Ádám Szalai facts for kids

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The native form of this personal name is Szalai Ádám Csaba. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.

Quick facts for kids
Ádám Szalai
Personal information
Szalai with Hungary in 2019
Full name	Ádám Csaba Szalai
Date of birth	(1987-12-09) 9 December 1987 (age 37)
Place of birth	Budapest, Hungary
Height	1.93 m
Playing position	Forward
Youth career
1994–2000	Honvéd
2000–2004	Újpest
2004–2006	VfB Stuttgart
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
2006–2007	VfB Stuttgart II	33	(5)
2007–2010	Real Madrid B	79	(23)
2010	→ Mainz 05 (loan)	15	(1)
2010–2013	Mainz 05	64	(20)
2013–2014	Schalke 04	28	(7)
2014–2019	1899 Hoffenheim	100	(23)
2016	→ Hannover 96 (loan)	12	(0)
2019–2022	Mainz 05	57	(3)
2022–2023	Basel	17	(4)
Total		405	(86)
National team
2007	Hungary U20	11	(6)
2007–2008	Hungary U21	6	(5)
2009–2022	Hungary	86	(26)
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Ádám Szalai (born 9 December 1987) is a Hungarian former professional footballer. He played as a forward, scoring many goals.

He spent most of his career playing in Germany. He joined VfB Stuttgart in 2004. Later, he played for teams like Mainz 05, Schalke 04, 1899 Hoffenheim, and Hannover 96 in the top German league, the Bundesliga. He also played for three years in Spain with Real Madrid Castilla.

Ádám Szalai played for the Hungarian national team from 2009 to 2022. He played in 86 international matches and scored 26 goals. He also took part in two major tournaments, the European Championships, scoring one goal in each.

Club Career Highlights
International Career
- Playing for Hungary
- Returning to the National Team
Career Statistics
- Club Appearances and Goals
- International Appearances and Goals
Honours
See Also

Club Career Highlights

Starting Out in Hungary and Germany

Szalai began his football journey in his hometown, Budapest. He played for youth teams like Budapest Honvéd FC and Újpest FC. In 2004, he moved to Germany to join the youth academy of VfB Stuttgart.

He made his first senior appearance in the 2006–07 season. He played for Stuttgart's reserve team in a league called Regionalliga Süd.

Playing for Real Madrid's Reserve Team

In August 2007, Szalai moved to Spain. He joined Real Madrid Castilla, which is the reserve team for the famous Real Madrid club. He played in the Segunda División B league.

In his second season, 2008–09, he scored 16 goals in 37 games. This showed he was a strong goal scorer.

Time at Mainz 05

On 9 January 2010, Szalai was loaned to 1. FSV Mainz 05 in Germany. He made his Bundesliga debut a week later. He scored his first goal for Mainz on 10 April 2010 against Borussia Dortmund.

On 25 September, he scored a powerful goal against FC Bayern Munich. This helped Mainz win 2–1 and was part of their amazing start to the season. In January 2011, he got a serious knee injury that kept him from playing for a long time.

Szalai returned to play for Mainz in January 2012. On 1 August, he signed a new contract with the club. On 27 October, he scored his first hat-trick (three goals in one game) for the team. This helped Mainz win 3–0 against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.

By February 2013, Szalai had scored 12 goals in the season. This made him the top Hungarian goal scorer in a single German top-division season, beating previous records.

Moving to Schalke 04

Szalai in 2013

On 27 June 2013, Szalai signed a four-year contract with Schalke 04. He scored in his first league match for them, a 3–3 draw against Hamburger SV.

Szalai also helped Schalke reach the group stage of the UEFA Champions League. He scored two goals in a key match against PAOK FC, helping his team win 3–2.

Playing for Hoffenheim

On 3 July 2014, Szalai joined Hoffenheim. He scored on his debut for the team in a 2–0 win against Augsburg. He was even voted "Player of the Day" on the Bundesliga website.

In November 2014, he was sent off (given a red card) for the first time in his career. Later, in December, he came on as a substitute and scored a goal. He also made an assist for another goal, helping his team win.

In January 2016, Szalai was loaned to Hannover 96 for the rest of the season.

Second Time at Mainz and Basel

On 27 August 2019, Szalai returned to Mainz 05 on a free transfer. He played for them for another three years.

On 16 February 2022, Szalai moved to FC Basel in Switzerland. He scored a goal on his debut in the Swiss Super League three days later. His contract with Basel ended in January 2023. In July, Ádám Szalai announced that he was retiring from playing football at age 35.

International Career

Playing for Hungary

Szalai played regularly for the Hungarian under-21 team. He made his debut for the senior national team on 11 February 2009 in a friendly match.

On 8 October 2010, he scored three goals (a hat-trick) in an 8–0 win against San Marino. Four days later, he scored another goal in a 2–1 win against Finland.

He returned to the national team in February 2012 after his injury and scored a goal against Bulgaria. In September, he scored in a 5–0 win against Andorra. In October 2012, he helped Hungary beat Turkey 3–1, scoring the second goal.

Returning to the National Team

Szalai (left) facing Turkey's Merih Demiral in the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League

After a period away from the national team, Ádám Szalai returned in September 2014. He announced his return after Pál Dárdai became the new interim manager.

On 11 October 2014, Szalai played the full match in a 1–1 draw against Romania. Three days later, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 away win against the Faroe Islands. After Hungary qualified for UEFA Euro 2016, Szalai celebrated with fans.

Szalai was chosen for Hungary's Euro 2016 team. He started and scored the first goal in their opening game, a 2–0 win against Austria. This was his first goal in over a year.

In October 2016, Szalai scored his third goal in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers. In June 2021, he was chosen as the captain for the Euro 2020 tournament. He scored in a 2–2 draw against Germany and also assisted another goal.

Szalai announced his retirement from international football on 21 September 2022. His last match was against Italy. In October 2024, he joined the national team's coaching staff.

Career Statistics

Club Appearances and Goals

Here is a summary of Ádám Szalai's club career, showing how many games he played and how many goals he scored for each team.

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League			National cup		Europe		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
VfB Stuttgart II	2006–07	Regionalliga Süd	33	5	—		—		33	5
Real Madrid Castilla	2007–08	Segunda División B	29	4	—		—		29	4
	2008–09		37	16	—		—		37	16
	2009–10		13	3	—		—		13	3
	Total		79	23	—		—		79	23
Mainz 05	2009–10	Bundesliga	15	1	0	0	—		15	1
	2010–11		20	4	2	1	—		22	5
	2011–12		15	3	0	0	0	0	15	3
	2012–13		29	13	4	2	—		33	15
	Total		79	21	6	3	—		85	24
Schalke 04	2013–14	Bundesliga	28	7	3	0	9	2	40	9
1899 Hoffenheim	2014–15	Bundesliga	26	4	1	1	—		27	5
	2015–16		4	0	1	0	—		5	0
	2016–17		22	8	1	0	—		23	8
	2017–18		18	5	0	0	2	0	20	5
	2018–19		30	6	2	0	5	0	37	6
	2019–20		0	0	1	1	—		1	1
	Total		100	23	6	2	7	0	113	25
Hannover 96 (loan)	2015–16	Bundesliga	12	0	—		—		12	0
Mainz 05	2019–20	Bundesliga	27	1	—		—		27	1
	2020–21		18	1	2	1	—		20	2
	2021–22		12	1	2	0	—		14	1
	Total		57	3	4	1	0	0	61	4
Basel	2021–22	Swiss Super League	12	4	—		—		12	4
	2022–23	Swiss Super League	5	0	1	1	6	1	12	2
	Total		17	4	1	1	6	1	24	6
Career total			405	86	20	7	22	3	447	96

International Appearances and Goals

This table shows how many games Ádám Szalai played and goals he scored for the Hungarian national team each year.

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Hungary	2009	1	0
	2010	5	4
	2011	0	0
	2012	8	3
	2013	5	0
	2014	4	1
	2015	6	0
	2016	11	5
	2017	2	1
	2018	10	5
	2019	9	2
	2020	6	0
	2021	11	4
	2022	8	1
Total		86	26

Scores and results list Hungary's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Szalai goal.

List of international goals scored by Ádám Szalai
No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	8 October 2010	Ferenc Puskás, Budapest, Hungary	San Marino	2–0	8–0	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
2				4–0
3				5–0
4	12 October 2010	Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland	Finland	1–0	2–1
5	29 February 2012	ETO Park, Győr, Hungary	Bulgaria	1–0	1–1	Friendly
6	7 September 2012	Estadi Comunal, Andorra la Vella, Andorra	Andorra	3–0	5–0	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
7	16 October 2012	Ferenc Puskás, Budapest, Hungary	Turkey	2–1	3–1	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
8	14 October 2014	Torsvollur, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands	Faroe Islands	1–0	1–0	UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying
9	14 June 2016	Nouveau Stade, Bordeaux, France	Austria	1–0	2–0	UEFA Euro 2016
10	7 October 2016	Groupama Arena, Budapest, Hungary	Switzerland	1–1	2–3	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
11	7 October 2016	Groupama Arena, Budapest, Hungary	Switzerland	2–2	2–3
12	10 October 2016	Skonto Stadium, Riga, Latvia	Latvia	2–0	2–0
13	13 November 2016	Groupama Arena, Budapest, Hungary	Andorra	4–0	4–0
14	31 August 2017		Latvia	2–0	3–1
15	23 March 2018		Kazakhstan	1–2	2–3	Friendly
16	15 October 2018	A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia	Estonia	2–1	3–3	2018–19 UEFA Nations League C
17	15 October 2018	A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia		3–3	3–3
18	15 November 2018	Groupama Arena, Budapest, Hungary		2–0	2–0
19	18 November 2018		Finland	1–0	2–0
20	24 March 2019		Croatia	1–1	2–1	UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying
21	15 November 2019	Puskás Aréna, Budapest, Hungary	Uruguay	1–2	1–2	Friendly
22	25 March 2021	Puskás Aréna, Budapest, Hungary	Poland	2–0	3–3	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
23	28 March 2021	San Marino Stadium, Serravalle, San Marino	San Marino	1–0	3–0	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
24	23 June 2021	Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany	Germany	1–0	2–2	UEFA Euro 2020
25	8 September 2021	Puskás Aréna, Budapest, Hungary	Andorra	1–0	2–1	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
26	23 September 2022	Red Bull Arena, Leipzig, Germany	Germany	1–0	1–0	2022–23 UEFA Nations League A