 Bognár withPaks in 2024 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1961-11-05)5 November 1961 (age 64) | ||
| Place of birth | Baja,Hungary | ||
| Height | 1.92 m (6 ft3+1⁄2 in) | ||
| Position | Centre midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Paks (manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1974–1979 | Bajai SK | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1979–1988 | MTK Budapest | 141 | (16) |
| 1988–1991 | Toulon | 61 | (8) |
| 1991 | Standard Liège | 18 | (0) |
| 1992–1996 | BVSC | 110 | (38) |
| Total | 330 | (62) | |
| International career | |||
| 1985–1994 | Hungary | 50 | (8) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1997–1998 | BVSC | ||
| 1998–2001 | MTK Budapest (youth) | ||
| 2001–2002 | MTK Budapest | ||
| 2002 | Sopron | ||
| 2004 | Rákospalota | ||
| 2004 | Budapest Honvéd | ||
| 2008 | Felcsút | ||
| 2008–2009 | Puskás Akadémia (U-19) | ||
| 2009 | III. Kerület | ||
| 2010–2012 | Baja | ||
| 2012–2014 | Csákvár | ||
| 2014–2016 | Csákvár (director of football) | ||
| 2016 | Puskás Akadémia (director of football) | ||
| 2016 | Budaörs (director of football) | ||
| 2017 | Budaörs | ||
| 2017–2020 | Budaörs (director of football) | ||
| 2020–2022 | Paks | ||
| 2022 | MTK Budapest | ||
| 2023– | Paks | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
György Bognár (born 5 November 1961) is aHungarian professionalfootball manager and formerplayer, who is currently the manager ofNemzeti Bajnokság I clubPaks.[1] He is considered as one of the most successful active football managers having won theMagyar Kupa in two consecutive years with Paks beatingFerencvárosi TC.
He made his debut for theHungary national team in 1985, and got 50 caps and 8 goals until 1994.[2] He was a participant at the1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, where Hungary failed to progress from the group stage.
On 16 May 2022, he was appointed as the sports director ofMTK Budapest FC.[3] On 23 October 2022, he was sacked.[4]
On 14 February 2023, Bognár returned toPaks.[5]
On 10 April 2024, he renewed his contract with Paks.[6]
On 15 May 2024, he won the2024 Magyar Kupa Final with Paks by beatingFerencváros 2–0 at thePuskás Aréna.[7][8] In an interview, published in Nemzeti Sport, he said that the main aim of Paks would be to avoid relegation even if the club were really successful in the 2023-24 season.[9]
In the2023–24 Nemzeti Bajnokság I season Paks were competing with Ferencváros for the title, however, in the last couple of matches Paks could not keep up with the financially more stable Budapest-based club and, finally, Paks finished second.[10]
On 7 May 2025, he renewed his contract with Paks.[11] On 14 May 2025, he won the2025 Magyar Kupa final withPaksi FC after beatingFerencvárosi TC 4–3 on penalty shoot-out.[12] Before the match, Bognár said that the president of Ferencváros is a clown at a press conference.[13] After the victory at the 2025 Magyar Kupa final, Bognár said that for the Hungarian football it is better if Ferencváros wins theNemzeti Bajnokság I.[14][15]
He is the father ofIstván Bognár. In 2021 he and his son were transported to hospital due toCOVID-19.[16] He was married to Rita Tamás.[17] In 2016, his ex-wife stood by him when Bognár received very negative comments on his behaviour in the Hungarian media.[18]
Duting his spell in Sopron, he was reported to take out 10 million Hungarian Forints from the club's account and he spent the amount in casionos, hence his nickname ' kaszinós Gyuri' (in English: Casino Gyuri).[19] However, no legal case was taken and his visits to local gambling services remains an urban legend.
In 2019, he said, as the manager ofBudaörsi SC, that "it is a mistake to downgrade a second division match centrally" (in Hungarian: "egy felnőtt férfi NB II-es mérkőzést hiba központilag lebutítani"). He made a clear reference to the gender of the referee,Katalin Kulcsár.[20]
During theUEFA Euro 2020, he was an expert on television. However, his insensitive comment caused outrage among tv spectators whenDanishChristian Eriksen collapsed in a match againstFinland.[21] Shortly after the incident, he was banned from tv broadcasts. A couple of days later, he apologized for his comments.[22]
Individual
