Budapest Honvéd Football Club (Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈbudɒpɛʃt ˈhonveːd ˈɛft͡seː]), commonly known as Budapest Honvéd or simply Honvéd, is a Hungarian sports club based in Kispest, Budapest, with the colours of red and black. The club is best known for its football team. Honvéd means the Homeland Defence. Originally formed as Kispest AC, they became Kispest FC in 1926 before reverting to their original name in 1944.
 | ||||
| Full name | Budapest Honvéd Football Club | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Kispest Oroszlánok (Lions) | |||
| Founded | 3 August 1909 | |||
| Ground | Bozsik Aréna, Budapest | |||
| Capacity | 8,200 | |||
| Chairman | Dániel Mendelényi | |||
| Manager | Aurél Csertői | |||
| League | NB II | |||
| 2022–23 | NB I, 11th of 12 (relegated) | |||
| Website | Club website | |||
The team enjoyed a golden age during the 1950s when it was renamed Budapesti Honvéd SE and became the Hungarian Army team. The club's top players from this era, Ferenc Puskás, Sándor Kocsis, József Bozsik, Zoltán Czibor, and Gyula Grosics helped the club win the Hungarian League four times during the 1950s and also formed the nucleus of the legendary Hungary national team popularly known as the Mighty Magyars.
During the 1980s and early 1990s, the club enjoyed another successful period, winning a further eight Hungarian League titles. They also won league and cup doubles in 1985 and 1989. In 1991, the club was renamed Kispest Honvéd FC and adopted its current name in 2003.[1]
When the club was originally formed in 1909, it also organised teams that competed in fencing, cycling, gymnastics, wrestling, athletics, boxing, and tennis. Later, the Honvéd family was extended to include a water polo team, now known as Groupama Honvéd, a 33-times basketball-champion team and a handball team that were European Champions in 1982.
History
Budapest Honvéd FC were founded in 1909 as Kispesti AC.[2] At domestic level they first entered the Nemzeti Bajnokság I in the 1916–17 season. Their first success came in the 1926 Magyar Kupa season when they beat Budapesti EAC in the final. The club played in the first division since 1916, when the club got relegated to the second division in 2003. [3]
Stadium
Budapest Honvéd's first stadium was opened in 1913. On 5 August 2018, the last match was played at the stadium. The match was won by Honvéd against Paksi FC on the 3rd match day of the 2018–19 Nemzeti Bajnokság I. The only goal was scored by Danilo in the 48th minute. The referee was Viktor Kassai.[4] The stadium was demolished in 2019.[citation needed]
The new stadium of the club was opened in 2021.[5] The first match was played between Budapest Honvéd FC II and Szekszárdi UFC in the 2020–21 Nemzeti Bajnokság III season. The stadium was selected to host the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.[6]
Crest and colours
Manufacturers and shirt sponsors
The following table shows in detail Budapest Honvéd FC kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors by year:
| Period | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|
| 1990–1992 | Adidas | Fiat |
| 1992–1994 | Matchwinner | Epson |
| 1994–1996 | Diadora | Gösser |
| 1996–1997 | Joma | |
| 1997–1998 | Faragó és Fiai Mystery | |
| 1998–2000 | Umbro | IBUSZ alapítása 1902 |
| 2000–2003 | Jako | Wilkinson Sword |
| 2003–2005 | Gems | – |
| 2005–2006 | Macron | |
| 2006–2008 | hummel | |
| 2008–2012 | Nike | |
| 2012–2013 | Givova | |
| 2014 | Ideasport | |
| 2014–2015 | – | |
| 2015–18 | Macron | |
| 2018– | Tippmix |
Honours
- Nemzeti Bajnokság I
- Nemzeti Bajnokság II
- Winners (1): 2003-04
- Magyar Kupa
- UEFA Cup
- Quarter final (1): 1979/79
- Mitropa Cup
- Winners (1): 1959
Friendly
- Tournoi de Pâques du Red Star
- Winners (1): 1932[7]
- Trofeo Ciudad de Vigo
- Winners (1): 1974
Youth teams
Players
Current squad
- As of 31 January 2024
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | FW |  HUN | Viktor Haragos |
| 22 | MF | HUN | Noel Keresztes |
| 25 | DF |  CRO | Ivan Lovrić |
| 30 | MF | HUN | Bence Nyitrai |
| 44 | DF | HUN | Barna Benczenleitner |
| 55 | MF | HUN | Gergely Kocsis |
| 65 | FW | HUN | Norbert Kundrák |
| 66 | MF | HUN | András Eördögh |
| 74 | FW | HUN | Benedek Simon |
| 83 | GK |  SVK | Tomáš Tujvel |
| 90 | GK | HUN | Márk Gyetván |
| 98 | DF | HUN | Tibor Szabó |
| 99 | DF | HUN | István Pekár |
Players with multiple nationalities
Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Retired numbers
10 – Ferenc Puskás, Forward (1949–56). Number retired in July 2000.
Notable former players
Had senior international cap(s) for their respective countries. Players whose name is listed in bold represented their countries while playing for Budapest Honvéd FC.
Abraham
József Andrusch- Benjamin Angoua
- Zsolt Bárányos
- Balázs Bérczy
- Bertalan Bicskei
- János Biri
Igor Bogdanović- József Bozsik
Kris Bright- István Brockhauser
- László Budai
- Gábor Bukrán
Alfi Conteh-Lacalle- Aurél Csertői
- Zoltán Czibor
- László Dajka
- András Debreceni
- Lajos Détári
Mamadou Diakité- László Disztl
- Péter Disztl
Cristian Dulca- József Duró
- József Eisenhoffer
- Gábor Egressy
- Márton Esterházy
Emeka Ezeugo- László Farkasházy
- Pál Fischer
- Imre Garaba
Genito
Ivo Georgiev- Gyula Grosics
- Sándor Gujdár
Emir Hadžić- Gábor Halmai
- István Hamar
- Zoltán Hercegfalvi
- Ádám Hrepka
- János Hrutka
- Harmony Ikande
- Béla Illés
- Péter Kabát
- Mihály Kincses
- István Kocsis
- Lajos Kocsis
- Sándor Kocsis
- Imre Komora
- Antal Kotász
- Béla Kovács
- Ervin Kovács
- Kálmán Kovács
- Mihály Kozma
- László Kuti
Davide Lanzafame- Almiro Lobo
- Gyula Lóránt
Misheck Lungu- Ferenc Machos
- János Marozsán
- Gábor Márton
- János Mátyus
- József Mészáros
- Vasile Miriuță
- Hélder Muianga
- Antal Nagy (1944)
- Antal Nagy (1956)
- Norbert Németh
- István Nyers
- Sándor Pintér
- István Pisont
- Attila Plókai
- Ferenc Puskás
- László Pusztai
- István Sallói
- Ferenc Sipos
- Lajos Szűcs
- Ákos Takács
- Zoltán Takács
- Lajos Tichy
- Sándor Torghelle
- Mihály Tóth
- József Varga
- Gábor Vincze
- István Vincze
Paulo Albarracín- Bruno Enríquez
- César Mayuri
Dragan Vukmir
Lukáš Zelenka- Zalán Zombori
Philip Tarlue[8]
Non-playing staff
Management
As of 6 July 2023[9]
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Proprietor | Zoltán Bozó & Dániel Mendelényi |
| Managing Director | Gergely Kun |
| Marketing Director | Martin Petrevics |
| Director of Facility | Dávid Szabó |
| Director of Finance | Mária Takács |
| Director of Communications | Benedek Rác |
First team staff
As of 6 July 2023
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Aurél Csertői |
| Assistant coach | |
| Assistant coach | |
| Goalkeeping coach |  Vlada Avramov |
| Assistant goalkeeping coach | Viktor Szentpéteri |
| Fitness coach | Zsolt Lázár |
| Physiotherapist | Attila Hajdu |
| Video analyst | Balázs Sinkó |
Ownership
In 2022, Chris Docherty was appointed as the new sport director of the club.[10][11][12][13]
Chris Docherty said in an interview that the club cannot sign any new players for financial problems in the middle of the 2022-23 Nemzeti Bajnokság I season.[14]
On 22 May 2023, Chris Docherty resigned as sports director.[15][16] In an article published by Nemzeti Sport, George F. Hemingway, former owner of the club, heavily criticized the management of the club for their relegation to the Nemzeti Bajnokság II after finishing 11th in the 2022–23 Nemzeti Bajnokság I season.[17] Hemingway said that the solid financial background is not enough if there is no expertise.
On 27 April 2024, it was revealed that Tamás Lisztinger-led businuess showed interest in purchasin the club.[18]
Owners
See also
Sources
References
External links
