A Hungarian fairy tail - A Budapest Honvéd FC Story

[leckuno]

Hungarian football was once the best in the world over the 30's, 50's and 60's having won three Olympic titles, finishing runners-up in the 1938 and 1954 World Cups, and third in the 1964 European Championship. Hungary revolutionized the sport in the 1950s, laying the tactical fundamentals of Total Football and dominating international football with the remarkable Golden Team which included legend Ferenc Puskás, one of the top goalscorers of the 20th century, to whom FIFA dedicated the Puskás Award, given annually to the player who scored the "most beautiful" goal of the calendar year. The side of that era has the all-time highest Football Elo Ranking in the world, with 2230 in 1954, and one of the longest undefeated runs in football history, remaining unbeaten in 31 games, spanning over four years including the much heralded Match of the Century (Where they beat England 6-3)

Ferenc Puskás widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and the sport's first international superstar started his career at Budapest Honvéd FC where he scored 358 goals in 350 appearance before he moved to Real Madrid where he scored 156 goals in 180 appearances. After his retirement he moved into management where he jumped around the world managing teams including the Hungarian national team but was never able to recreate the success of his playing career.

In this save we will be looking to start at Budapest Honvéd FC where Puskás started his career and look to see if we can takeover world football and get Hungarian football back on top of the world where it once sat and see if we can take them one further step in the World Cup. I should say we will need to wait for the national job to become available and then hope I can get it or else we'll need to wait again

The club has decent facilities which puts in a decent foundation but there is still plenty of room for improvement. We also have to make do with a pretty small stadium but there is nothing we can do about that so won't worry about it and look to start to sell out whenever we can

​

 

[leckuno]

The Board

The board have made their expectations pretty clear and want us to make sure we get promoted back to the top division at the end of the season by finishing in the top 2 league positions. We also just need to put up a decent fight in the cup which is fine for me as well.

The 5 year plan though is just to make sure we stay in the top division once we're there though which should be fine if we make it. Its also good to see the club backing the fact that they want to have the best youth facilities in the country as well to match our philosophy.

Supporters

The supporters are wanting to see the same as the board with wanting promotion but they also want to see us perform well if we come up against our rivals and again they are behind us in bringing through youth players as well.

The Squad

We have a very young squad here but there are also some very experienced players in the squad as well which is going to be important for us and its something we will look to continue with as well to make sure that we have old heads around to help mentor the younger players and help them develop.

Expectations

We have a wee bit of cash to spend and a wee bit of leeway in the wages but not really enough to do anything with.

August

We get the season underway with 6 games over the next month with not knowing what to expect from Hungarian football​

 

[leckuno]

Well before we get the season underway there has been a small piece of transfer business as we dip into the transfer market two bring in two big players for ourselves with the first being former Premier League goalkeeper Adam Bogdan

At 35 he still has a lot to offer us and brings in a wealth of experience from England and the national team and can only be good for our young players to have somebody like him in the squad.

Next in we were a bit light at the LB position and had a number of players join on trial to battle it out for the starting position and it is Canadian international Zorhan Bassong who wins the contract and actually becomes the highest earning player at the club by some margin but hopefully it pays off.

With Bogdan joining the club it meant that we could move a goalkeeper off the books so it was 39 year old Slovakian Tomás Tujvel who makes way as he's in the final year of his contract and we sell him to Serbian team Fudbalski klub Napredak Kruševac for £10,000.

Honvéd FC v Tiszakécskei LC

Our first taste of Hungarian league football and it did not all go to plan here as the opening half hour was very interesting as its a proper battle but thankfully it was a goal right at the death in our favour as we get the 3 points.

Csákvári v Honvéd FC

A much better performance here as goals just on either side of the half time whistle was key here as it kept the wind in our sails as we record back to back wins.

Pécsi v Honvéd FC

We get another good win here and its coming clear that we love a goal right on half time or just at the death of a game as well as it looks like we could walk this league this season

Honvéd FC v Győri ETO

We record our highest win in 4 games here as Bobal is the stand out player here as he now has 6 goals in the opening 4 games/

Kazincbarcika v Honvéd FC

This really was a tale of two halves here as the opening 45 minutes was dull and boring where as in the 2nd half it was a free for all with 10 goals so what a feast it was for the fans.

Honvéd FC v Soroksár

Its taken 6 games but we finally record our first clean sheet as Bobal gets another 2 goals here to get up to 10

League

We're top of the league but Vasos are right behind us but we still have another 28 games to go.

September

We have 4 games in the league this month which are split nicely by our game in the cup third round as well. The worry is though that the games either side of the cup game are the two teams directly below us in the league​

 

[leckuno]

September

The transfer window was slamming shut on the 6th of September and we decided to dive into the loan market again and brought in Péter Baráth on loan from Ferencvárosi TC who will be picking up the cost of his wages

He has a lot of promise and already has two caps for the national team at only 21 and can be a big player for us this season.

BVSC v Honvéd FC

What a first half for us as we raced to a 4-0 lead but it was disappointing not to put another few past them in the 2nd half.

Honvéd FC v Vasas

Well our first defeat has finally come and its against the favourites for the title as we don't have enough in us in the 2nd half to stage a proper fightback

Magyar Kupa
Honvéd FC v Gyirmót

Our first taste of cup football as we do our best to go out straight away with throwing away the lead twice including in the final minute but at least we see it through in extra time

Kazincbarcika v Honvéd FC

Another poor performance in the first half costs us here and its a game we should have won

Honvéd FC v Soroksár

We did our best to blow another game here with it looking like we had blown a 2 goal lead but a goal in the final seconds of the game gets us our first win in 3

League

We're still top by 2 points at the moment but its very close and going to be interesting over the course of the season

October

Just the 4 league games this month but they are all going to be tough as we still learn more about the players and teams we're coming up against​

 

[WILKOFM]

Good luck mate, exciting challenge to try out!

 

[leckuno]

Good luck mate, exciting challenge to try out!

Cheers, I'm looking forward to it as its out my comfort zone with a nation I know nothing about in footballing terms

 

[leckuno]

October

Szeged 2011 v Honvéd FC

Well this didn't go to plan at all as we just weren't able to cope with them at all as our defence was all over the place.

Honvéd FC v Kozármisleny

The exact reaction that we needed here and what a first half it was for us as we rushed to a 5-1 lead at half time before making some changes to give other players a run out.

Honvéd FC v Mosonmagyaróvári

The goal right before half time luckily didn't have an effect on us as we came out fighting and equalised not long after half time and then stealing a very undeserved win right at the death.

Nyíregyháza Spartacus v Honvéd FC

Our defensive performances away from home is worrying as we ship another 3 goals but we do enough to get a late goal again to take the 3 points.

League

After 14 games we're still top by 3 points as we close in on the half way point as it stays very close

November

We start the month with the next round in the cup against a team sitting just above the relegation spots in the top division so anything is possible​

 

[leckuno]

November

Magyar Kupa 4th Round
Honvéd FC v Kecskeméti TE

We knew that this was going to be a big ask and sadly it wasn't to be as we're still a fair bit away from competing with the teams above us.

Honvéd FC v Gyirmót

Well what a minute the 15th minute was of the game as we both somehow managed to score within 60 seconds but we did show good resilience to pull it back for the draw

BFC Siófok v Honvéd FC

We're back with a win as we have a great opening 20 minutes before taking our foot off the gas and playing for the sake of playing apparently.

Honvéd FC v Budafoki

Bobal is the stand out player here as he normally is for us as if he gets injured we'll be in trouble.

League

Our gap has been closed to 2 points now as there is just no pulling away from the rest of the pack just now

December

Just the 3 games this month as we get ready to wind down for the winter break​

 

[leckuno]

December

Honvéd FC v Kazincbarcika

A very nice win here as Bobal keeps his run going to keep adding more goals to his tally

Soroksár v Honvéd FC

It was not an enjoyable game for us as even though we took the lead after 14 minutes we completely blew it in the end and got hammered.

Honvéd FC v Csákvári

A poor result here as we draw against a team in the relegation battle and managed to lose Bogdan to injury as well but thankfully nothing to worry about due to the winter break

League

Our lead is cut to gal difference now to show how tight it is between the top 2 teams but it is worrying that there is only a 9 point gap all the way down to to 8th so a run of bad results and its completely different

Youth Preview

I really want to know who thinks this could be an excellent intake so I think we will need to look at the youth setup and see what we can change.

February

We come back after the winter break to 3 away games this month which will be a tough run with our recent away form.​

 

[leckuno]

February

Tiszakécske v Honvéd FC

Our away form simply isn't good enough just now and it costs us 2 points here again

Mosonmagyaróvár v Honvéd FC

A much better performance and its the usual that when Bobal scores then we go on and win it

Honvéd FC v Nyíregyháza Spartacus

A tough game against one of the other teams in the top 4 and a draw was probably fair here.

Gyirmót v Honvéd FC

Our second win in a row away from home here as Bobal scores again as we win

League

Well I've always said if we slip up somebody will overtake us as we are now 2 points behind top spot and only 1 ahead of 3rd.

March/April

With only 6 games over the next two months it makes sense to roll them up for the promotion run in as we have some tough away games we're going to have to do​

 

[leckuno]

March and April

Honvéd FC v BVSC

A nice steady start to the month as we put in a good performance at home to get the win

Vasas v Honvéd FC

A good result here as we walk away with a well earned draw against Vasas here

Ajka v Honvéd FC

What a game here for Holman here as he smashes all sort of records here by scoring all 5 goals in the game

Honvéd FC v Pécsi

Our home form continues to impress here with another win racked up in front of our own fans

Honvéd FC v Szeged 2011

We have to come from behind here which is a poor result at home and we should of done better against a mid-table team

Kozármisleny v Honvéd FC

Another fight back here as our form seems to be stuttering as we get close to the end of the season

League

We're back on top and have opened a 3 point gap with 4 games remaining

Youth Intake

We had our intake in March and again I have a different view from our HOYD as in my opinion its not an excellent intake and certainly won't be a golden generation

Novak is the stand out player from the intake but isn't going to be anything special for us over the years

May

Our final 4 games of the season and its going to be touch and go and we can't allow any slipups as our first two games are against the promotion chasers​

 

[leckuno]

May

Honvéd FC v Szombathelyi Haladás

Bobal with a great first half by getting a hat-trick to help cap off whats been an amazing season for him

Győri ETO v Honvéd FC

We were lucky here that we were able to hold out longer that Gyori here to get a vital win

Honvéd FC v BFC Siófok

We win the title in front of our own fans here to make it even more impressive. Lovric scores here to make him the oldest goal scorer at the club

Budafoki v Honvéd FC

A really poor way to end the season as we manage to throw away a 3 goal lead

League

We win the league by 4 points here to make sure that we are promoted at the first time of asking/

Budgets

We are given a hefty transfer budget going into next season and a big improvement in wage budget as well so we'll see what we can do for it over the transfer budget​

 

[leckuno]

Season 2

Transfers

We've had to make the most of our transfer window here to build the squad to help us avoid relegation this season and I feel like we've done a good job and even managed to bring in some internationalists as well

Márk Kosznovszky

Our first signing on a free transfer as we look to keep a core of Hungarians at the club just now and Kosznovszky will be a back up player this season

Rafał Makowski

A very versatile player through the middle of the park and again joins as a free transfer and again will probably be playing backup this season

Barnabás Bese

A huge free signing for us as we pick up Hungarian RB Bese and he brings in a lot of experience playing at the top level in Hungry and will be key with the younger members of our squad.

Péter Baráth

Baráth was key for us last season when he was at the club on loan but this season he was transfer listed by Ferencvárosi TC so we jumped at the opportunity to sign him and spent most of our transfer budget on him as he joins for £800,000

Karlo Sentić

A new younger goal keeper was always going to be key for us over the course of the window and Sentić fits the bill for us and will be our starting keeper this season

Krisztofer Horváth

Horváth is an exciting young Hungarian player who has been playing in the top league for the last 4 seasons on loan and we sign him from Torino for £170,000 but he has never played a league game in Italy since he signed for them in 2020 but he looks like he will be a key player for us

Patrick Iyinbor

Iyinbor is our final signing so far in this window as he is another exciting young Hungarian player who has been transfer listed by Ferencvárosi so we snapped him up for £140,000 and again even though he's young he brings in experience from playing in the league which is vital

Youth Facilities

We've splashed our new found riches of promotion and talked the board into upgrading the youth facilities which might be stupid with limited funds but its a key aim for us to produce better youth players and this will be important for us.

The Squad

All in so far I'm pretty happy with the squad here as we've got a mix of youth and experience which will hopefully keep us up this season even though it will still be a big ask

Tactic

I've decided to stick with the tactic that won us the league last season in the hope that our attacking way of play can do the same here but we did have defensive flaws that I'm sure will be even more vulnerable against better teams but we do have better defenders in now who can hopefully plug the gaps

Expectations

We don't have high expectations set for us by the board which is always good as we just need to avoid relegation and reach the latter stages of the cup

The Start

Not the best opening month to have this season as we're coming up against Ferencvárosi early but at least it gets that game out the way and can concentrate on the rest after it​

 

[leckuno]

The Start

Honvéd FC v Kisvárda

The perfect start for us in the league along with a debut goal for Hovarth to introduce ourselves to the league in style

Mezőkövesd v Honvéd FC

We back it up with another good 2-0 win so it seems like we'll be fine up here this season and we controlled possession here throughout the game

Honvéd FC v Ferencvárosi

We were full of confidence going into this match but sadly it wasn't to be as Ferencvárosi show us how its really going to be this season as they played us off the park and we were lucky we only lost by 2 here

Zalaegerszegi v Honvéd FC

I'm disappointed to have lost this game as we threw away the lead twice but I felt we deserved a point here but two quick goals in 6 minutes is enough to give Zalaegerszegi the 3 points

League

After 4 games were smack bang in the middle of the league and I would happily take that come the end of the season.

September

We have our first taste of cup football this season and we'll be looking to win here against non-league opposition​

 

[leckuno]

September

Transfers Out

We only had one player leave the club as Canadian International Zorhan Bassong leaves to join Śląsk Wrocław for £250,000 brining in a bit more funds for us to spend and freeing up over £2,000 a week in wages

Transfers In

Bakri Elsahib

Our scouts have been out and about and have stumbled across Elsahib who looks like he could develop well at the club as he joins from Hernâni Gonçalves on a free transfer

Ante Sušak

We needed a new LB to come in and go into the first team and Sušak joins on loan from Dinamo Zagreb for the rest of the season and will become the starting LB

Szabolcs Schön

Thanks to injuries over the last month we needed to go out and bring in another winger and Schön was loan listed by Fehérvár so it was daft not to sign him for the season as it brings in another Hungarian international

Budapest Honvéd v Újpest

A poor result here as we manage to throw away a 2 goal lead over the course of 2 minutes right at the end of the game, we really should have seen the game out though

Magyar Kupa 3rd Round
Taksony v Budapest Honvéd

Not sure why their goals aren't showing here but we took a big lead into half time and then nearly blew it in the end against non league team but thankfully we did just enough to get through to the 4th round

Paksi v Budapest Honvéd

Our away form is shaky like it was last season but I don't want to change how we play too much but again we do just enough in the final minute to win the game

Budapest Honvéd v Fehérvár

A much better performance this time at home to get things back on track and show we're not just hear to make up the numbers

Gyirmót v Budapest Honvéd

Gyirmót got promoted with us last season so I had high hopes of this game but it wasn't to be as our away form strikes again

League

We somehow find ourselves in 4th spot at the moment but it already looks like there is a runaway leader that isn't going to be caught

October

3 away games this month is going to be tough as we need to try and figure out what to do with them​

 

[leckuno]

October

Budapest Honvéd v Puskás Akadémia

We knew that this was going to be a tough game but we put up a decent showing here and managed to limit the damage too much

MTK Budapest v Budapest Honvéd

Our away form continues to be a struggle as we get pummelled here and shows we still have some way to go to even be the best team in Budapest

Debreceni VSC v Budapest Honvéd

We finally put in a decent performance here as we get a well deserved away win as Horvath steps up with 2 important goals.

Magyar Kupa 4th Round
Gyirmót v Budapest Honvéd

A good performance here after we lost to them in the league last month to keep it at 0-0 and take the game to penalties as we get at least one round further than last season

League

We've dropped down to 7th in the league now but we're still comfortably above the relegation zone and not too far off the European Spots

November

4 games this month with 3 at home so fingers crossed we can get some points on the board again this month​

 

[leckuno]

November

Budapest Honvéd v Zalaegerszegi

Makowski had a great game here getting a brace and setting up the other goal as we start off the month with a huge win over the team sitting 4th in the league

Kisvárda v Budapest Honvéd

A really disappointing result here after the last game as we through away the game for to the team sitting 2nd bottom of the league and only walk away with a point

Budapest Honvéd v Paksi

Our first clean sheet in7 games in the league which is a worry but we bounce right back from the draw with an expected win here.

Budapest Honvéd v Mezőkövesdi

We got lucky here with the penalty and then the own goal but we don't care how we win as its the 3 points that really matter.

League

After our first undefeated month here we have worked our way up to third but the teams around us all have a game in hand on us/

December

3 games this month as we get ready for the winter break but we will have to compete with 2 away games​

 

[misterioBean]

What an amazing start for your first year in the top flight, hopefully you'll get to the top of Hungary soon

 

[leckuno]

December

Fehérvár v Budapest Honvéd

I thought this was going to be the usual when we went 1 down within the opening minute but we fought back and got the 3 points but it was a much harder game than expected for facing the team bottom of the league

Újpest v Budapest Honvéd

What a terrible performance with the fact we've managed to lose to 10 men here and thrown the lead twice

Budapest Honvéd v Gyirmót

Gyirmót have now beaten us in the league twice this season which isn't good enough since they came up with us last season.

League

We're still only just outside the European spots at the moment and I think grabbing one of those is a really oppertunity for us come the end of the season

February

It doesn't look like its going to be a fun month for us in the league here with 2 very tough away games for us but we have got a very good draw in the cup though as we've managed to secure a draw against a non-league team​

 

[leckuno]

February

Transfers Out

Bakri Elsahib only joined in the summer but Porto have taken notice of him and our board accepted the offer of £3.5 million on our behalf as its greatly improves the bank balance for us but we do get 35% of any future transfer as well so fingers crossed we can sell that clause at some point.

Transfers In

Erik Vázquez

Vázquez had been released by Real Madrid so we made sure to snap him up on a free transfer as he could do great things at the club with the right playing time and development

Nikola Čavlina

With Bogdan's age I was still on the lookout for a new keeper at a decent price and Čavlina fits the bill as he joins for only £190,000 from Dinamo Zagreb

Budapest Honvéd v Debreceni VSC

Well the season is back underway and we win the hard way with having to come back from behind in the 2nd half but we do enough in the closing minutes to win the game

Puskás Akadémia v Budapest Honvéd

A terrible opening half hour for us here and its the usual away form that kills us here

Ferencvárosi v Budapest Honvéd

The closest we've come so far to getting something off the champions but they are still head and shoulders above us

Magyar Kupa 5th Round
Budapest Honvéd v Iváncsa

A result we expected here with a huge win over Iváncsa as Makowski runs riot with his hat-trick

League

We're 4 points off the European places but to be honest I'd be happy with 5th anyway after coming up

March

Just the 3 games to look forward to here, well along with the youth intake which I've not got high hopes of again.​