Budapest Honvéd FC facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Budapest Honvéd

Full name	Budapest Honvéd Football Club
Nickname(s)	Kispest Oroszlánok (Lions)
Founded	3 August 1909; 115 years ago (1909-08-03)
Ground	Bozsik Aréna, Budapest
Ground Capacity	8,200
Chairman	Tamás Leisztinger
Manager	Zsolt Laczkó
League	NB II
2023–24	NB II, 9th of 18
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Budapest Honvéd Football Club, often called Budapest Honvéd or just Honvéd, is a famous Hungarian sports club. It is based in Kispest, a part of Budapest. The club's colors are red and black.

While Honvéd has many sports teams, it is most famous for its football (soccer) team. The word Honvéd means "Homeland Defence" in Hungarian. The club started in 1909 as Kispest AC. It changed its name to Kispest FC in 1926, then back to its original name in 1944.

The football team had a "golden age" in the 1950s. During this time, it was called Budapesti Honvéd SE and became the team of the Hungarian Army. Many of the club's best players from this era, like Ferenc Puskás, Sándor Kocsis, József Bozsik, Zoltán Czibor, and Gyula Grosics, helped the club win the Hungarian League four times. These players also formed the core of the amazing Hungary national team, known as the Mighty Magyars.

The club had another successful period in the 1980s and early 1990s. They won eight more Hungarian League titles. They also won both the league and the cup in 1985 and 1989. In 1991, the club was renamed Kispest Honvéd FC. It got its current name, Budapest Honvéd FC, in 2003.

When the club first started in 1909, it also had teams for other sports. These included fencing, cycling, gymnastics, wrestling, athletics, boxing, and tennis. Later, other sports joined the Honvéd family. These include a water polo team, a basketball team that won 33 championships, and a handball team that won the European Champions title in 1982.

History

Budapest Honvéd FC was founded in 1909 as Kispesti AC. They first played in Hungary's top football league, the Nemzeti Bajnokság I, in the 1916–17 season. Their first big win was in the 1926 Magyar Kupa (Hungarian Cup). They beat Budapesti EAC in the final match. The club played in the first division from 1916 until 2003, when they were moved down to the second division.

Stadium

The first stadium was demolished in 2019

Budapest Honvéd's first stadium opened in 1913. The very last game played there was on August 5, 2018. Honvéd won against Paksi FC in a league match. The only goal was scored by Danilo. This old stadium was taken down in 2019.

The club's new stadium, called Bozsik Aréna, opened in 2021. The first match played there was between Budapest Honvéd FC II and Szekszárdi UFC. This stadium was also chosen to host games for the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

Crest and Colours

Budapest Honvéd FC crest used until 2020.

Manufacturers and shirt sponsors

This table shows the companies that made Budapest Honvéd FC's kits and the sponsors whose names were on their shirts over the years:

Honours

Budapest Honvéd FC has won many titles throughout its history:

• Nemzeti Bajnokság I (Hungarian First League)
  • Winners (14): 1949–50, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1979–80, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1990–91, 1992–93, 2016–17
• Nemzeti Bajnokság II (Hungarian Second League)
  • Winners (1): 2003–04
• Magyar Kupa (Hungarian Cup)
  • Winners (8): 1925–26, 1964, 1984–85, 1988–89, 1995–96, 2006–07, 2008–09, 2019–20
• UEFA Cup
  • Quarter final (1): 1978/79
• Mitropa Cup
  • Winners (1): 1959

Friendly Competitions

• Tournoi de Pâques du Red Star
  • Winners (1): 1932
• Trofeo Ciudad de Vigo
  • Winners (1): 1974

Youth teams

• Puskás Cup:
  • Winners (5): 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016

Players

Current squad

No. Position Player 1 GK Gellért Dúzs 4 DF Alex Szabó 6 MF István Átrok 7 MF Dávid Holman 8 MF Ákos Sigér 11 MF Zalán Kerezsi 13 MF Tamás Csilus 14 DF Cornel Ene 17 FW Ábel Krajcsovics 18 MF Attila Lőrinczy 19 DF Vyacheslav Kulbachuk 22 MF Noel Keresztes 23 FW Zoltán Medgyes

No. Position Player 29 MF Kevin Polák 30 MF Bence Nyitrai 44 DF Barna Benczenleitner 49 DF Branko Pauljevic 55 MF Gergely Kocsis 65 FW Norbert Kundrák 72 FW László Benkő 74 FW Benedek Simon 83 GK Tomáš Tujvel 90 GK Márk Gyetván 98 DF Tibor Szabó 99 DF István Pekár

Retired numbers

Some football clubs retire jersey numbers to honor their greatest players. 10 – Ferenc Puskás, Forward (1949–56). His number was retired in July 2000.

Notable former players

Many famous players have played for Budapest Honvéd FC. Here are some of the most well-known, especially those who also played for their national teams while at Honvéd:

Non-playing staff

Management

As of 15 September 2024

Position	Name
Proprietor	Tamás Leisztinger
Managing Director	Árpád Séllei
Marketing Director	Martin Petrevics
Director of Facility	Dávid Szabó
Director of Finance	Mária Takács
Director of Communications	Benedek Rác

First team staff

As of 15 September 2024

Position	Name
Head coach	Zsolt Laczkó
Assistant coach	István Paulik
Assistant coach	Djordje Kamber
Goalkeeping coach	István Brockhauser
Assistant goalkeeping coach	Viktor Szentpéteri
Fitness coach	Zsolt Lázár
Physiotherapist	Attila Hajdu
Video analyst	Balázs Sinkó

Ownership

In 2022, Chris Docherty became the club's new sports director. On May 22, 2023, Chris Docherty left his role as sports director. On April 27, 2024, a business group led by Tamás Lisztinger showed interest in buying the club.

Owners

Here are the owners of Budapest Honvéd FC over the years:

• 2006–2019: Quinex America LLC (George F. Hemingway)
• 2019–2024: Reditus Equity (Zoltán Bozó)
• 2024-present: ARAGO-SPORT Kft. (Tamás Leisztinger)

See also

In Spanish: Budapest Honvéd Football Club para niños

• History of Budapest Honvéd FC
• List of Budapest Honvéd FC seasons
• Budapest Honvéd FC in European football
• List of Budapest Honvéd FC managers