Magyar | The Itinerant Football Watcher

Budafoki Labdarúgó Club’s history dates back to 1912 when they were formed as Világosság Football Csapat, the first of twelve different identities. The latest moniker has stuck since 2007. Prior to World War II this modest village in the 22nd District of Budapest was represented by two clubs, the other being Gamma FC who would eventually be consumed into the BKV Előre club in 1950.

Budafok play in the Nemzeti Bajnokság III, a division they have won on three occasions in 1972-73, 1985-86, 1988-89. The club has also enjoyed some success at the second tier, winning the title in 1944-45 and 1950-51. The club’s sole season in the top flight came in 1945-46 when they finished next to bottom winning only five of their 26 matches. Arguably the clubs’ best known players over the years have been József Zakariás, who was part of the squad for the legendary Hungarian national team fondly remembered as the “Golden Team”. More recently Márton Esterházy started his career with Budafok before winning 29 caps for the national team. He scored for Hungary against Canada in the 1986 World Cup tournament.

Confusingly Budafok’s modest stadium actually has several names BMTE Sporttelep, Budafok Stadion and Promontor utcai Stadion, and it forms part of a bigger sports venue which also accommodates athletics and tennis. The stadium has clearly undergone recent renovation with new plastic seats, electronic scoreboard and an elevated dignitary’s stand opposite the open seating. It’s a modest but tidy venue and it seems scarcely believable that 7,000 people crammed into it for a Magyar Kupa match against Ferencváros in February 1984. The venue now has 1,200 seats with standing available around the athletics track which would mean looking through a fence for the duration of the match.

A lack of floodlights means a 12pm kick off for this Magyar Kupa tie against mighty FC Videoton who sit in second place in NB I just a point behind leaders Vasas FC. On a cold day, the hilltop location of the stadium clearly unsettles the illustrious visitors and they are very slow out of the blocks. The hosts play well and skipper Tamás Grúz gives them the lead at half time. Thoughts of a cup upset dwindle as Videoton exert huge pressure on the home goal in the second half. Clearly the half time team talk and a triple substitution have galvanised the visitors. Therefore it is no surprise when Videoton draw level when Ádám Bódi cleverly disguises his shot enough to beat the home goalkeeper with ease. It was evident that Videoton did not fancy extra time as the temperature dropped and they upped the pressure further really throwing players forward. As the game drew to a close Videoton cracked a shot against the post before the unthinkable happened and a quick break saw Sándor Kovács lash home an unlikely and wildly celebrated winner. Who doesn’t love a cup upset?

Wednesday November 30th 2016 – Magyar Kupa 8th Rd

Budafok LC 2 (Grúz 29, Kovács 84)
FC Videoton Fehérvár 1 (Bódi 66)

Att: 336 (at BMTE Sporttelep)

Admission free, teamsheet free

Gallery

Győri Egyetértés Torna Osztály Football Club or ETO FC Győr as they are more commonly known were formed in 1904 and have a rich history of European competition participation and the no little matter of 69 seasons in the Hungarian top flight, the Nemzeti Bajnokság I.

The club are four time champions of Hungary, the most recent of which came in 2012/13. So why you might be asking are the club currently languishing in the murky depths of the regionalised third division? Győr’s most recent season in NB I was 2014/15 when despite finishing eighth in the then 16 team league the club were found guilty of breaching licensing and financial regulations and were demoted to the third tier.

The Győr club has undergone many name changes over the years and these Include the name of Rába Vasas ETO Győr for which they are probably best known to English football fans. This was the club’s name in the 1984/85 when they were drawn against Manchester United in the old Cup Winner Cup competition.

Győr’s past European pedigree is truly impressive. They had been crowned Hungarian champions for the first time in 1963/4 and the success meant a tilt at the European Cup the following season. The green and whites defeated Chemie Leipzig, Lokomotiv Sofia and somewhat forgotten Dutch club Door Wilskracht Sterk before drawing the mighty Benfica in the semi final. The home leg was played in front of 62,000 people at the old Népstadion in Budapest and the Portuguese won 1-0. Braces from the legendary Eusebio and José Torres in the second leg ended Hungarian hopes of success.

Continued success in Europe saw the club move into a new stadium in 1967, the ETO Stadion. Initially it had a capacity of 25,000 but in its later existence this had been savagely cut to 14,000. In 2008 Győr moved again to a new stadium, hotel and a total white elephant of a shopping centre complex on the eastern edge of town called ETO Park. It has two huge modern double tiered stands on either side, one end has nothing other than a scoreboard while the hotel end has a blink and you will miss it tiny section of terracing for away fans. After the old Ferenc Puskás Stadion in Budapest was decommissioned and the Groupama Arena was opened the Hungarian national team played several home internationals at ETO Park.

After the success of clinching the NB I championship in 2012/13, the club faced huge problems when in 2015 its owners, Quaestor Financial Hrurira, went bankrupt. Unable to operate ETO Györ declared debts of 200 million florints (over £500,000) to the Hungarian FA. The enforced demotion was inevitable as the club looked to just survive and regroup in the third tier.

This season has been one of hope for Győr as they are challenging for promotion from NB III and also enjoying a run in the Magyar Kupa. Having already eliminated top flight Debrecen (1-0) and Komárom (7-1), the draw was harsh for the green and whites as they were pitted against NB I league leaders Vasas FC.

Tonight Győr played some scintillating attacking football with Lukas Szabó really catching the eye up front. The hosts were never out of this contest until virtually the last kick of the game when Vasas substitute Yevhen Pavlov prodded home an undeserved winner.