Zamora has been Fulham's main striker for the last few seasons, earning an England debut in 2010, and grabbed the stoppage-time winner in Monday's thrilling 2-1 victory against Arsenal.
Yet there have been question marks over the 30-year-old's future, with reports of a rift with manager Martin Jol after Zamora was dropped for Fulham's game at Swansea last month.
"There's always going to be speculation when there's a top player," Riise told the Chronicle.
"But we want him to stay and we hope he wants to stay as well, because with him in the team we are a different side.
"He's a very good player. We like Bobby as a person, as well as a player. We appreciate his qualities.
"He's strong, he's big. You can always look for him if you're in trouble. He wins his headers and he can hold the ball up.
"He's a handful for defenders and we know that. Bobby Zamora in good form is really important for us. He proved that against Arsenal."
Riise also dismissed speculation there is unrest among the rest of the Fulham squad.
"It's quite new to me because I don't read newspapers and don't really know what's going on, but the mood is very good," said the Norwegian full-back.
"I come into training and everyone's smiling and happy and enjoying themselves, and if there's anything bad going on, I don't know anything about it.
"I'm always a happy guy when I come in and I try to give that mood to everybody. I've been here now five or six months and it's fantastic coming to training. Team spirit is very high."
