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Fehérvár FC

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Fehérvár
Full nameFehérvár Football Club
Nickname(s)Vidi
Founded1941; 83 years ago (1941)
GroundSóstói Stadion
Capacity14,201
PresidentIstván Garancsi
Head coachTamás Pető
LeagueNB I
2024–25NB I
Websitehttps://fehervarfc.hu/
Current season

Fehérvár Football Club (commonly known as Fehérvár, Vidi, or MOL Fehérvár Football Club for sponsorship reasons), is a Hungarian professional football club based in Székesfehérvár, which plays in the Nemzeti Bajnokság I, the top level of the Hungarian league system. Due to sponsorship reasons, the club changed its name from Videoton FC to MOL Vidi FC in 2018, the main sponsor of the club being oil and gas multinational company MOL. In 2019, the club changed its name once again to MOL Fehérvár FC.[1]

Fehérvár has won the Nemzeti Bajnokság I three times, in 2011, 2015, and 2018. They have also won the Magyar Kupa twice: in 2006, after defeating Vasas on penalties in the final, and in 2019, after defeating Budapest Honvéd FC. They won the defunct Hungarian League Cup three times in 2008, 2009, and 2012 and the also defunct Hungarian Super Cup two times in 2011 and 2012. Fehérvár is best known in European football for reaching the 1985 UEFA Cup Final, being led by Ferenc Kovács.[2] Most recently, the team has participated in the group stage of the UEFA Europa League in the 2012–13 and 2018–19 seasons.

The club colours are blue and red. Since 1967, Fehérvár has been playing its home matches the Sóstói Stadion.

Background

Main article: Videoton (company)

The original name of the football club, Videoton, comes from the Hungarian company (owned by the state between 1955 and 1991).

On 1 July 2018, the club's name was changed from Videoton FC to MOL Vidi FC despite strong disagreement of the supporters of the club. A further change was made on 1 July 2019, becoming Mol Fehérvár FC. This change did not affect anything else, as the Vidi brand will also be used by the club.[3] On 1 July 2023, MOL stopped financing the club. Therefore, the club omitted MOL from their name.

History

Main article: History of Fehérvár FC

Fehérvár was founded in 1941 as Székesfehérvári Vadásztölténygyár SK. After several name changes, adopting the term Videoton, the team played in the first division for the first time during the 1968 season but they were immediately relegated. Their first domestic success occurred in the 1975–76 season when they finished 2nd. Fehérvár's biggest domestic success happened in the 2010–11 season when they finished first. Later they repeated the success by winning the championship in 2015 and 2018.[4]

At international level, Fehérvár's biggest success has been reaching the 1985 UEFA Cup Final where they lost to Real Madrid CF 1–3. That season, the team was able to knock out PSG in the second round and Manchester United in the quarterfinals. Despite being Hungarian champions three times since 2000, Fehérvár have never qualified for the group stage of the UEFA Champions League. They did, however, reach the group stage of the Europa League in 2012–13 and 2018–19. With qualification for the later stages being a possibility until the last match day each time, Fehérvár ultimately failed to reach the top two spots of their groups both occasions.[4]

Colours, badge and nicknames

The colours of the club are blue and red, representing the colours of the coat of arms of Székesfehérvár. The club used different crests and badges since their foundation in 1941. The crests also indicate the changes of the name of the club, however, the colours were always the same i.e. blue and red. The most famous nickname of the club is Vidi.[5]

The badge (which is being used since 2009 with minor changes following the renamings) is blue and red, and in the centre the castle refers to the symbol of the town: "vár" from "Székesfehérvár" means castle. The name and the year of the foundation can also be seen on the badge.

Name changes

  • 1941: Vadásztölténygyári SK
  • 1942–44: Székesfehérvári MOVE Vadásztölténygyár Sport és Kultur Egyesület
  • 1944–47: didn't participate in championships due to World War II
  • 1947–48: Székesfehérvári Vadásztölténygyári SE
  • 1948–50: Fehérvári Dolgozók SE
  • 1950–56: Székesfehérvári Vadásztölténygyári Vasas SK
  • 1957–62: Székesfehérvári Vasas SC
  • 1962–68: Székesfehérvári VT Vasas
  • 1968–90: Videoton Sport Club
  • 1990–91: Videoton-Waltham SC
  • 1991–93: Videoton-Waltham FC
  • 1993–95: Parmalat FC
  • 1995–96: Fehérvár-Parmalat FC
  • 1996: Fehérvár Parmalat '96 FC
  • 1996–04: Videoton FC Fehérvár
  • 2004–09: FC Fehérvár
  • 2009–2018: Videoton FC
  • 2018–2019: MOL Vidi FC[6]
  • 2019–2023: MOL Fehérvár FC[7][8]
  • 2023–present: Fehérvár FC

Manufacturers and shirt sponsors

The following table shows in detail Fehérvár FC kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors by year:

Period Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
1976–1989 Adidas Videoton
1989–1992 Waltham
1992–1993 Umbro
1993–1995 Parmalat
1995–1996 Hummel
1996–1997 Uhlsport
1997–1998 —
1998–2000 Videoton
2000−2001 unknown Videoton
2001–2004 Diadora
2004–2006 —
2006–2007 Puma UPC
2007–2008 Hummel —
2008–2015 Nike Máltai Szeretetszolgálat
2015–2016 Adidas
2016– MOL

Stadium

Main article: Sóstói Stadion (1967)
Sóstói Stadion

The multi-purpose stadium of the club is located in Székesfehérvár, Hungary.[9] The name of the stadium is Sóstói Stadion which originates from neighbouring Sóstó (in English Salt Lake). Its capacity is 14,300 (all seated) and it was opened in 1967.[10] The record attendance was in 1985 when Videoton FC played Spanish giants Real Madrid in the first leg of the final of the 1984–85 UEFA Cup.[11]

The first ground of the club could be found in the Berényi Street. On 26 September 1946, the first match was played at the Berényi Street Ground. Videoton played its matches here from 1950 to 1959. From 1959, the team played on a grass turf until 1967. The club moved to the Sóstói Stadion three times. The first era spent at the stadium was between 1948–50 and 1959–62. In 1967, the club moved there permanently.

In 2007, the academy of the team was founded in Felcsút, the village where Viktor Orbán, the Prime Minister spent his childhood. Videoton FC bought the team of Felcsút, which was played in the Nemzeti Bajnokság II and the team of the academy (named after Ferenc Puskás) competes in the Second League since that. The team is called Videoton-Puskás Ferenc Labdarúgó Akadémia (or Videoton II). Videoton-PFLA plays in Felcsút.

Due to the reconstruction of the Sóstói Stadion, Videoton played their home matches at the Pancho Aréna in the 2016–17 Nemzeti Bajnokság I and 2016–17 UEFA Europa League season. The Pancho Arena is located in Felcsút and its main tenant is Nemzeti Bajnokság II club Puskás Akadémia FC. The director of Videoton chose Pancho Aréna as their home due to the club's strong ties with Puskás Akadémia. However, the capacity of the Pancho Aréna is much smaller than Videoton's original stadium.

Main article: Sóstói Stadion
MOL Aréna Sóstó was opened in 2018

On 23 November 2016 the construction officially started.[12]

On 7 February 2017, László Horváth, project manager of Sóstó Konzorcium, said that the first phase of the construction ended. The demolition of the interior of the remaining main stand ended. The concrete of the demolished parts of the main stand will be reused in the building of the new stands. The Sóstó Konzorcium will have 14 months to finish the construction of the stadium.[13]

On 13 March 2017, László Horváth, project manager of Sóstó Konzorcium, said that thanks to the mild winter the construction of the new stadium is in good progress. The construction of the base of the stands were finished in March.[14]

On 27 March 2017, it was confirmed that the construction of the stadium would be finished by 16 January 2018. Péter Gönczöl, managing director of Strabag-MML Kft., said that the construction is in the most spectacular phase when the biggest panels are positioned into their places. András Cser-Palkovics, mayor of Székesfehérvár, said that due to the severe weather conditions during winter the construction could be finished by the deadline. Róbert Varga, director of Strabag-Hungary, added that the new stadium will be able to host 14,201 spectators and the stadium will be lying on a base of 10,199 square metres and the highest point of the stadium will be 21.28 metres.[15]

On 18 August 2017, it was announced that the main stand should also be demolished due to statical problems. Originally, the new stadium would have been built around the main stand. Due to the reconstruction of the main stand, the opening of the new stadium will be delayed to June 2018.[16]

On 14 August 2018, an article was published on the Hungarian news website, Index.hu, stating that there will be further delays in the opening of the new stadium.[17] One day later, it was announced that the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League play-off matches will be played at Ferencvárosi TC's home stadium, Groupama Aréna in Budapest.[18]

The first match was played between Fehérvár FC and Újpest FC in the 2018–19 Nemzeti Bajnokság I season and it ended with a 1–0 victory for the home side. The first goal was scored by Roland Juhász. The new stadium was also renamed as MOL Aréna Sóstó for sponsorship reason. Since there was a MOL Aréna in Dunaszerdahely, Sóstó was added to the new name.[19]

On 1 July 2023, the name of the stadium was changed from MOL Aréna Sóstó to Sóstói Stadion due to changes in sponsorship.[20]

Ownership

Being the favourite football club of the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, from 2010, some of the most wealthy Hungarians started to appear in the VIP of the team (e.g. Sándor Csányi, president of the Hungarian OTP Bank and the Hungarian Football Association) by the side of the Prime Minister. The owner since December 2007 is István Garancsi, a friend of Viktor Orbán's.[21]

On 2 June 2023, it was annlunced that the club's main sponsor, MOL, would not finance the club anymore.[22]

Supporters and rivalries

Videoton supporters at the ETO Park, in Győr, 2010.

The supporters of the club are based in Székesfehérvár, in Fejér County, Hungary. One of the group of supporters is the Red Blue Devils which is considered the main ultras of the team (there are smaller groups like Red-Blue City, Sóstói Hableányok, G-pont). Fehérvár FC is in rivalry with the most famous Hungarian clubs such as Ferencváros, Újpest, Győri ETO, Haladás, and Debrecen. The club has a local rival, Puskás Akadémia FC, based in Felcsút, Fejér County, but the rivalry is relatively tame. These two clubs had a stadium share in Felcsut while Fehérvár's stadium was under renovation, 2016–18. Fejer county's second most populated city is Dunaújváros, but Dunaferr FC, formerly based there, no longer exists. Between 1997 and 1999, Videoton's local rival was Gázszer FC which was based in Agárd, Fejér County.

Fehérvár FC has a selection of celebrity supporters such as the Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán.[23]

Honours

Domestic

International

Main article: Fehérvár FC in European football

Players

Current squad

As of 30 August, 2024[24] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Hungary HUN Gergely Nagy
3 DF Denmark DEN Kasper Larsen
4 DF Hungary HUN Csaba Spandler
7 DF Bosnia and Herzegovina BIH Ivan Miličević
8 MF Ukraine UKR Bohdan Melnyk
9 FW Slovenia SVN Nejc Gradisar
10 FW Kosovo KOS Lirim Kastrati
11 FW Argentina ARG Nicolás Stefanelli
13 MF Hungary HUN Zsolt Kalmár
14 DF Hungary HUN Áron Csongvai (captain)
15 MF Hungary HUN Matyas Kovács
16 DF Hungary HUN Mario Simut
18 MF Slovakia SVK Bence Kovács
19 FW Hungary HUN Patrik Kovács
No. Pos. Nation Player
21 DF Hungary HUN András Huszti
23 MF Hungary HUN Bálint Szabó
27 MF Hungary HUN Bence Bedi
30 MF Hungary HUN Gergo Ominger
31 DF North Macedonia MKD Nikola Serafimov
57 GK Hungary HUN Martin Dala
70 FW Hungary HUN Filip Holender
71 FW Hungary HUN Tamás Tóth
74 MF Hungary HUN Bence Babos
75 GK Hungary HUN Dániel Veszelinov
77 MF Hungary HUN Mátyás Katona
97 FW Ukraine UKR Daniel Kivinda
99 MF Hungary HUN Milán Pető

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
No. Pos. Nation Player
— FW Hungary HUN Levente Szabó (at Diósgyőr until 30 June 2024)

Retired numbers

Nemanja Nikolić, is the greatest goalscorer of the club

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
17 FW Hungary HUN Nemanja Nikolić (the club's greatest goalscorer with 164 goals)[25]

Club officials

Board of directors

As of 19 December 2022[26]

Position Name
President Hungary István Garancsi
Managing Director Hungary Attila Balogh
Sports director Hungary Roland Juhász
Deputy Sports Director Hungary Bence Szabó

Staff

As of 11 May 2024[26]

Position Name
Head coach Sweden Poland Bartosz Grzelak
Assistant coach Hungary Szabolcs Huszti
Goalkeeper coach Hungary András Elbert
Technical director Hungary Norbert Rédei
Head video analyst Hungary Gábor Késedi
Video analyst Hungary Bence Pap
Club doctor Hungary Tibor Kovács Dávid
Club doctor Hungary Tibor Kovács
Physiotherapist 1 Hungary Gábor Barta
Physiotherapist 2 Hungary Roland Kátai
Physiotherapist 3 Hungary Gergely Gál
Sport masseur 1 Hungary Péter Gáspár
Sport masseur 2 Hungary Ildikó Fejes
Sport masseur 3 Hungary Tibor Debreceni
Kitman 1 Hungary Róbert Lakatos
Kitman 2 Hungary Gergő Stéger

Former club directors and sports directors

Notable foreign players

Angola
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Brazil
Bulgaria
Cape Verde
Croatia
El Salvador
France
Germany
Guinea-Bissau
Guinea
Morocco
North Macedonia
Martinique
Montenegro
Netherlands
Nigeria
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Serbia
Slovakia
Spain
Sweden
Ukraine
Uganda

See also

References

  1. ^ "MOL Fehérvár FC néven folytatja az NB I tavalyi bajnoka". Hirado. Archived from the original on 9 July 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  2. ^ "UEFA Cup 1984–85: Madrid awake from European slumber". UEFA. 1 November 2012. Archived from the original on 29 March 2014. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  3. ^ nemzetisport.hu (17 May 2019). "NB I: júliustól nincs többé Mol Vidi FC, ismét nevet vált a klub -". NSO.hu. Archived from the original on 25 June 2019. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
  4. ^ a b "MOL Fehérvár | Hungarian Football". HungarianFootball.com. Archived from the original on 21 October 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  5. ^ "Fehérvár FC – Profile". worldfootball.net. Archived from the original on 21 October 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  6. ^ "Istvan Garancsi: New name with new objectives". molvidi.hu. Archived from the original on 30 June 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  7. ^ "NB I: júliustól nincs többé Mol Vidi FC, ismét nevet vált a klub" (in Hungarian). Nemzeti Sport. 17 May 2019. Archived from the original on 18 May 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  8. ^ "Our teams will wear the name of the city from 2019/2020". MOL Vidi. Archived from the original on 24 May 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  9. ^ "Sóstói, Székesfehérvár (Hungary)". worldfootball.net. Archived from the original on 21 October 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  10. ^ "Sostoi stadium". molfehervarfc.hu. Archived from the original on 21 October 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  11. ^ "A look back to the last time Videoton were big in Europe". molfehervarfc.hu. Archived from the original on 21 October 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  12. ^ "Videoton: elkezdődött a Sóstói Stadion építése". Nemzeti Sport. 24 November 2016. Archived from the original on 22 March 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  13. ^ "Videoton: az ütemtervnek megfelelően halad a stadionépítés – képek". Nemzeti Sport. 7 February 2017. Archived from the original on 22 March 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  14. ^ "Videoton: így állnak a stadionépítési munkák – képek". Nemzeti Sport. 13 March 2017. Archived from the original on 22 November 2018. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  15. ^ "Videoton: időben kész lesz a Sóstói Stadion – képek, videó". Nemzeti Sport. 27 March 2017. Archived from the original on 4 February 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  16. ^ "Videoton: súlyos statikai problémák – csúszás a Sóstói Stadionnál". Nemzeti Sport. 18 August 2017. Archived from the original on 13 February 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  17. ^ "Ez a Vidi-stadion már sose lesz kész?". Index.hu. 14 August 2018. Archived from the original on 5 December 2018. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  18. ^ "A további nemzetközi kupameccsekre a Groupama Arénába költözik a Vidi". Molvidi.hu. 15 August 2018. Archived from the original on 15 August 2018. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  19. ^ neosoft.hu, NeoSoft Kft-. "MOL Aréna Sóstó lesz a neve a stadionnak". Székesfehérvár Városportál. Archived from the original on 22 November 2018. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  20. ^ nemzetisport.hu (2023). "NB I: Sóstói Stadion néven működik tovább a Fehérvár FC otthona - N". www.nemzetisport.hu (in Hungarian). Archived from the original on 30 June 2023. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  21. ^ "Istvan Garancsi: New name with new objectives". molfehervarfc.hu. Archived from the original on 21 October 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  22. ^ nemzetisport.hu (2023). "A MOL kiszáll, nem finanszírozza tovább a Fehérvárt!". www.nemzetisport.hu (in Hungarian). Archived from the original on 3 June 2023. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  23. ^ "Felcsut technical centre". vidi.hu. 1 November 2012. Archived from the original on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  24. ^ https://fehervarfc.hu/csapatok/fehervar-fc-i/keret-es-stab
  25. ^ "Távozik a Viditől Nikolics Nemanja" [Nemanja Nikolics is leaving Vidi] (in Hungarian). Fehérvár FC. 10 June 2022. Archived from the original on 10 June 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  26. ^ a b "MOL Fehérvár FC MOL Fehérvár I keret | molfehervarfc.hu". www.molfehervarfc.hu. Archived from the original on 19 December 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  27. ^ molfehervarfc.hu (7 January 2008). "Az új menedzsment bemutatkozása". molfehervarfc.hu. Archived from the original on 28 November 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  28. ^ Zrt, HVG Kiadó (30 May 2014). "A Videoton egykori sztárjából kőkemény klubigazgató lesz". hvg.hu. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  29. ^ nemzetisport.hu (18 August 2015). "Videoton: Burcsa mellett mások is mennek, Kovács Zoltán érkezik – N". NSO.hu. Archived from the original on 20 May 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  30. ^ nemzetisport.hu (17 July 2021). "Mol Fehérvár: távozik Kovács Zoltán sportigazgató". NSO.hu. Archived from the original on 17 July 2021. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
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