What will happen to you, Budapest Honvéd? “If we don’t finish eight games without conceding a goal, we will be eliminated,” the former classics tell Mandiner
Although there are still 16 rounds left in the championship, after the defeat against one of the main rivals, Újpest FC, the situation of Budapest Honvéd is getting more and more desperate. I wonder what the former stars of the club think about this?
Among the relegation candidates, Mezőkövesd started the spring with a win, the purple and whites just pushed Honvéd to the edge of the abyss, as even last-placed Vasas achieved a huge feat: he scored a point in the home of the champion Ferencváros. With the latest defeat, the Kispest team found themselves in an extremely difficult situation, the matter is also piquant because not a single new player arrived at the Bozsik Arena during the winter. At Mandiner’s request, the club’s former classics gave their honest opinion.
Laszlo Dajka
he is a 24-time national team player of Bp. Honvéd
“Blind and partially sighted” people came to the club…
– I analyze the current situation a little differently, since I worked at the club until last June. Not so long ago, together with István Pisont, we achieved fifth place with the team, we also won the Hungarian Cup, apparently this was not enough at the time. Since then, six coaches have worked at the club in two years – this says everything about the situation. The previous owner, George F. Hemingway, was a bit stubborn, his style was also strange, but at the same time, with little money, he made a championship team under the management of Marco Rossi, to whom I would like to congratulate him on the success he achieved with the national team. However, the idea, which was outlined by the new ownership in two and a half years, does not work at all, even though the financial conditions have become much better. The managers also sensed this, and – with the exception of one or two footballers – “blind and partially sighted” came to the club. This cost the Honvéd a lot of money, and the results await you season after season. However, according to the current situation, we are at the point – and this was also acknowledged by sports director Chris Docherty – that the financial possibilities do not allow him to confirm players of serious ability in the club, so he is trying to stay in the team with quite a few talented young people. I wish you a lot of success with this, because no matter what happens, the Honvéd heart cannot be killed in me. A lot of people say that a relegation, a relegation would suit the club. I don’t agree with this, because if we are eliminated, there is no guarantee that the team will immediately return to the NB I next season. Although the fans and the beautiful Bozsik Aréna deserve first class, but now I don’t see the two rivals that we can beat. But I am optimistic to the end – only Kispest!
Márton Esterházy
he is a 29-time national team player of the Bp. Honvéd
His professional incompetent sidekick…
– Let’s go back in time a little: I read about the ideas of Gergely Kun, the executive, which puts into perspective the long-planned plans that put Ajax to shame. Among other things, it was about the development of dynamics, speed, tactics and technique, but we know that these cannot be implemented overnight. In the case of the Honvéd, immediate firefighting would have been necessary. The squad should have been strengthened in the winter, and in the meantime, the program that the managers, and even better, the club, should have started. Instead, we are left with not a single player arriving, and once again we can only pray that we beat several rivals in the final stages of the championship and somehow the team stays in NB I. I don’t really understand the owners why they assist with this process at all? And why does the Honvéd not have a serious staff that can be held accountable for the results? It is a joke of the professional incompetent that since 2017 – when the club won the championship under the leadership of Marco Rossi – no less than nine head coaches (!) have managed the team in the past five years. Or rather the correct expression: he tried to manage the team…
Antal Nagy
he is a 32-time national team player of the Bp. Honvéd
“From now on, we have one thing left to do, pray for our favorite team”
– Until now, I have said that if they don’t make a defense that can play eight goalless games in the spring, the team will be eliminated. The bad streak against Újpest didn’t break either: we scored one goal and conceded two. If we kicked two in the fall, we got three. No wonder the cart is going down. We heard that the money ran out, we heard that these players, this squad are suitable to stay, offered our help, but they didn’t ask for it. From here on, we have only one thing to do: we pray for our beloved team, and for the miracle to happen, we somehow stay in the NB I…
Opening image It was a painful defeat for the Honvéd… Photo: MTI/Szilárd Koszticsák (archive)