On the long list of important things affected by Covid-19, a late promotion push by Hungarian second division team Vasas FC is probably not foremost in your brainspace, nor was it in mine. Football is not just secondary right now, it’s so low down the list of priorities as to be near-irrelevant given the loss and disruption inflicted by Coronavirus. Still, I started this season so I’ll finish it with a quick update.
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By Daniel Cochran
Brazil in the late 70s and early 80s are often cited as the greatest team not to win a World Cup. With players such as Sócrates, Zico and Falcão starring in midfield, the Brazilians had fans flocking to see them play on their many worldwide travels. A friendly match against the Seleção was not just a stern test, but also a feather in the cap of a country’s FA – and a strong step towards footballing legitimacy.
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Vasas midfielder Benedek Murka hasn’t had a great few years. A promising start to his young career (he’s still only 22) saw him play for the Hungarian National Under-21 team and cement a place in the Vasas starting lineup. Sadly, this early success was brought to a halt last year when a knee injury landed him in the one place no player wants to be – ACL surgery.
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In these long empty days of self-isolation with nought but Belarusian football to look forward to, the mind inevitably drifts to the past. A post on Facebook a few days back reminded me of my friend Leon Ward’s crowning moment of bullshittery back in 2009. I caught up with him to discuss the saga of Rajko Purovic: the Middlesbrough transfer target that never was.
Continue readingAs expected, the government here in Hungary have introduced swingeing new measures to halt the spread of coronavirus, the biggest ones being a ban on entering the country from Italy, Iran, China and South Korea, and restrictions at the Austrian and Slovenian borders. Universities will hold remote classes, whilst making false statements about viral infection could result in prosecution. Employees have been asked to work from home where possible.
For life within Budapest though, it’s the ban on public events of 100 people (indoor) and 500 people (outdoor) that will have the biggest day-to-day effect for us sociable go-getter types, especially those without family here.
Continue readingYesterday was a huge day for Vasas. Nine points off the promotion places but with the top two to play this month, it was vital that they kept up their glorious 4-game winning streak to keep pace with the leaders. First and second placed MTK and Budafoki both had tricky away games, while Vasas faced an eminently beatable Nyíregyháza. And what a day it proved.
A bout of sickness left me bedridden most of the weekend, so it’s was slightly groggy Englishman that headed over to the Illovszky Rudolf Stadion on Sunday to see Vasas-Győr. Győr is one of Hungary’s bigger cities and is known for its Audi-centric economy (there’s a big factory there). They’re also one of the teams nipping at Vasas’ heels for 3rd spot.
On the bus Mike and I end up talking to a 13 year old Chinese boy, who’s on the way to the game but has no idea which stop he needs to get off at. He seems to be jumping on and off the bus at random (narrowly missing the closing doors, no doubt to the ire of the ever-jolly BKK bus driver), but after hearing us discussing Vasas in English he approaches us and proceeds to demonstrate an encyclopedic knowledge of the NBii league.
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While I aspire to be cultured gent, give me a beer festival and football and I’m happy as the proverbial swine in its own feculence. So this weekend we headed over to deepest darkest Kőbánya (that’s Budapest’s notorious District X) to visit the Mad Scientist Brewery Party.
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Pléhcsárda has been on my bucket list ever since I saw Anthony Bourdain trying manfully to finish one of their hubcap-sized schnitzels on his wonderful Parts Unknown travelogue. The place – which is little more than a shipping container full of meat – has become semi-legendary in Budapest, not just for Bourdain, but also as the “Tin Gundel”.
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J2 League’s Tokyo Verdy unveiled their new kits in a very fancy press conference yesterday. Again produced by Athleta, the shirts feature an isometric pattern in a modern twist on their 90s kits, as well as an updated, simplified crest.
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