HUNGARY 2019-20 www.liberoguide.com HUNGARY 2019-20 www.liberoguide.com Hungary’s Nemzeti Bajnokság (‘National Championship’), was set up in 1901, making it Europe’s second-oldest league after INTRO Belgium. Provincial winners are a 21st-century phenomenon. Before 2000, the trophy only left the capital, Budapest, five times in 99 years, thrice to Győr, once to Vác and once, during the war, to what is now Oradea in Romania. Crowned a record 30th time in Welcome to 2019, Hungary’s most popular club, liberoguide.com! Ferencváros (‘Fradi’), established The digital travel guide for an early rivalry with MTK. The football fans, liberoguide.com Örökrangadó, the Eternal Derby, is the most up-to-date resource, defined the pre-war era just as the city-by-city, club-by-club, to the fiery Fradi-Újpest one became a high- game across Europe and North security operation in modern times. The America. Using only original fourth most successful club is perhaps photos and first-hand research, the most widely known abroad, Honvéd, taken and undertaken over seven thanks to the stellar Puskás era of the seasons, liberoguide.com has 1950s. been put together to enhance every football weekend and Euro Up to the 1980s, Hungarian football was night experience. From airport well-attended, double-headers staged to arena, downtown sports bar at the revered national Népstadion, to hotel, liberoguide.com helps rebuilt and reopened in 2019 as you get the best out of your visit the Puskás Aréna, due to stage the to football’s furthest corners and upcoming Euros, a major first for showcase stadiums. Hungary. HUNGARY 2019-20 CONTENTS New stadiums, in fact, abound. While Stadiums have opened in Miskolc, the decades between the decline of Kisvárda, Mezőkövesd and Felcsút, 1-3 Intro 13 DVSC 21 Mezőkövesd SE 4-6 Budapest 14 Felcsút/Bicske 22 Miskolc Communism and rapid, haphazard all hosts of top-flight NB I football in 7 Puskás Aréna 15 Puskás Akadémia 23 DVTK privatisation signalled low crowds and 2019-20, and in no few second-tier NB II 8 Ferencváros 16 Kaposvár 24 Paks crumbling grounds, the last five years destinations. 9 Honvéd 17 Kaposvári Rákóczi 25 Paksi FC have seen a boom – in construction, 10 MTK 18 Kisvárda 26 Székesfehérvár at least. Gleaming new grounds await Attendances, meanwhile, remain low, 11 Újpest 19 Kisvárda FC 27 Fehérvár FC fans in Debrecen and Székesfehérvár, ticket prices, too. A club-card scheme is 12 Debrecen 20 Mezőkövesd 28 Zalaegerszeg homes of recent title-winners DVSC in place but only Ferencváros insist on 29 Zalaegerszegi TE and Fehérvár FC, the former Videoton. membership before admission. liberoguide.com 1 HUNGARY 2019-20 www.liberoguide.com The bottom two teams from NB I swap places with the top two of NB II, whose INTRO 20 teams play each other home and away. The bottom three go down and exchange places with the winners of KISVÁRDA MISKOLC each of the three 16-team divisions of NB III – West (Nyugati), Central (Közép) BICSKE and East (Keleti). MEZŐKÖVESD FELCSÚT DEBRECEN The bottom three clubs from each BUDAPEST division, plus the worst 13th-placed finisher, drop into the County SZÉKESFEHÉRVÁR Championship, Megyei Bajnokság. With 19 divisions plus Budapest at this fourth ZALAEGERSZEG level, a play-off system is in place for promotion. A draw pits each of the 20 PAKS champions against another in ten two- legged deciders held on consecutive KAPOSVÁR weekends, home and away, in early/ mid-June. The winners swap places with the ten clubs coming down from NB III, arranged regionally. There’s another second county level below that, then a third, then, in the case of Budapest, Pest County and a Station to stadium (mavcsoport.hu/en) is reliable and Note that Hungary uses the forint couple of others, a fourth. Hungary has no national airline. affordable, with main routes also (Ft), although major hotels and some Budapest-based, low-cost carrier Wizz forming part of the international train motorway services accept euros. €1 The Hungarian Cup is one of Europe’s Air (wizzair.com) serves many short-haul network around Central Europe. is currently 350 forints. oldest, founded in 1909. The first five routes around Europe, while Polish LOT Few journeys within Hungary more rounds are at County Championship/ (lot.com) deals with long-haul. The main than 3-4hrs. Rural areas are served Tables & trophies The winners of NB I enter the local Budapest level to allow 50-plus budgets have long been established in Volánbusz (volanbusz.hu/en) bus The top two divisions, NB I and Champions League First Qualifying teams to qualify for Round 6 in late Budapest (bud.hu) while Wizz also use services. NB II, are nationwide, breaking in Round, runners-up and third-placed September, where the 12 NB I, 20 NB Debrecen (debrecenairport.com). to regional divisions from NB III finishers the equivalent stage in the II and 40 or so NB III clubs, minus For the motorway (autopálya), you downwards. The top tier consists of Europa League, along with the club the reserve sides of the bigger ones. City transport in Budapest and need a vignette (hungary-vignette.eu) 12 clubs who play each other three lifting the Hungarian Cup. The berth These 128 teams play a round of 64 other main towns is excellent and or matrica, minimum period ten days times over the course of the 33-game passes to the fourth-placed side if this one-off matches at the ground of the cheap. Cross-country, state rail MÁV (Ft3,500). season. club finishes in the league top three. lower club, extra-time and penalties liberoguide.com 2 HUNGARY 2019-20 www.liberoguide.com INTRO deciding if scores are level. Round 7 in October and Round 8 in December are organised along similar lines, before the round of 16 in February, quarter- finals and semi-finals in March/April, all played over two legs. The final takes place at a neutral ground, either the Groupama Aréna, Entry level The only fixture for which availability Your ticket might show your seat home of Ferencváros or now the Average gates are around 3,000, though is an issue is the Ferencváros-Újpest (szék), in a row (sor), which may be Puskás Aréna, in late May. The winners stadia, even new ones, are also small, derby, and even then, the game left (bal) or right (jobb), within a sector enter the First Qualifying Round of the five below 10,000 capacity in the current shouldn’t sell out. The Hungarian FA (szektor). Prices usually start around Europa League. NB I. runs an online service meccsjegy. Ft1,000-Ft1,500, with reductions mlsz.hu/eng) for most clubs but for buying online. A sideline seat is Season’s dealings are rare. NB II is played on Sundays, The only club where membership is it’s not particularly user-friendly in around Ft1,500-Ft2,000, the best The NB I and NB II seasons run usually at 5.30pm or 7pm, with a compulsory in order to see a game English. seats Ft2,500-Ft3,000. The occasional from late July/early August to mid number of midweek rounds, on is Ferencváros – but the process of older ground will have standing December and early February to Wednesdays, at or around 5.30pm, in registration, even on a match day, is Most stadiums comprise a lelátó, a places, álló. The away fan is a vendég. mid May. Match times for NB I are the warmer months. An occasional relatively painless. For everywhere else, terrace, usually one down from a A ticket is a jegy, a ticket office a usually Saturday at 5pm and 7.30pm, stand-out game takes place on a pay on the day is fine, and the better terasz, one with a better view. A tribün pénztár – credit cards issued abroad and Sunday at 6pm. Midweek rounds Monday evening, on or around 8pm. clubs have online sales in English. is a stand. are usually accepted. liberoguide.com 3 HUNGARY 2019-20 Budapest www.liberoguide.com/budapest Budapest BUDAPEST One of Europe’s traditional football capitals, Budapest is regaining its old pomp thanks to new stadiums replacing famous old ones, most notably the national Puskás Aréna, the Groupama Aréna and the Új Hidegkuti Stadion, the former Népstadion and recently built homes of Ferencváros 6:3 and MTK. The city’s best-known name, Honvéd, the dominant side during the golden era of the 1950s, are currently playing at MTK while their own ground is being rebuilt. Still playing at their old ground, and the only major club not receiving Lánchíd Söröző government money in some way or other, is Újpest, whose ownership woes under the yoke of Duchâtelet would Also outside Arrivals, a kiosk be understood by fans of Charlton whenever European champions Ajax 12 years. In 2019, Ferencváros won a Bearings dispatches Főtaxi (+36 1 222 2 222) – though even they haven’t slung toilet touched the ball. record 30th crown. Budapest’s Liszt Ferenc Airport is 16km services into town. The standard fare is seats onto the pitch to protest the (ten miles) south-east of town. Terminal around Ft8,000/€23. Around town, be shape of their rebranded club logo. Twenty-five years later, those grim By then, the final touches were being 2 is the only one in operation, comprised careful of taxis waiting outside major days seem a very long time ago. The added to the Puskás Aréna, the of adjoining buildings A and B. Terminal hotels and nightlife hubs. Three of the capital’s top four appeared old ground at Üllői út was knocked national stadium due to co-host the 12- 1 closer to town is not open to the public, in European finals in the 1960s and down in 2013 and Chelsea were the city Euros, a major first for Budapest.