Latest news with #Ferencváros
Irish Times
28-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Robbie Keane's Ferencváros hold off Orban-backed Puskas Akademia
'This is why I love football!' Robbie Keane yells through the smoky haze, addressing the raucous Ferencváros faithful gathered in Budapest to celebrate the club's 36th league title. 'For moments like this. For you guys!' Ferencváros have looked far from convincing since his appointment in January, but they got the job done. Needing only a point on the final day, they beat Gyor 2–1 to deliver on Keane's primary objective: securing a seventh consecutive league title for Hungary's footballing powerhouse. Mission accomplished. But this was the closest Ferencváros had been pushed in their historic run. Never before had it gone to the wire. For the first time in seven years, Ferencváros, also known as Fradi, actually had competition. And that came in the form of the Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban's club, Puskas Akademia. Puskas Akademia, rebranded from Felcsut FC in 2007 on Ferenc Puskas's 80th birthday, is Orban's passion project. Located in the village of Felcsut, 45km west of Budapest, where the prime minister spent much of his childhood, the club have risen from obscurity since his return to power in 2010. In 2013 they reached the Hungarian top flight for the first time, and this year nearly secured their first European qualification, falling on penalties to the eventual semi-finalists Fiorentina in the final round of Europa Conference League qualifying. READ MORE Their stadium is the Pancho Arena, an architectural masterpiece built within eyeshot of Orban's childhood home in 2014. Its beauty is undeniable. Its symbolism, inescapable. It's a monument to Orban's vision, with football as both metaphor and mechanism. 'I think Puskas Akademia presents perhaps one of the most transparent cases of political instrumentalisation in European football,' says Gyozo Molnar, professor of sociology of sport and exercise at the University of Worcester. 'The club has received disproportionate state investment which reveals direct connections between political power and club resources, despite limited attendance or sporting tradition in the area.' Puskas Akademia have received state funding on a staggering scale. According to HVG, between 2010 and 2024, the club and its managing foundation handled a combined budget of around €370m. The money is routed through a web of state subsidies, sponsorships and redirected taxes. Puskas Akademia's stadium is the Pancho Arena, an architectural masterpiece built within eyeshot of Orban's childhood home. Photograph: Attila Kisbenedek/AFP via Getty Images Their wage bill is second only to Ferencváros. But unlike their Budapest rivals – whose academy players featured only 30 times in the league this season – Puskas Akademia's youth players made 118 appearances. At academy level, they are beginning to dominate Hungary's player development landscape, outpacing the country's most historically respected training centres. At senior level, a league title victory feels like more of a when than an if. Going into this season's final matchday, Puskas Akademia, who had led the title race until April, needed Ferencváros to lose to stand a chance. It was a long shot. Despite Ferencváros's rocky season, at this stage of the calendar Fradi know how to win – they had won seven of their previous eight, the only other being a draw with Puskas in Felcsut. And win they did, with goals either side of half-time from Gabor Szalai and Lenny Joseph putting Keane's men at ease. Yet Puskas are a club designed not merely to win titles, but to serve as a physical and ideological extension of Orbanism. They are not a football club in the traditional sense. They have no culture, no history, no fanbase. Their average attendance this season was 1,500, boosted massively by away support. But what they do have is power. And in Hungary, power is often enough. 'The club's rapid rise through the divisions to the top tier and European competition reflects Orban's consolidation of power,' Molnar says. 'Functioning as a physical monument to his leadership while normalising the diversion of public resources toward personal political projects.' But Puskas aren't the only club in the Hungarian league with power. Ferencváros too hold much of their own and, intriguingly, receive support from Orban's party, Fidesz, through direct government subsidies such as the national development ministry, the corporation tax rebate scheme and municipal support. Puskas Akademia, rebranded from Felcsut FC in 2007 on Ferenc Puskas's 80th birthday, is Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban's passion project. Photograph: Robert Szaniszlo/NurPhoto via Getty Images And they too have powerful people at the top. In 2011, Gabor Kubatov, vice-president of Fidesz, became president of Ferencváros. At the time the club were in disarray: two years earlier they had been in Hungary's second tier having been relegated for financial irregularities. But this was a club with huge upside, huge potential – the country's most successful and most supported club. So Kubatov walked in with an agenda: instrumentalise the football club, mobilise the fanbase, harness its potential. Under his leadership Ferencváros were to become more than a football team – they were to be a political, societal and national vehicle. 'Gabor Kubatov has full control and Fradi's success clearly serves a state agenda,' Adam Feko, a journalist at Magyar Narancs, says. 'At one point, the fanbase protested against him, but now no one dares speak ill. Kubatov deliberately sends the message: if Fidesz weren't in power, Fradi would be in trouble.' That is in large part due to the state funding they receive. In 2021, Atlatszo reported that Fradi received at least 80% of their revenues between 2011 and 2019 from state-linked sources. With funding, the state's vision was to have a Hungarian club competing on the international stage just like the national team. And it worked. Ferencváros have now been the dominant force in Hungarian football for the best part of a decade and have seen unprecedented success in Europe, qualifying for the group stage of a European competition for the past six years. This season they finished above Porto, Fenerbahce, Nice and Hoffenheim in the Europa League's league phase. The club have been transformed, the fervour reintroduced. Robbie Keane, head coach of Ferencváros, after the Europa League game against Viktoria Plzen in February. Photograph: Szilvia Micheller/So job done, perhaps? Agenda complete? Time for Puskas Akademia to roll in? Maybe, but this isn't a replacement on the cards. This is a one-two punch. Because both clubs serve very different purposes. If Ferencváros are the people's club made powerful by politics, Puskas Akademia are politics made physical. One is a reward for the masses. The other, a construction. 'Both Ferencváros and Puskas Akademia demonstrate distinctive mechanisms through which football serves political purposes,' Molnar says. 'Puskas Akademia as a nouveau-riche creation directly reflecting and related to individual political power. Ferencváros as the capture and repurposing of authentic, traditional and nationalistic sporting heritage for political legitimacy. 'Together, they illustrate how contemporary authoritarian-leaning governance can effectively utilise both new and traditional sporting institutions to naturalise and further solidify political control while presenting it as cultural and infrastructural revitalisation.' In this context, Keane's words from Saturday night start to ring hollow, because what does success mean in this climate? What does it mean for the league? Though there is personal glory involved, the real story of Hungarian football under Orban lies beyond the silverware. This isn't just about two state clubs manufactured to vie for success because what's unfolding isn't just about who wins – it's about what victory represents. Robbie Keane guided Ferencváros to their seventh straight Hungarian title. Photograph: David Balogh - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images Ferencváros's domestic dominance and European respectability prove what the state can build with history and support on its side. Puskas Akademia, meanwhile, shows what can be engineered from nothing. Between the two, a pattern emerges: in Orban's Hungary, football clubs are no longer just teams – they are vehicles. For tradition, for messaging, for legacy. And while Ferencváros continue to lift the trophies, it is Puskas that perhaps best illustrate the architecture of the regime's long-term ambitions. Because in Hungary today, success need not be sustainable, nor popular, nor even sporting. It need only serve a purpose. In this landscape, function is often secondary to symbolism. Stadiums, school curriculums, news channels, football clubs – each forms part of a broader architecture of control, built to anchor loyalty and cultivate a shared national narrative from the top down. The question, then, is not just whether Ferencváros will continue to dominate or whether Puskas Akademia will eventually oust them. It's whether Hungarian football can ever again be separated from the system that now so thoroughly envelops it. Is this why we love football? — Guardian
Extra.ie
27-05-2025
- Sport
- Extra.ie
Robbie Keane suffers injury during Hungarian title celebrations
Robbie Keane suffered a head injury over the weekend after guiding Ferencváros to winning the Hungarian title on the final day of the tournament. The former Irish international is solidifying himself as a top manager, having picked up his second consecutive league title in his managerial career. Last year, the 44-year-old won the Israeli Premier League with Maccabi Tel Aviv. Robbie Keane suffered a head injury over the weekend after guiding Ferencváros to winning the Hungarian title on the final day of the tournament. Pic: Robbie Keane/ Instagram The Dublin native departed the controversial gig following the win and made the move to Budapest, where he coached Ferencvaros. Despite getting off to a losing start at the beginning of his time with the team, the Tallaght man turned it around for the Hungarian side, with the club topping the table following the final day of matches, The club needed just one point to guarantee their glory going into the game on Saturday, as they faced fourth-placed ETO Gyor away. The team clinched the deal, winning 2-1 at ETO Park. Taking to Instagram on Monday following the celebrations, Robbie's forehead was bandaged up with the former Liverpool player explaining he accidentally hit his head off the trophy during the excitement. He said: 'Hey guys, everyone keeps asking what happened. I was lifting the trophy last night, the back of it hit my head so… I had to get three stitches from my doctor. The Dubliner then puts his hand to his forehead which has started bleeding. On seeing the blood, Robbie appears to gasp before turning to someone to show them the damage. Pic: Robbie Keane/ Instagram 'But who cares when you win?' The father-of-two followed up with a clip of the moment he sustained the injury, writing: 'That's when the injury occurred,' along with a number of laughing emojis. In the clip, Robbie can be seen lifting the trophy in celebratory form before handing it over to one of the players. The Dubliner then puts his hand to his forehead, which had started bleeding. On seeing the blood, Robbie appears to gasp before turning to someone to show them the damage. Robbie joined Ferencvaros earlier in the year, with the club saying: 'We announce the successor to Dutchman Pascal Jansen to lead our 35-time champion and 24-time cup winner team, as the 146-time national team player of the Republic of Ireland Robbie Keane.'
The 42
24-05-2025
- Sport
- The 42
Robbie Keane leads Ferencváros to Hungarian league title
ROBBIE KEANE HAS won the second league title of his managerial career after guiding Ferencváros to success in Hungary. The Budapest giants secured their seventh successive crown after the Dubliner was installed as boss in January when they were second in the table. Advertisement A 2-1 win away at fourth-placed ETO FC Győr on the final day of the season made sure of success. Keane previously guided Maccabi Tel Aviv to the league title in Israel. A goal in the first minute of first-half injury time from Gabor Szalai set Ferencváros on their way before Lenny Joseph doubled their lead on 54 minutes. They were made to sweat when ETO FC Győr pulled on back 10 minutes from time but Keane's side held on to kick off the celebrations.
The 42
18-05-2025
- Sport
- The 42
Robbie Keane's Ferencváros on the brink of Hungarian title triumph
ROBBIE KEANE IS on the brink of leading Ferencváros to another Hungarian league title. Ferencváros continued their seven in a row bid with a 3-0 win over Fehérvár in their penultimate game this evening. Swiss international Stefan Gartenmann broke the deadlock in the 12th minute at Groupama Aréna, with goals from Serbia's Aleksandar Pešić and Hungarian 19-year-old Alex Tóth wrapping up the victory in the second half. Advertisement The result keeps Ferencváros top of the table, three points ahead of rivals Puskás Akadémia ahead of next weekend's final round of fixtures. Keane's side are due to face fourth-place ETO Győr next Saturday – the league's most in-form team, who are unbeaten in 12 — while Puskás Akadémia finish their campaign against Diósgyőr, who currently sit sixth. Ferencváros have accrued 66 points as opposed to Puskás's 63, and have a vastly superior goal difference. Today's result was a crucial one as Hungary's most successful club took a huge step towards their 36th league title — and bounced back from Wednesday's Hungarian cup final defeat to Paks. Legendary Ireland striker Keane took over from Pascal Jansen last January with the team in second. The Dubliner previously guided Maccabi Tel Aviv to the 2023–24 Israeli Premier League title before stepping down as manager. Keane was also briefly in charge of Indian side ATK in 2018, and had spells on the coaching staffs of Ireland, Middlesbrough and Leeds. You can read Paul Fennessy's recent piece on Robbie Keane in Hungary on The 42.
The 42
18-05-2025
- Sport
- The 42
Why the jury is out on Robbie Keane in Hungary
IT IS a big day in the managerial career of Ireland legend Robbie Keane. A win for his Ferencváros side this evening against 10th-place Fehérvár will see them take a big step to the league title. That result would leave them three points ahead of rivals Puskás Akadémia with one round of matches remaining and a vastly superior goal difference (although the latter are currently top of the table with a match extra played because they have won one game more). But dropping points would leave hopes of being crowned champions in serious doubt. On the final day, they face a daunting trip to fourth-place ETO Győr, the league's most in-form team, who have won five games on the bounce and are unbeaten in 11. They drew this season's reverse fixture with Ferencváros 2-2, and Keane's men were also the last team to defeat them — a 4-3 victory to knock them out of the Hungarian Cup in February. So the outcome of today's game, which kicks off at 6.30pm Irish time, will likely be crucial in deciding the reigning champions' fate. Given that the team are so close to securing the title, those unfamiliar with the Nemzeti Bajnokság I might assume that Keane has been perceived as an unqualified success in Hungary, but it is not necessarily the case. After all, Ferencváros are akin to the Celtic of the country's top flight. They have already won 35 league titles (the next best is MTK Budapest with 23) and are going for their seventh league win in a row, which would be a record in the club's history (bitter rivals Újpest previously won seven on the spin between 1969 and 1975). The majority of those triumphs have come comfortably – Ferencváros are by far the best-resourced team with the most talented players in the country and the biggest fanbase. When most Hungarian sides come to play them, they tend to park the bus. This year, though, attempting to win the league has been more of a struggle than usual. When Keane took over in January, succeeding Pascal Jansen (who left to join New York FC), the club were second in the table. Hungarian journalist Gergely Marosi says he was 'maybe a little bit' surprised when the Irishman was announced as the new manager because the club usually scouts 'eastwards' for new coaches. Former bosses have included another ex-Tottenham striker, Sergei Rebrov, Russian Stanislav Cherchesov and a 'not eastwards but neighbouring' coach — ex-Austria international and the man who once hit a hat-trick against Jack Charlton's Ireland, Peter Stöger. On the other hand, Marosi suggests Keane's appointment was 'not that surprising'. 'The club president once said that they are looking for a coach with a bigger name internationally than the club,' Marosi explains. Advertisement Keane fits the bill in that regard. He has a greater profile than the vast majority of Irish footballers — he is still 24th on the list of all-time top scorers in international football, and anyone whose list of former clubs includes Tottenham, Liverpool and Inter Milan is bound to be recognised more widely than the average ex-pro. Jansen was an exception to this general rule, but before him, the club's manager was Dejan Stanković, who won over 100 caps for Serbia and had a club career that included lengthy stints at Lazio and Inter. 'The thought behind this is that they want to have coaches who have a lot of international experience as a player and who have played at the highest level, in the hopes that it will rub off on the team in some way,' Marosi says. Of the 30 players in Ferencváros' first-team squad, only eight are Hungarian, so Keane's lack of fluency in the language is not a problem. The diverse mix of nationalities means English would be commonly spoken in the dressing room, with ex-Liverpool player Naby Keïta among the notable names on their roster. The former Ireland skipper does use a translator when on media duty, however, and 'sometimes gives a hard time to the interpreter because of the accent'. Marosi adds: 'He's not massively philosophical in post-match interviews. He seems to be quite a realist and pragmatic; maybe that's what the situation requires. Overall, he has made a decent impression.' The fans, meanwhile, were cautiously optimistic as the Dubliner took charge. Jansen had been in the job just six months before opting to leave. The Dutchman was a highly-rated coach who had strong ideas on how the team should play, but was a less-than-seamless fit for Ferencváros. The style of football did not thrill fans. It worked sometimes, especially in Europe against teams with an attacking style, but it was less effective in domestic matches. While it might have improved had Jansen stayed for longer, fans were getting impatient, and few were disappointed when he chose to depart. Keane's arrival galvanised certain players, but the Irishman would have known, walking into the job, that it would not be easy. The 44-year-old is the club's seventh permanent coach in the last decade, despite the hierarchy having frequently acknowledged the need for greater stability. While some, like Jansen, walked before they were pushed, the level of expectation is a perennial challenge. At this stage, winning the league is the bare minimum required of a manager. To really win the fans' hearts, a strong European run will be vital to how Keane is perceived. The ex-Leeds star did get a brief crack at Europe this year with mixed results. In the Europa League group stages, he oversaw a 2-0 loss to Eintracht Frankfurt and a thrilling 4-3 victory over Troy Parrott's AZ Alkmaar, which was enough to see them through in 17th place as one of the unseeded teams in the knockout round. In the play-offs, they looked well-placed to advance after a solid 1-0 home win in the first leg over Viktoria Plzeň, but a comprehensive 3-0 loss in the return fixture put paid to their hopes of progress in perhaps the worst moment of Keane's stint so far. Lenny Joseph of Ferencvarosi TC reacts during the MOL Hungarian Cup Final. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo Wednesday's penalty shootout loss against Paks in the Magyar Kupa final, after a 1-1 draw in normal time, was another black mark against Keane and increases the pressure on him to claim the league title. 'Obviously, nobody is happy after losing a cup final,' says Marosi. 'But more so, how the team played, they looked quite devoid of ideas. 'Paks, who won the cup, are a difficult team to play against and a bit of a bogey team for Ferencváros. 'They have big, tall strikers. They are wrestling and usually making life unpleasant for their opposition. It is really difficult to play against them, and Ferencváros doesn't like that, and it showed again. They also beat them in the last cup final in 2024.' Marosi suggests Keane has made marginal improvements to the team and instigated changes that have worked, at least in the short term. They remain heavy favourites to prevail, and an unexpected slip-up in the title race, Marosi believes, is the only scenario where Keane could be under pressure to keep his job this summer. On the other hand, the prevailing notion is that the Irishman cannot be properly judged until next season. It is a Ruben Amorim-esque situation in one sense. Keane was suddenly thrown into the job and, without the benefit of a full transfer window, he is working with a squad of players he inherited. The majority of Hungarian media appreciate that he needs more time to implement his ideas, which is why the jury is still out, and it likely won't be until this time next year when more definitive views emerge on whether he can be deemed a success or a failure. Marosi says it would be 'unfair to judge him on the results of this half-season'. But don't expect people to take a sympathetic view if the team do not improve in that period. 'We usually say in the league previews: 'As always, it's Ferencváros's to lose.' 'It's not an easy job, but it's also the place where everyone in Hungarian football wants to be.' Their title rivals, Puskás Akadémia, by contrast, have never won the league. Despite steady improvement in recent seasons, the club have exceeded expectations this year. They were only founded in 2005, and their modest stadium has a capacity of 3,816, in contrast with the 23,700 that can fill the Ferencváros Stadion in Budapest, or the 67,000-capacity Puskás Aréna, where Keane's team played on Wednesday. 'They are the team from [Hungarian prime minister] Viktor Orbán's home. Their stadium is next to the prime minister's house in a little village, so losing to them would hurt. 'It would be pretty unfair, but of course, if [Keane] doesn't win the championship, he will be known as 'the bloke who didn't win the championship.''
