Hungary long for golden age

The figure of Ferenc Puskás still casts a long shadow over Hungarian football. The legendary "Galloping Major" scored an amazing 83 goals in 84 internationals and took Hungary to the FIFA World Cup final in 1954. In contrast, Hungary have not qualified for a World Cup since 1986 or a UEFA European Championship since 1984.

Immense challenge
The challenge facing then coach, Bertalan Bicskei, ahead of the EURO 2000™ qualifying competition was immense. Bicskei's reign had begun with an unbeaten run in five friendlies in the lead-up to the tournament but the first match in Group Seven brought him head-to-head with reality when, despite taking the lead against Portugal through Ferenc Horváth after half an hour, his side was outclassed at home, eventually losing 3-1. They never really recovered from this setback, and apart from two wins against Azerbaijan (4-0 away and 3-0 at home) and a 5-0 triumph against Liechtenstein in Budapest there was little for the Hungarians to cheer about.

Romanian record shattered
There were, however, plenty of reminders of how far Hungary had fallen from the golden age of Puskas. In their entire footballing history Hungary had never lost to their arch-rivals Romania but, after an ill-tempered 1-1 draw in Budapest in a Group Seven game - in which Hungary hit the post twice and both sides were reduced to 10 men - Romania notched up their first ever win over their neighbours in the return leg with a 2-0 victory in Bucharest.

Humiliation against Liechtenstein
However, there was worse to come for Hungary. Despite the best efforts of their playmaker Béla Illés, they were held to a goalless draw by tiny Liechtenstein. Indeed the Hungarians' form dipped so much that they managed only one win in their last six EURO 2000™ qualifying matches as they slumped to fourth place -12 points behind the group winners Romania, 11 behind Portugal (who added a 3-0 win over Hungary in Lisbon), and five behind Slovakia (who held Hungary to a goalless draw in Bratislava before beating them 1-0 in the return in Budapest).

Signs of revival
That record might have signalled the end for Bicskei but the Hungarians persevered with him and despite managing only two wins in the eight friendlies (against Northern Ireland and Israel) leading up to the World Cup qualifying campaign they started their Group Eight matches in impressive style with a 2-2 draw against Italy, twice coming from behind against the EURO 2000™ finalists with goals by Horváth. This was followed by a 6-1 win in Lithuania before, once again, the wheels fell off the Hungarian challenge when they were surprisingly held 1-1 by the Lithuania in the return match in Budapest.

Romania triumph again
This seemed to unsettle the Hungarians, who managed only one more win in qualification - 4-1 against Georgia in Budapest. The Hungarians' decline was made all the more hard to stomach as once again they had to tackle Romania - losing both matches 2-0. So, after 63 years without defeat by their traditional rivals they have now lost three in a row. Not even a battling 1-0 defeat at the hands of Italy in the final match in the group could disguise the fact that - in world and European terms - the nation that twice made the World Cup final and twice the European Championship semi-finals was now ranked a lowly 64th in the world by FIFA.

Gellei appointed coach
The Hungarian Federation acted swiftly after their 3-1 defeat in Georgia by sacking Bicskei and installing Under-21 coach, Imré Gellei, in temporary charge. He oversaw the last two World Cup qualifying matches - defeats against Romania and Italy - and was subsequently appointed on a full-time basis. His first match in total control provided some hope for the future with a 5-0 victory over FYR Macedonia in Budapest. It wasn't exactly 6-3 over England at Wembley - as Puskás' marvels had managed in 1953 - but it was at least a start.