Ferencvárosi TC facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Ferencváros

Full name	Ferencvárosi Torna Club
Nickname(s)	Ferencváros, FTC and Fradi, zöldek (The greens)
Short name	FTC
Founded	3 May 1899; 126 years ago (1899-05-03)
Ground	Ferencváros Stadion, Budapest
Ground Capacity	23,700
President	Gábor Kubatov
Head coach	Robbie Keane
League	NB I
2024–25	NB I, 1st of 12 (champions)
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Ferencvárosi Torna Club, often called Ferencváros (Hungarian: [ˈfɛrɛnt͡svaːroʃ]), Fradi, or FTC, is a famous Hungarian professional football club. It is based in Ferencváros, a district in Budapest. The team plays in the Nemzeti Bajnokság I, which is the top football league in Hungary.

Ferencváros was started in 1899 by Ferenc Springer and some people from the local area. The club has won many titles in Hungary, including the Nemzeti Bajnokság I 36 times, the Magyar Kupa 24 times, and the Szuperkupa 6 times. These are all records for Hungarian football!

On the international stage, they won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1965. They beat Juventus 1–0 in the final. They also reached the finals of the same competition in 1968 and the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1975.

Ferencváros is best known for its men's football team, which is the most popular team in Hungary. But it's actually a multi-sport club with many other successful teams. These include women's football, women's handball, men's ice hockey, and men's water polo.

The club's colors are green and white. Their mascot is a green eagle, which is why they are sometimes called The Green Eagles.

Club History: How Ferencváros Began

Ferencvárosi TC was founded on May 3, 1899, by people living in the 9th district of Budapest, called Ferencváros. Since 1901, Ferencváros has almost always played in the Nemzeti Bajnokság I, Hungary's top league. They only spent three seasons (2006-2009) in a lower league due to financial issues. However, they were promoted back to the first division in 2009.

Ferencváros is the most successful Hungarian team, both in Hungary and in international competitions. They won the 1964–65 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup and have won the Nemzeti Bajnokság I 36 times and the Magyar Kupa 24 times.

The club has also played in major European tournaments. They were the first Hungarian club to qualify for the renewed UEFA Champions League in the 1995–1996 season. They have also played in the group stages of the 2004–05 UEFA Cup, Europa League, and Champions League in recent years.

The football part of the club started on December 3, 1900. Their first official championship match was on April 21, 1901, where they lost 5–3. Borbás Gáspár, who was 17, scored Ferencváros' first official goal. Their first win came on June 16, 1901, when they beat Budapesti SC 5–1.

Ferencváros played its first international match on March 25, 1901. On May 5, they won their first international game against Old Cricketer (5–0). In this game, players wore the first club badge. It had five green and four white stripes and three "E" letters. These letters stand for the club's motto: Morality, Strength, Understanding.

In 1903, Ferencváros won its first championship title. They won more titles in 1905, 1906/07, 1908/09, and 1909/10. On February 12, 1911, Ferencváros opened its new stadium on Üllői Road, where they still play today. Imre Schlosser scored the first goal in the new stadium. In 1911, the club won its third championship in a row, staying unbeaten for 21 matches.

In 1913, Ferencváros won both the championship title and the Hungarian Cup for the first time. When World War I started in 1914, many players had to join the military, and some never returned.

Club Identity: Colors and Nicknames

The club's main colors are green and white. The club badge has nine stripes, five green and four white. These stripes represent the 9th district of Ferencváros, Budapest, where the club was founded. The three "E" letters on the badge stand for the club's motto: Erkölcs, Erő, Egyetértés, which means "Morality, Strength, Understanding" in English.

Club Name Changes Over Time

Ferencvárosi TC has had a few different names throughout its history:

• 1899–1950: Ferencvárosi Torna Club
• 1950–1951: ÉDOSZ SE
• 1951–1956: Kinizsi
• 1956–present: Ferencvárosi Torna Club

Team Kit Sponsors

Here's a look at the companies that have made and sponsored Ferencváros's kits over the years:

Current sponsors include Macron (sportswear), T-Mobile (main sponsor), and Groupama (naming rights partner).

Ferencváros Stadium: Home Ground History

Üllői út (1911–1974)

The first stadium for Ferencváros was built in the autumn of 1910. On February 12, 1911, Ferencváros played their first match there against MTK Budapest and won. The stadium could hold 40,000 fans.

Albert Stadion (1974–2014)

In 1971, the old stadium was taken down, and a new one was built. This new stadium opened on May 19, 1974, for the club's 75th anniversary. The first match was against Vasas. This stadium could hold 29,505 spectators. In the 1990s, it was updated to meet UEFA rules, and its capacity became 18,100.

On December 21, 2007, the stadium's name changed from Üllői úti Stadion to Stadion Albert Flórián. This was to honor Flórián Albert, a legendary Ferencváros player.

Ferencváros Stadion (2014–present)

The current home of the club is Ferencváros Stadion, which is a multi-purpose stadium. It can hold 20,000 spectators for UEFA matches and 23,700 for Hungarian League matches.

The new stadium was built between 2013 and 2014. It was designed by Ágnes Streit and Szabolcs Kormos. Inside the stadium, there is a Ferencváros Museum and a fan shop. It also has a modern vein matching entrance system. On August 10, 2014, Ferencváros played its opening match against Chelsea.

After the old Puskás Ferenc Stadion was taken down, the Hungarian national team played their home matches at the new Ferencváros Stadion. They played there until the new Puskás Ferenc Stadion opened in late 2019.

Club Ownership and Leadership

On February 14, 2008, Kevin McCabe, who was the chairman of Sheffield United, bought Ferencváros. His company bought the club's property to help pay off its debts. In April 2008, Ferencváros officially agreed to sell the football club to McCabe's company.

In 2011, McCabe decided to give up his ownership of the club. He mentioned having a "strained relationship" with some other owners.

On February 25, 2011, Gábor Kubatov, a member of the Hungarian Parliament, became the president of Ferencváros. He was re-elected on October 28, 2014, for another four-year term.

Ferencváros Fans and Rivalries

Ferencváros supporters mostly come from Budapest, but the club is popular across all of Hungary. The nickname "Fradi" comes from Franzstadt, the German name for the Ferencváros area.

Friendships Between Fans

Ferencváros fans have friendships with supporters of Rapid Wien from Austria. Since both teams wear green, their alliance is called the "Green Brothers." They also have friendly ties with fans of Zalaegerszeg in Hungary, Śląsk Wrocław and Lechia Gdańsk in Poland, and Cambridge United in England.

Major Rivalries

Ferencváros-Újpest derby in the Hungarian league at the Albert Stadion on March 10, 2013

Ferencváros-Újpest derby on April 1, 2011

Ferencváros has rivalries with several teams from Budapest, including MTK Budapest, Újpest, Honvéd, and Vasas SC. They also have rivalries with clubs from other parts of Hungary like Debrecen and Diósgyőr. Because Ferencváros is the most successful club in Hungarian football history, every other team wants to beat them.

The biggest rivalry is with Újpest. This rivalry started in the 1930s when Újpest won their first Hungarian League title. Matches between these two teams usually attract the most fans in the league.

The game between Ferencváros and MTK Budapest FC is called the Örökrangadó, or Eternal Derby. It is the oldest football rivalry in Hungary, going back to the 1903 season. For many years, either Ferencváros or MTK Budapest won the league title.

Honvéd is also a strong rival because the clubs are located very close to each other and often competed for championships in the past.

Club Honours: Trophies and Achievements

•      record

Individual Player Awards

Top Scorers in Hungarian League

Season	Name	Goals
1904	József Pokorny	12
1908–09	Imre Schlosser	30
1909–10	Imre Schlosser	18
1910–11	Imre Schlosser	38
1911–12	Imre Schlosser	34
1912–13	Imre Schlosser	33
1913–14	Imre Schlosser	21
1925–26	József Takács	29
1927–28	József Takács	31
1928–29	József Takács	41
1929–30	József Takács	40
1931–32	József Takács	42
1933–34	Géza Toldi	27
1935–36	György Sárosi	36
1939–40	György Sárosi	23
1940–41	György Sárosi	29
1948–49	Ferenc Deák	59
1957–58	Zoltán Friedmanszky	16
1959–60	Flórián Albert	27
1960–61	Flórián Albert	21
1965	Flórián Albert	27
1980–81	Tibor Nyilasi	30
1989–90	József Dzurják	18
1995–96	Ihor Nichenko	18
2015–16	Dániel Böde	17
2018–19	Davide Lanzafame	16
2023–24	Barnabás Varga	20

Hungarian Second League Top Scorers

Season	Name	Goals
2008–09 NB II - Eastern group	István Ferenczi	39

International Player Awards

Club Records: Top Players

Most Appearances for Ferencváros

Rank.	Player	Period	Games
1	Péter Lipcsei	1990–1995; 1997–1998; 2000–10	428
2	György Sárosi	1931–1948	384
3	Sándor Mátrai	1953–1967	356
4	Flórián Albert	1959–1974	351
5	Máté Fenyvesi	1953–1969	345
6	József Keller	1984–1995; 1996; 2000–2003; 2005	325
7	Gyula Rákosi	1957–1972	322
8	László Bálint	1968–1979	316
9	Zoltán Ebedli	1973–1984; 1985–1986	313
10	István Géczi	1962–1979	309

Top Scorers for Ferencváros

Rank.	Player	Period	Goals
1	György Sárosi	1931–1948	351
2	Imre Schlosser	1906–1915; 1926–1927	269
3	Flórián Albert	1959–1974	256
4	Géza Toldi	1928–1939; 1942–1943	213
5	József Takács	1927–1934	209
6	Tibor Nyilasi	1973–1983	132
7	Ferenc Deák	1947–1950	121
8	Mihály Pataki	1910–1927	113
9	Ferenc Weisz	1902–1920	105
10	Péter Lipcsei	1990–1995; 1997–1998; 2000–2010	101

Players: Meet the Team

Current Squad

No. Position Player 3 DF Stefan Gartenmann 5 MF Naby Keïta (on loan from Script error: The function "fbaicon" does not exist. Werder Bremen) 7 FW Daniel Arzani 8 FW Aleksandar Pešić 10 FW Jonathan Levi 15 MF Mohammad Abu Fani 16 MF Kristoffer Zachariassen 17 FW Edgar Sevikyan 19 FW Barnabás Varga (vice-captain) 20 FW Adama Traoré 21 DF Endre Botka 22 DF Gábor Szalai 23 MF Bence Ötvös 24 FW Tosin Kehinde 25 MF Cebrail Makreckis 27 DF Ibrahim Cissé 28 DF Toon Raemaekers 29 GK Gergő Szécsi 30 FW Zsombor Gruber 32 FW Aleksandar Ćirković

No. Position Player 33 MF Cadu 34 DF Raul Gustavo 40 FW Fortune Bassey 44 DF Ismaïl Aaneba 47 MF Callum O'Dowda 54 DF Norbert Kaján 64 MF Alex Tóth 66 MF Júlio Romão 68 FW Ádám Halmai 75 FW Lenny Joseph 77 DF Barnabás Nagy 80 MF Habib Maïga 88 MF Philippe Rommens 89 GK Dávid Gróf 90 GK Dénes Dibusz (captain) 99 DF Cristian Ramírez DF Lóránd Pászka MF Péter Baráth MF Bálint Katona FW Kenan Kodro

Players on Loan

No. Position Player 1 GK Ádám Varga (at Debreceni VSC until 30 June 2026) 70 MF Isaac Pappoe (at Dundee United until 30 June 2026)

Feeder Club

• Soroksár (NB II)

Retired Jersey Numbers

Tibor Simon's memorial

• 2 – Tibor Simon, Defender (1985–99) – This number was retired to honor him after his passing.
• 12 – "The 12th man", this number is kept for the club's amazing supporters. It was retired in 2007.

Famous Former Players

These players have played for their national teams while also playing for Ferencváros. Players whose names are in bold represented their countries during their time at Ferencváros.

Notes

Non-Playing Staff: Who Runs the Club

Board of Directors Position Name President Gábor Kubatov Vice-president Máté Kocsis Member of the Presidium András Sike Member of the Presidium József Farkas Member of the Presidium Miklós Kovács Member of the Presidium Beatrix Kökény Member of the Presidium György Rieb Member of the Presidium Miklós Dr. Springer Financial Manager Miklós Szalai

Board of Supervision Position Name President György Kassai Member of the Board of Supervision Péter Császár Member of the Board of Supervision Péter Burg Member of the Board of Supervision Gábor Dr. Balczó Member of the Board of Supervision Botond Kerényi

Coaches: Leading the Teams

First Team Coaches

Position Name Head Coach Robbie Keane Assistant Coach Phil Hudson Assistant Coach Rory Delap Assistant Coach Leandro de Almeida Goalkeeper Coach Tamás Balogh Fitness Coach Nick Segers Masseur 1 László Eisenmann Masseur 2 Gábor Lipcsei Technical director Antal Kökény Club doctor 1 Gergely Pánics Club doctor 2 Gábor Reha Physiotherapist Timo Sijbertsma Sport psychologist Sándor Nagy Video analyst Ákos Balogh Kit manager Péter Czakó Second Team Coaches Position Name Head Coach Péter Lipcsei Advisor Theo Schneider

Former Ferencváros legend, Péter Lipcsei is the manager of the second team

Former Managers

Here are the managers who have led the team since 2010:

Year László Prukner 2010–11 Tamás Nagy 2011 Lajos Détári 2011–12 Ricardo Moniz 2012–13 Thomas Doll 2013–18 Serhii Rebrov 2018–21 Peter Stöger 2021 Stanislav Cherchesov 2021–23 Dejan Stanković 2023–24 Pascal Jansen 2024

Former Presidents

Here are some of the people who have been president of the club:

Year Ferenc Springer 1899–20 Aladár Mattyók 1920–23 Ernő Gschwindt 1923–31 Béla Mailinger 1931–44 Béla Usetty 1937–44 Andor Jaross 1944 Adolf Nádas 1944–50 Ferenc Münnich 1948–50 Árpád Nöhrer 1950–51 István Száraz 1951–52 Béla Komoretto 1953–55 Károly Weidemann 1956–58 János Bédi 1958–62 Aladár Végh 1962–65 István Kalmár 1966–70 János Harót 1970–71 Lajos Lénárt 1971–81

Year Tibor Losonci 1980–85 Imre Kovács 1981–88 Károly Hargitai 1985–90 Ferenc Szabó 1988–89 István Debreczeny 1989–90 Lajos Harza 1990–94 István Szívós 1991–98 Péter Szerdahelyi 1994–96 Benedek Fülöp 1996–98 József Torgyán 1999–01 János Furulyás 2001–06 Miklós Inácsy 2006 Zsolt Dámosy 2006–07 György Rieb 2007–10 Miklós Kovács 2010–11 Gábor Kubatov 2011–

Gábor Kubatov is the current president of the club

More About Ferencváros

• History of Ferencvárosi TC
• List of Ferencvárosi TC seasons
• Ferencvárosi TC in European football
• List of Ferencvárosi TC managers
• List of Ferencvárosi TC records and statistics

See also

In Spanish: Ferencváros Torna Club para niños