Hungarian giants are humbled

By Márton Dinnyés

One of Hungary's most famous clubs, Kispest Honvéd FC will play in the second division next season after they were relegated from the 1. Liga last weekend. A 3-1 defeat at Zalaegerszegi TE was enough to condemn József Dúró's side - and end the club's 87-year stay in the top flight.

Footballing force
Kispest had made their First Division debut as Kispesti Athlétikai Club in 1916. But despite the promise of an early cup win in 1926, it was not until the 1950s that the club emerged as a footballing force.

Favourite son
Fired by the goals of Hungarian international Ferenc Puskás, Kispest won their first league title in 1950. "It was one of the sweetest days of my life," said Puskás, who was 23 at the time. Now a suburb of Budapest, Kispest was then a separate town, and Puskás its favourite son.

Magical Magyars
That triumph heralded a golden era for Kispest, who had become the army club following the Communist takeover after World War Two. Hence the name Honvéd, meaning 'soldier'. With a team including 'Magical Magyars' József Bozsik, Zoltán Czibor, Sándor Kocsis and László Budai, as well as Puskás, they were champions five times in six seasons. They also toured Europe, and one match against English club Wolverhampton Wanderers FC in 1954 was billed as the unofficial world championship.

Fantastic 80s
Subsequently, they have been less successful. Lajos Tichy brought star quality to the 1960s but no silverware. In fact, it was 1980 before Kispest reclaimed the title, although that prompted a sequence of eight championship victories in 13 years leading up to 1993.

Pride of place
Those halcyon days were also illuminated by the presence of Hungarian internationals Lajos Détári and Béla Illés at the József Bozsik stadium as Kispest reclaimed pride of place in the domestic game. Even now, they are the country's fourth most titled club, with 13 league championships and five Hungarian Cups.

Relegation trouble
Which must make their current plight all the more galling. With the club's financial instability reflected on the pitch, performances have deteriorated in recent years. Seventh in 2000/01, Kispest finished three points above the relegation places last term in ninth position.

Coaching changes
Things have gone from bad to worse this season. Dúró became Kispest's fifth coach of the campaign, after József Fitos, Ioan Patrascu, caretaker duo Lajos Szurgent and Sándor Gujdár, and Tibor Óze, when he was appointed in April with a brief to avoid the drop. A former Kispest player, he does not have a full coaching licence so his official role is that of technical director.

Costly defeat
However, Kispest's fate was sealed last Friday night when they travelled to ZTE while Békéscsabai EFC, the club two points above them, played at MFC Sopron. A Kispest win and a Békéscsaba defeat would have lifted Dúró's team out of the bottom two, but the opposite happened. Despite taking the lead through Marius Sasu, Kispest went down 3-1 while Békéscsaba prevailed by the same margin in Sopron. For Kispest and their fans, the unthinkable had happened.