.JPG) Huszti withHannover 96 in 2013 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1983-04-18)18 April 1983 (age 42) | ||
| Place of birth | Miskolc, Hungary | ||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Fehérvár (manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –1997 | Tapolca Bauxit | ||
| 1997–2002 | Ferencváros | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2002–2005 | Ferencváros | 24 | (3) |
| 2003–2004 | →Sopron (loan) | 14 | (6) |
| 2005–2006 | Metz | 18 | (1) |
| 2006–2009 | Hannover 96 | 81 | (17) |
| 2009–2012 | Zenit Saint Petersburg | 58 | (7) |
| 2012–2014 | Hannover 96 | 51 | (19) |
| 2014–2015 | Changchun Yatai | 39 | (9) |
| 2016–2017 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 30 | (3) |
| 2017 | Changchun Yatai | 16 | (4) |
| 2018–2020 | Fehérvár | 43 | (7) |
| International career | |||
| 2004–2010 | Hungary | 51 | (7) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2021 | Debreceni VSC | ||
| 2022 | Fehérvár[1] | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Szabolcs Huszti (Hungarian pronunciation:[ˈsɒbolt͡ʃˈhusti]; born 18 April 1983) is a Hungarian professionalfootball coach and a former player. He is the de facto manager ofFehérvár, even though Gábor Toldi formally holds that position.[2] He was well known for his dribbling, pace, passing and goal scoring ability frommidfield.
Huszti began his professional career at the Hungarian clubFerencváros. A short stint withMetz followed, before he was signed byBundesliga clubHannover 96 for £210,000 in 2006. He scored six goals in his first season, the most memorable coming in a shocking 1–0 victory away atBayern Munich. In 2009, he moved toZenit to replaceArsenal-boundAndrey Arshavin. After several spells in Germany and China, Huszti returned to Hungary where he retired as part ofFehérvár in 2020.
He was first called up for theHungary national team during his time on loan atSopron, 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 twoUEFA Euro 2008 qualifiers. In 2008, he made his comeback for his country in a 1–1 draw againstSlovakia. 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.
Huszti (his surname meaning "fromHuszt" now in Ukraine) began his professional career at the Hungarian clubFerencváros. Following a solitary first team appearance, he was loaned out to fellow top-flight teamFC Sopron 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 againstGyőr and establishing himself as a regular starter.
Huszti's time in his native country wasn't to last beyond that one season. Despite interest fromRangers andWest Bromwich Albion,[3] he was eventually sold toFC Metz of France'sLigue 1 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 GermanBundesliga clubHannover 96 for just £210,000 in July 2006.
He made hisBundesliga debut on 13 August 2006, against then-championsWerder Bremen. 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 atBayern Munich.[4] 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.
On 1 February 2009, he moved toFC Zenit St. Petersburg to replaceArsenal-boundAndrei Arshavin. He was also one of the main targets ofGlasgow Celtic in the transfer period, but the Scottish club was outbid by Zenit's £2.5million offer.[5][6] 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 forFC Zenit St. Petersburg a goal againstVfB Stuttgart, 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.
On 23 July 2012, he returned toHannover 96 signing a three-year contract until June 2015.[7] He gave four assists in his first match against VfL Wolfsburg.[8]
On 16 July 2014, Hannover 96 announced Huszti's transfer toChinese Super League sideChangchun Yatai.[9] On 26 July 2014, he made his debut for the club in a 2-2 home draw againstBeijing Guoan. He scored his first goal for the club on 3 August, helping Changchun to a 2-1 win over defending championsGuangzhou Evergrande.[10]
On 30 December 2015, Huszti signed an 18-month contract withBundesliga clubEintracht Frankfurt.[11][12]
Huszti received an offer from his former club, the ChineseChangchun Yatai.[13] German press reported a salary of 3.3 million euros annually.[14] On 12 March 2017, he debuted for the second time for Changchun in 1-0 away defeat toGuangzhou R&F.[15] On 9 April, he scored his first goal in his second spell for Yatai, a direct free kick in a 1-1 home draw againstLiaoning Whowin.[16] In a 3-2 away defeat atShandong Luneng 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.[17]
On 11 January 2018, after twelve and a half years abroad, he returned home and became aVideoton FC player.[18][19] On 7 April, he scored his first league goal for the club from a free kick at home againstÚjpest in a 3–0 league victory.[20] In the 2018–19 season, the team reached the group stage of theUEFA Europa League, where they finished third in the group. In his first full season, he won theMagyar Kupa.
Huzsti retired from professional football in 2020 after a knee surgery.[21]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Ferencváros | |||||||||
| 2003–04 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2004–05 | 23 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 3 | |
| Total | 24 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 3 | |
| FC Sopron (loan) | |||||||||
| 2003–04 | 14 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 6 | |
| FC Metz | |||||||||
| 2005–06 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 1 | |
| Hannover 96 | |||||||||
| 2006–07 | 31 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 5 | |
| 2007–08 | 33 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 10 | |
| 2008–09 | 17 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 3 | |
| Total | 81 | 17 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 87 | 18 | |
| Zenit St. Petersburg | |||||||||
| 2009 | 19 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 23 | 3 | |
| 2010 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 2 | |
| 2011–12 | 26 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 30 | 4 | |
| Total | 58 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 68 | 9 | |
| Hannover 96 | |||||||||
| 2012–13 | 21 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 5 | 34 | 14 | |
| 2013–14 | 30 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 11 | |
| Total | 51 | 19 | 4 | 1 | 11 | 5 | 66 | 25 | |
| Changchun Yatai | |||||||||
| 2014 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 3 | |
| 2015 | 25 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 6 | |
| Total | 39 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 9 | |
| Eintracht Frankfurt | |||||||||
| 2015–16 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 1 | |
| 2016–17 | 15 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 2 | |
| Total | 30 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 3 | |
| Changchun Yatai | |||||||||
| 2017 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 4 | |
| Total | 16 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 4 | |
| Videoton | |||||||||
| 2017–18 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | |
| 2018–19 | 27 | 5 | 9 | 4 | 11 | 2 | 47 | 11 | |
| 2019–20 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 11 | 2 | |
| Total | 43 | 7 | 9 | 4 | 15 | 3 | 67 | 14 | |
| Career total | 374 | 76 | 27 | 6 | 31 | 10 | 432 | 92 | |
As of 28 August 2021
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| Debreceni | 16 February 2021 | Present | 21 | 11 | 4 | 6 | 052.38 |
| Total | 21 | 11 | 4 | 6 | 052.38 | ||
He had also established himself as a regular member of theHungary national team. He was first chosen during his time in Sopron, by then-managerLothar Matthäus. His debut came on 25 April 2004 in a friendly withJapan, 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 toScotland.
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 twoEuropean Championship qualifying games. The player claimed this was because he was unsure whether he would be named as a starter.[22]
In 2008, Huszti made a comeback for his country on 6 February, in a 1–1 draw againstSlovakia.
On 9 September 2010, Huszti announced his retirement from the national team. He published an open letter following the Euro 2012 qualification match againstMoldova 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.[23] Following the announcement, former Hungarian international and Hertha BSC midfielder,Pál Dárdai suggested discussing the controversies between Huszti andHungary national football team managerSándor Egervári claiming that Huszti is now one of the best Hungarian players and could be very useful for the2014 FIFA World Cup qualifications.[24] Years later, when the Hungarian nationals qualified toUEFA Euro 2016, Huszti reiterated his opinion that he has no intention to returning to the team.[25]
| Season | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 7 | 3 |
| 2005 | 10 | 1 |
| 2006 | 8 | 2 |
| 2007 | 3 | 0 |
| 2008 | 10 | 0 |
| 2009 | 8 | 1 |
| 2010 | 5 | 0 |
| Total | 51 | 7 |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 25 April 2004 | ZTE Arena,Zalaegerszeg,Hungary |  Japan | 3–2 | 3–2 | Friendly |
| 2. | 18 August 2004 | Hampden Park,Glasgow,Scotland |  Scotland | 1–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
| 3. | 2–0 | |||||
| 4. | 4 June 2005 | Laugardalsvöllur,Reykjavík,Iceland |  Iceland | 3–2 | 3–2 | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 5. | 24 May 2006 | Szusza Ferenc Stadion,Budapest, Hungary |  New Zealand | 1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 6. | 6 September 2006 | Bilino Polje Stadium,Zenica,Bosnia and Herzegovina |  Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1–0 | 3–1 | UEFA Euro 2008 qualification |
| 7. | 5 September 2009 | Ferenc Puskás Stadium, Budapest, Hungary |  Sweden | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Videoton
On 16 February 2021, he was appointed as the manager ofDebreceni VSC along withGábor Toldi.[28]
In February 2021, he debuted in the2020-21 Nemzeti Bajnokság II managingDebreceni VSC againstSzeged-Csanád Grosics Akadémia at theSzent Gellért Fórum. The final result was a convincing 5–0 victory for Debrecen.[29]
On 17 October 2022, he was appointed as the coach ofFehérvár.[30] On 6 December 2022, the club announced that Huszti and his assistant Gábor Toldi will switch positions, with Toldi technically becoming a head coach, but the final decisions will be still made by Huszti.[2] On 14 March 2023, he was removed from his position due to negative performance of the team.[31]
