip over goalkeeper Jens Lehmann just before half-time.

Here he is pictured celebrating with defender Anton Ferdinand, and this result may have been the catalyst for West Ham, who won four of their last six games to avoid the drop.

Fulham

Zamora struggled with injury in the 2007/08 campaign, and was subsequently sold to Fulham in the summer of 2008.

He only scored four goals in his first season at Craven Cottage, although vastly improved in the following season to net 19 goals in just 48 games for the Cottagers, helping them to a 12th place finish in the Premier League, and indeed a run to the Europa League final.

Here he is pictured taking on Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United, where he scored the second in a 3-0 win for Roy Hodgson’s men.

Europa League heroics

Fulham’s incredible run to the final of the Europa League was one of Zamora’s stand-out moments in his time at Craven Cottage.

The forward had already scored five goals to help Hodgson’s men get out of their group and reach the last 16, but it was his opener against Italian giants Juventus at Craven Cottage which helped the Whites complete a remarkable turnaround.

Trailing 3-1 from the first leg in Turin, David Trezeguet put the Old Lady 4-1 up on aggregate, but Zamora’s goal seven minutes later inspired a sensational comeback, with a brace from Zolten Gera and a Clint Dempsey strike sealing their place in the last eight.

Further wins over Wolfsburg and Hamburg saw Hodgson’s men into the final, although they were beaten 2-1 by Atletico Madrid in the showpiece.

England debut

Zamora’s fine season at Fulham saw him rewarded with a call-up to the England squad in August 2010.

And, four days later, he made his debut for his country when he came on as a substitute at half-time in their 2-1 win over Hungary at Wembley.

He went to play once more for his country, starting their 1-0 victory over Sweden in November 2011, although didn’t get another chance to don the Three Lions strip.

QPR Play-Off final

Zamora found things tough going at Fulham in both the 2010/11 and the 2011/12 campaign, where he netted just seven times in each season.

He then moved to fellow Premier League side Queens Park Rangers in January 2012 for £4 million, although only netted twice in the remainder of that campaign.

Zamora then scored just five goals in his first full season at Loftus Road, but that wasn’t enough to keep the club in the top-flight.

However, in their first season in the Championship, Zamora netted a last-gasp winner in the Play-Off final at Wembley to beat Derby 1-0, and secure the Hoops’ place back in England’s top-flight.

Zamora played a season for the club in the Premier League but was released after they finished bottom of the division and were subsequently relegated, before sealing a return to Brighton in August 2015, where he spent a season before seeing his contract expire last year.