Szabolcs Huszti (; born 18 April 1983) is a Hungarian professional
football coach and a former player. He was well known for his dribbling, pace, passing and goal scoring ability from
midfield
Midfield is the part of a sports field that lies approximately in the center. In American football, association football (soccer) and field hockey, it is the area in and around the center circle, as well as the players who occupy that region. In ...
.
Huszti began his professional career at the Hungarian club
Ferencváros
Ferencváros () is the 9th district of Budapest ( hu, Budapest IX. kerülete), Hungary.
Name
The southern suburb of Pest was named after King Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, Francis I on 4 December 1792 when he was crowned king of Hungary.
...
. A short stint with
Metz
Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand Est ...
followed, before he was signed by
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footbal ...
club
Hannover 96
Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96 (), Hannover, HSV or simply 96, is a German professional football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony. They played in the Bundesliga for a total of 30 years betw ...
for £210,000 in 2006. He scored six goals in his first season, the most memorable coming in a shocking 1–0 victory away at
Bayern Munich. In 2009, he moved to
Zenit to replace
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
-bound
Andrey Arshavin
Andrey Sergeyevich Arshavin (russian: Андрей Сергеевич Аршавин ; born 29 May 1981) is a Russian former professional footballer who played as a winger or midfielder.
Arshavin began his career at Zenit Saint Petersburg in ...
. After several spells in Germany and China, Huszti returned to Hungary where he retired as part of
Fehérvár in 2020.
He was first called up for the
Hungary national team during his time on loan at
Sopron
Sopron (; german: Ödenburg, ; sl, Šopron) is a city in Hungary on the Austrian border, near Lake Neusiedl/Lake Fertő.
History
Ancient times-13th century
When the area that is today Western Hungary was a province of the Roman Empire, a ...
, and made his senior international debut in April 2004. Huszti was suspended from the team in 2007 after walking out of a training camp ahead of two
UEFA Euro 2008
The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA ( ...
qualifiers. In 2008, he made his comeback for his country in a 1–1 draw against
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...
. He retired from international football in 2010, as he wanted to focus on his club career and that he did not like the atmosphere around the national side.
Career
Ferencváros
Huszti (his surname meaning "from
Huszt" now in Ukraine) began his professional career at the Hungarian club
Ferencváros
Ferencváros () is the 9th district of Budapest ( hu, Budapest IX. kerülete), Hungary.
Name
The southern suburb of Pest was named after King Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, Francis I on 4 December 1792 when he was crowned king of Hungary.
...
. Following a solitary first team appearance, he was loaned out to fellow top-flight team
FC Sopron
FC Sopron was a Hungarian football club from the town of Sopron, near the Austrian border. It was founded in 1921 as ''Soproni Postás''. The club's home stadium is Stadion Városi with a capacity of 5,300.
With the beginning of the season 20 ...
in December 2003. During this six-month stint, he scored goals in his 14 appearances. He was called back to his parent club for the 2004–05 season, and began brightly, scoring on his return against
Győr
Győr ( , ; german: Raab, links=no; names in other languages) is the main city of northwest Hungary, the capital of Győr-Moson-Sopron County and Western Transdanubia region, and – halfway between Budapest and Vienna – situated on one of t ...
and establishing himself as a regular starter.
Huszti's time in his native country wasn't to last beyond that one season. Despite interest from
Rangers
A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...
and
West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional Association football, football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English foo ...
, he was eventually sold to
FC Metz
Football Club de Metz, commonly referred to as FC Metz or simply Metz (), is a French association football club based in Metz, Lorraine. The club was formed in 1932 and plays in Ligue 2, the second division in the French football league ...
of France's
Ligue 1
Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. ...
in summer 2005. His new club was to endure a difficult season though, as they ended up suffering relegation. This was the catalyst for another move, as he transferred to German
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footbal ...
club
Hannover 96
Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96 (), Hannover, HSV or simply 96, is a German professional football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony. They played in the Bundesliga for a total of 30 years betw ...
for just £210,000 in July 2006.
Hannover
He made his
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footbal ...
debut on 13 August 2006, against then-champions
Werder Bremen
Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen (), Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen, Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, they are best known for the ...
. His versatility – being adept in both wide positions (despite his preferred left foot), amid the midfield or even as an advanced attacker – saw him become a permanent fixture in the team. He also managed six goals in his first season, the most memorable perhaps coming in a shock 1–0 victory at
Bayern Munich. Huszti returned a nemesis for Bayern Munich again when he scored from a wonderfully curved free kick in Hannover's 1–0 win at the start of the 2008–09 season. Hannover had not beaten Bayern at home for 20 years and thus Huszti had ended that drought.
In the 2007–08 season, he established himself as a key player at Hannover, who were having quite a successful season, always being placed in the upper half of the table. Huszti was certainly one of the most prominent midfielders in the German top division, having played all but one match for his team and scoring ten goals.
Zenit St. Petersburg

On 1 February 2009, he moved to
FC Zenit St. Petersburg
Football Club Zenit (russian: link=no, Футбольный клуб «Зенит» ), also known as Zenit Saint Petersburg or simply Zenit, is a Russian professional association football, football club based in Saint Petersburg. Founded in ...
to replace
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
-bound
Andrei Arshavin
Andrey Sergeyevich Arshavin (russian: Андрей Сергеевич Аршавин ; born 29 May 1981) is a Russian former professional footballer who played as a winger or midfielder.
Arshavin began his career at Zenit Saint Petersburg in ...
. He was also one of the main targets of
Glasgow Celtic
The Celtic Football Club, commonly known as Celtic (), is a Scottish professional football club based in Glasgow, which plays in the Scottish Premiership. The club was founded in 1887 with the purpose of alleviating poverty in the immigra ...
in the transfer period, but the Scottish club was outbid by Zenit's £2.5million offer. He joined the team on the training camp in Turkey in early February 2009. He scored in his first official game on 18 February 2009 for
FC Zenit St. Petersburg
Football Club Zenit (russian: link=no, Футбольный клуб «Зенит» ), also known as Zenit Saint Petersburg or simply Zenit, is a Russian professional association football, football club based in Saint Petersburg. Founded in ...
a goal against
VfB Stuttgart
Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's football team is currently part of Germany's first division, the Bundesliga. Vf ...
, after 1.53 minutes in the UEFA Cup. He made his league debut two months later against FC Lokomotiv Moscow as a substitute of Viktor Fayzulin.
Hannover
On 23 July 2012, he returned to
Hannover 96
Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96 (), Hannover, HSV or simply 96, is a German professional football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony. They played in the Bundesliga for a total of 30 years betw ...
signing a three-year contract until June 2015. He gave four assists in his first match against VfL Wolfsburg.
Changchun Yatai
On 16 July 2014, Hannover 96 announced Huszti's transfer to
Chinese Super League
The Chinese Football Association Super League, commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the China Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional football in ...
side
Changchun Yatai
Changchun Yatai Football Club () is a professional Chinese football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in Changchun, Jilin and their home sta ...
. On 26 July 2014, he made his debut for the club in a 2-2 home draw against
Beijing Guoan
Beijing Guoan Football Club () is a professional football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in the Chaoyang District in Beijing and their ho ...
. He scored his first goal for the club on 3 August, helping Changchun to a 2-1 win over defending champions
Guangzhou Evergrande
Guangzhou Football Club, formerly known as Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao Football Club, is a professional Chinese football club that participates in the Chinese Super League under the license of the Chinese Football Association. The team is based ...
.
Eintracht Frankfurt
On 30 December 2015, Huszti signed an 18-month contract with
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footbal ...
club
Eintracht Frankfurt
Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The team is currently playing in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the Germa ...
.
Return to Changchun Yatai
Huszti received an offer from his former club, the Chinese
Changchun Yatai
Changchun Yatai Football Club () is a professional Chinese football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in Changchun, Jilin and their home sta ...
. German press reported a salary of 3.3 million euros annually. On 12 March 2017, he debuted for the second time for Changchun in 1-0 away defeat to
Guangzhou R&F
Guangzhou City Football Club (广州城) is a Chinese professional football club that competes in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in Guangzhou, Guangdong, and their home ven ...
. On 9 April, he scored his first goal in his second spell for Yatai, a direct free kick in a 1-1 home draw against
Liaoning Whowin
Liaoning Football Club (), officially known as Liaoning Hongyun (), was a professional association football club with a long history in Chinese football. The club can predate their formation to 1953, when Shenyang government sports body joined ex ...
. In a 3-2 away defeat at
Shandong Luneng
Shandong Taishan Football Club () is a professional football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in Jinan, Shandong and their home stadium is ...
on 22 July 2017, he accidentally injured his own knees towards the end of the game, which unfortunately ended both his season and his second spell at Yatai early.
Videoton
On 11 January 2018, after twelve and a half years abroad, he returned home and became a
Videoton FC Videoton may refer to:
*Videoton (company)
Videoton, or officially VIDEOTON HOLDING Ltd. is a Hungarian privately-owned company group based out of Székesfehérvár
Székesfehérvár (; german: Stuhlweißenburg ), known colloquially as Fehér ...
player. On 7 April, he scored his first league goal for the club from a free kick at home against
Újpest
Újpest (; german: Neu-Pest, en, New Pest) is the 4th District in Budapest, Hungary. It is located on the left bank of the Danube River. The name Újpest means "New Pest" because the city was formed on the border of the city of Pest, Hungary i ...
in a 3–0 league victory. In the 2018–19 season, the team reached the group stage of the
UEFA Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...
, where they finished third in the group. In his first full season, he won the
Magyar Kupa
The Hungarian Cup ( hu, Magyar Kupa) is the Hungarian cup competition for football clubs. It was started by the Hungarian Football Association, the ''Magyar Labdarúgó Szövetség,'' in 1909, eight years after the commencement of the Hungarian ...
.
Huzsti retired from professional football in 2020 after a knee surgery.
Club statistics
:''Statistics correct as of 28 September 2019''
Managerial statistics
''As of 28 August 2021''
International career
He had also established himself as a regular member of the
Hungary national team. He was first chosen during his time in Sopron, by then-manager
Lothar Matthäus
Lothar Herbert Matthäus (; born 21 March 1961) is a German football pundit and former professional player and manager. After captaining West Germany to victory in the 1990 FIFA World Cup where he lifted the World Cup trophy, he was awarded the ...
. His debut came on 25 April 2004 in a friendly with
Japan, which he marked with a goal. Huszti scored his two goals for the national team in August 2004, in a Man of the Match display away to
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...
.
However, his international career suffered a setback when current manager Péter Várhidi suspended him from the national team until the end of the year in June 2007. Hungary took this disciplinary action after Huszti walked out of their training camp ahead of two
European Championship qualifying games. The player claimed this was because he was unsure whether he would be named as a starter.
In 2008, Huszti made a comeback for his country on 6 February, in a 1–1 draw against
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...
.
On 9 September 2010, Huszti announced his retirement from the national team. He published an open letter following the Euro 2012 qualification match against
Moldova
Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnist ...
in which he cited various reasons for his decision, including that he wants to focus on his club career and that he does not like the current atmosphere around the national team. Following the announcement, former Hungarian international and Hertha BSC midfielder,
Pál Dárdai
Pál Dárdai (born 16 March 1976) is a Hungarian retired footballer who played mainly as a defensive midfielder, and last coached Hertha BSC.
In a 20-year professional career, he played for over a decade with the same club, Hertha BSC, in Ge ...
suggested discussing the controversies between Huszti and
Hungarian national football team
The Hungary national football team ( hu, magyar labdarúgó-válogatott) represents Hungary in men's international Association football, football and is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation. The team has made 9 appearances in the FIF ...
manager
Sándor Egervári claiming that Huszti is now one of the best Hungarian players and could be very useful for the
2014 FIFA World Cup qualifications. Years later, when the Hungarian nationals qualified to
UEFA Euro 2016
The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...
, Huszti reiterated his opinion that he has no intention to returning to the team.
International statistics
:''As of 3 September 2010''
International goals
:''Scores and results list Hungary's goal tally first.''
Honours
Club
;
Ferencváros
Ferencváros () is the 9th district of Budapest ( hu, Budapest IX. kerülete), Hungary.
Name
The southern suburb of Pest was named after King Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, Francis I on 4 December 1792 when he was crowned king of Hungary.
...
*
Hungarian League Hungarian may refer to:
* Hungary, a country in Central Europe
* Kingdom of Hungary, state of Hungary, existing between 1000 and 1946
* Hungarians, ethnic groups in Hungary
* Hungarian algorithm, a polynomial time algorithm for solving the assignme ...
: Runner-up
2002–03,
2004–05
*
Hungarian Cup
The Hungarian Cup ( hu, Magyar Kupa) is the Hungarian cup competition for football clubs. It was started by the Hungarian Football Association, the ''Magyar Labdarúgó Szövetség,'' in 1909, eight years after the commencement of the Hungarian ...
: Runner-up
2004–05
;
Zenit
*
Russian Premier League
The Russian Premier League (RPL; russian: Российская премьер-лига; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is the top division professional association football league in Russia. It was established at the end of 200 ...
:
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
,
2011–12
*
Russian Cup:
2009–10
*
Russian Super Cup
The Russian Super Cup () is a one-match football annual competition. Its official sponsored name is ''OLIMPBET Russian Supercup'' (). The two participating clubs are the Russian Premier League champions and the Russian Cup winners. If the Premi ...
:
2011
Videoton
*
Nemzeti Bajnokság I
The Nemzeti Bajnokság (, "National Championship"), also known as NB I, is the top level of the Hungarian football league system. The league is officially named OTP Bank Liga after its title sponsor OTP Bank. UEFA currently ranks the league 28 ...
:
2017-18
*
Hungarian Cup
The Hungarian Cup ( hu, Magyar Kupa) is the Hungarian cup competition for football clubs. It was started by the Hungarian Football Association, the ''Magyar Labdarúgó Szövetség,'' in 1909, eight years after the commencement of the Hungarian ...
:
2018-19
Individual
* Young Hungarian Player of the Year: 2004
* Hungarian Football Federation nominated him to be the best domestic footballer of the year: 2006, 2013
Managerial career
On 16 February 2021, he was appointed as the manager of
Debreceni VSC
Debreceni Vasutas Sport Club is a professional football club, based in Debrecen, Hungary, that competes in the Nemzeti Bajnokság I, the first tier of Hungarian football. They are best known internationally for reaching the group stages of the ...
along with
Gábor Toldi Gábor (sometimes written Gabor) may refer to:
* Gábor (given name)
* Gabor (surname)
* Gabor sisters, the three famous actresses, Eva, Magda and Zsa Zsa
* Several scientific terms named after Dennis Gabor
** Gabor atom
** Gabor filter
In ...
.
In February 2021, he debuted in the
2020-21 Nemzeti Bajnokság II
The hyphen-minus is the most commonly used type of hyphen, widely used in digital documents. It is the only character that looks like a minus sign or a dash in many character sets such as ASCII or on most keyboards, so it is also used as such ...
managing
Debreceni VSC
Debreceni Vasutas Sport Club is a professional football club, based in Debrecen, Hungary, that competes in the Nemzeti Bajnokság I, the first tier of Hungarian football. They are best known internationally for reaching the group stages of the ...
against
Szeged-Csanád Grosics Akadémia at the
Szent Gellért Fórum
Szent Gellért Fórum is a sports venue in Szeged, Hungary. The stadium is home to the association football side Szeged-Csanád Grosics Akadémia. The stadium has a capacity of 8,256. Szent Gellért Fórum is a UEFA IV stadium category, therefor ...
. The final result was a convincing 5–0 victory for Debrecen.
On 17 October 2022, he was appointed as the coach of
Fehérvár.
References
External links
*
*
*
Huszti Szabolcs football profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Huszti, Szabolcs
1983 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Miskolc
Hungarian footballers
Hungary international footballers
Ferencvárosi TC footballers
FC Sopron players
FC Metz players
Hannover 96 players
FC Zenit Saint Petersburg players
Changchun Yatai F.C. players
Eintracht Frankfurt players
Fehérvár FC players
Nemzeti Bajnokság I players
Ligue 1 players
Bundesliga players
Chinese Super League players
Russian Premier League players
Hungarian expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in France
Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in France
Expatriate footballers in Germany
Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in Germany
Expatriate footballers in Russia
Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in Russia
Expatriate footballers in China
Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in China
Association football midfielders
Hungarian football managers
Debreceni VSC managers
Fehérvár FC managers
Nemzeti Bajnokság I managers