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Over the next week, two World Cup qualifiers will be Hungary’s biggest games for a generation – home games against a desperate Sweden and Portugal.
It’s been a sorrowful tale for Hungary and a long walk towards the end of the tunnel. The one-time powerhouse of European football, a jewel in the crown and progenitor of Total Football, fell into a sad decline since the mid-1980s due to endemic corruption and neglect which some say has reflected the recent state of the country.
The 1986 World Cup, for which Hungary qualified with ease and were tipped to do well, dealt a shattering blow with a 6-0 loss to the Soviet Union – a match many fans considered to have been rigged. Gifted players continued to be produced and numerous false dawns occurred in the intervening years.
As recently as 2006, people were writing their eulogy on the Hungarian game after a humiliating loss to minnows Malta. But the appointment of Erwin Koeman has sparked a quite dramatic revival that sees them above Sweden and Portugal, recently perennial qualifiers for major tournaments.
The current stars of the side includes gifted players in the best Hungarian tradition like Tamas Hajnal (Borussia Dortmund) and Akos Buszaky (QPR). Zoltan Gera (Fulham) is another familiar name.
They’ll not want to take anything for granted, even though this revival looks to be genuine. The Euro 2004 qualifiers, for one, saw Hungary look a good bet to qualify with two games left, only for those to be blown. To make things worse, the long-term injury to playmaker Krisztian Lisztes, who never regained his form, and the untimely death of Miklos Feher, only exacerbated matters.
Hungary’s return to the international fore will be welcomed by all devoted fans of football. Let’s wish them all the best.
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