 | ||||
| Full name | Debreceni Vasutas Sport Club | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | Loki | |||
| Short name | DVSC | |||
| Founded | 12 March 1902; 123 years ago (1902-03-12) | |||
| Ground | Nagyerdei Stadion | |||
| Capacity | 20,340 | |||
| Chairman | Ike Thierry Zaengel | |||
| Manager | Sergio Navarro | |||
| League | NB I | |||
| 2024–25 | NB I, 9th of 12 | |||
| Website | www | |||
 Current season | ||||
Debreceni Vasutas Sport Club is a Hungarian professionalfootball club based inDebrecen that competes in theNemzeti Bajnokság I, the first tier ofHungarian football.[1] They are best known internationally for reaching the group stages of theUEFA Champions League in the2009–10 season.[2] Debrecen have become the second most successful club in Hungary since 2000, winning the Hungarian League seven times.[3]
Debrecen was founded on 12 March 1902 as Debreceni Vasutas Sport Club.[4] The club first reached theNemzeti Bajnokság I in the1943–44 season. Debrecen rose to domestic prominence in the early 2000s when they won their first Hungarian league title in2004–05 season. Since then the club managed to win seven titles in the 2010s total. However, in the late 2010s the club lost its governmental support and started to decline. In the2016–17 Nemzeti Bajnokság I, they were escaping from relegation.
At international level, Debrecen reached their biggest success when they managed to reach the2009–10 UEFA Champions League group stage.[5] The following year they reached the group stages of the2010–11 UEFA Europa League.[6] In the following years, DVSC competed in the Champions League and the European League qualifiers. In 2023-2024, DVSC played in the European Conference League. The team played against the Armenian Alashkert FC and qualified to the next round, in which Loki clashed with Rapid Wien and finished their European journey that year.
The following table shows in detail Debreceni VSC kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors by year:
| Period | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|
| 1977– | Adidas | |
| 1993–1995 | paletta | |
| −2000 | Epona | |
| 2000–2001 | Soproni Ászok | |
| 2001–2002 | — | |
| 2002–2003 | Arany Ászok | |
| 2003–2004 | Nike | MegaForce /Arany Ászok |
| 2005 | Adidas | Ave Ásványvíz /Arany Ászok |
| 2005–2006 | Ave Ásványvíz / | |
| 2006–2007 | Teva / Ave Ásványvíz | |
| 2008–2009 | Teva | |
| 2009–2010 | Orangeways /Teva | |
| 2010–2016 | Teva |
Debrecen played their home matches between 1989 and 2014 at theOláh Gábor utcai Stadion, which has a capacity of 12,500. After winning the firstNemzeti Bajnokság I trophy, it was found that the stadium did not meetUEFA stadium criteria. Therefore, the most importantUEFA Champions League andUEFA Europa League matches had to be played at theFerenc Puskás Stadium as in2009–10 UEFA Champions League group stage and the2010–11 UEFA Europa League group stage.
On 1 May 2014, the Nagyerdei stadium was opened with an inauguration ceremony.Viktor Orbán,Hungarian prime minister, said that "the Hungarian spirit, the architects, the engineers, the workers make Hungary great again with this constructions like the Nagyerdei stadium" (in Hungarian: "A magyar szellem, a tervezők, a mérnökök, a munkások ilyen alkotásokkal teszik ismét naggyá Magyarországot"). The stadium was also sanctified by Nándor Bosák, bishop of the RomanCatholic Church, Gusztáv Bölcskei,minister, and Fülöp Kocsis, bishops of theGreek Catholic Church. After thesanctification, singers such asLou Bega,Viktor Király, Ildikó Kersztes, Gigi Radić, andErika Miklósa entertained the audience. The first match was played between the Debrecen All Stars andHungary All Stars, including players such asAttila Pintér, currentHungary national football team coach,Kálmán Kovács, formerBudapest Honvéd legend,Péter Lipcsei, formerFerencváros icon,György Véber, formerÚjpest icon andMezőkövesd manager at that time,Imre Garaba, former Hungary international,Flórián Urbán, former Újpest legend, andLajos Détári, former Hungary national team legend.[7]
On 10 May 2014, the first official match was played at the new stadium between Debrecen andÚjpest in the2013–14 Hungarian League season. The match ended with a 3–1 victory over theBudapest-based rival, Újpest. The first goal of the match was scored byKulcsár in the 27th minute. AlthoughVasiljević equalised the score in the 37th minute, Debrecen were able to clinch the victory in the second half due to an own goal byAntón in the 46-minute and a goal byVadnai in the 85th minute.[8][9]
On 22 May 2014, the first match of theHungary national football team was played at the stadium in front of 20,000 spectators, which ended with a 2–2 draw againstDenmark national football team. The first goal was scored by the former Debrecen playerDzsudzsák.Eriksen equalised the score in the 56th minute. The debutantVarga took the lead in the 69th minute again, but the score was equalised bySchöne in the 72nd minute.[10][11][12]
Supporters of DVSC are mainly based inDebrecen, Hungary. However, the club is popular in all over Hungary. Club's mainultras group isSzívtiprók Ultras Debrecen (SZ.U.D.), which is the largest and oldest faction, founded in 1994.[13] As of 2000, SZ.U.D started to divide itself, in factions of ultras outside Debrecen, such asSZ.U.D. Budapest,SZ.U.D. Nagyvárad andSZ.U.D. Hódmezővásárhely. Among smaller groups are consideredForce Field,Red Territory andVadmacskák, which are the oldest. However, since 2009, new ultras factions, such asSziporkák,Debrecen Hooligans,Barrabrava Debrecen and others appeared. This while several, likeNorth Side Hooligans were dissolved in early 2000s. Debrecen has fierce rivalries withNyíregyháza,Békéscsaba and competitive rivalries withFerencváros,Újpest andVideoton.
On 5 August 2014, UEFA issued sanctions against Debrecen,Romania'sSteaua București andSlovenia'sMaribor following racist behaviour by their fans during2014–15 UEFA Champions League qualifying againstCliftonville,Strømsgodset andZrinjski Mostar respectively. Debrecen shut sector B of their ground after fans showed an "illicit banner" during the match againstNorthern Ireland's Cliftonville.[14]
On 27 May 2017, it was announced thatAndy Vajna could replaceGábor Szima as the owner of Debrecen. Nevertheless, Andy Vajna added that he likes football but he does not want to invest into football.[16]
On 15 August 2017, it was revealed thatGábor Szima, the owner of Debrecen, might leave the club and a Greek tycoon might arrive.[17]
On 1 July 2020, Szima resigned as the owner of the club.[18] The 73 percent of the shares of the club were purchased by the local government. László Papp, mayor of Debrecen, announced that the main goal is to be promoted to the first league again.
On 18 December 2020, it was announced that the DVSC Egyesület purchased the majority of the shares.[19]
On 27 June 2022, Ike Thierry Zaengel was appointed as the chairman and owner of the club.[20]
| Rank | Player | To | Fee | Year | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  Balázs Dzsudzsák |  PSV Eindhoven | €2.5 million[A] | 2008 | |
| 2. | Norbert Balogh |  Palermo | €2.2 million[B] | 2016 | |
| 3. |  Hamzat Ojediran |  Lens | €1.5 million[C] | 2024 | |
| 4. | Péter Baráth | Ferencváros | €1.2 million[D] | 2023 | |
| 5. | Kevin Varga |  Kasimpasa | ~€850,000 | 2020 | |
| 6. | Zsolt Laczkó | Sampdoria | ~€830,000 | 2011 | |
| 7. | Brandon Domingues |  Real Oviedo | ~€800,000 | 2025 | |
| 8. | Dávid Holman |  Slovan Bratislava | ~€700,000 | 2018 | |
| 9. | Péter Halmosi |  Plymouth Argyle | ~€600,000 | 2007 | |
| 10. | Péter Máté | Reading | ~€575,000 | 2007 |
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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As of 21 October 2022[23]
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| President | Ike Thierry Zaengel |
| Managing Director | Balázs Makray |
| Sporting director | Hayk Hovakimyan |
As of 22 June 2025[24]
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Sergio Navarro |
| Assistant coach | Álex Pallarés |
| Assistant coach | Tibor Dombi |
| Goalkeeping coach | János Balogh |
| Fitness coach | Sergio Manas Garcia |
| Video analyzer | Dávid Szalóczy |
| Physiotherapist | Patrik Kalydi |
Ivo Georgiev
Haris HandžićHaris Tabakovic
MauridesKristiyan Malinov
Dorge KouemahaYannick Mbengono
Sandro TomićRonald HabiBožidar RadoševićDajan Šimac
Igor MorozovAdamo CoulibalySelim BouadlaBrandon Domingues
Kakhaber Chkhetiani
Luis Ramos
Shūichi Gonda
Aco StojkovDavid BabunskiDorian BabunskiMirsad Mijadinoski
Bojan BrnovićMeldin DreškovićDušan LagatorVukašin PoleksićHamzat Ojediran
Liviu GoianTibor SelymesNicolae IleaMarius ȘumudicăSabin Ilie
Ibrahima Sidibe
Igor BogdanovićDragan VukmirNenad NovakovićDušan BrkovićRóbert Vittek
Dalibor VolašRene Mihelič
Suk Hyun-jun
Ivan Bobko
Frank Feltscher
