 Fehér withBenfica in 2003 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Miklós Fehér[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1979-07-20)20 July 1979[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Tatabánya, Hungary | ||
| Date of death | 25 January 2004(2004-01-25) (aged 24) | ||
| Place of death | Guimarães, Portugal | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Győri ETO | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1995–1998 | Győri ETO | 62 | (23) |
| 1998–2002 | Porto | 10 | (1) |
| 1999–2002 | Porto B | 7 | (2) |
| 2000 | →Salgueiros (loan) | 14 | (5) |
| 2000–2001 | →Braga (loan) | 26 | (14) |
| 2002–2004 | Benfica | 30 | (7) |
| Total | 149 | (52) | |
| International career | |||
| 1996–1997 | Hungary U18 | 8 | (2) |
| 1996–2000 | Hungary U21 | 5 | (1) |
| 1998–2004 | Hungary | 25 | (7) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Miklós "Miki"Fehér (Hungarian pronunciation:[ˈmikloːʃˈfɛheːr]; 20 July 1979 – 25 January 2004) was a Hungarian professionalfootballer who played as astriker.
He spent most of his nine-year career in Portugal, representing four clubs and amassingPrimeira Liga totals of 80 games and 27 goals. On 25 January 2004, he died of acardiac arrest during a match betweenVitória de Guimarães and his teamBenfica inGuimarães.[2][3]
Fehér representedHungary national team at international level, making his debut in 1998 at the age of 19.
Born inTatabánya, Fehér started his playing career atGyőri ETO, where he was spotted byPorto scouts. He was signed in 1998 but never really made a breakthrough onto the first team, being loaned to gain experience from ages 20 to 21 to another two northern sides,Salgueiros andBraga.
At Braga, Fehér had his best professional season, scoring 14Primeira Liga goals in 26 games in2000–01. After PortochairmanJorge Nuno Pinto da Costa quarrelled with his agent José Veiga, the player refused to part with the latter and left, joiningLisbon sideBenfica and going on to net eight official goals over two seasons.[4]
On 25 January 2004, Fehér was inGuimarães with Benfica to play againstVitória de Guimarães. The game was being broadcast live on television, and Benfica were leading 1–0. Fehér had just come on as asubstitute andassisted another player just off the bench,Fernando Aguiar, for the match's only goal, but received ayellow card ininjury time and suddenly bent forward, seemingly in pain; he then fell backwards to the ground.
Members of both teams rushed immediately to aid Fehér before medical personnel arrived on the pitch.Cardiopulmonary resuscitation was performed, an ambulance arrived on the pitch and he was rushed to the hospital. His condition was covered by the Portuguese media throughout the day and, before midnight, his death was confirmed, the cause of death beingcardiac arrhythmia brought on byhypertrophic cardiomyopathy.[5] In his memory, Benfica retired the number 29 shirt, which he wore during his time at the club.[6] He was remembered by many and his death caused a profound shock in Portuguese sports. Among others, Portodirector of football Reinaldo Teles and managerJosé Mourinho paid their respects at theEstádio da Luz, where the player's body remained before hisburial in his native Hungary.
Benfica's delegation, which included presidentLuís Filipe Vieira, coachGiovanni Trapattoni and the entire first-team squad, travelled to Hungary, presenting Fehér's parents with the2004–05 league championship medal, in respect for the player and his time with the club.[7] They had previously dedicated the2003–04 Taça de Portugal trophy to him.[6]
On 9 October 2009, the day before their2010 FIFA World Cupqualifier againstPortugal inLisbon, theHungary national team squad laid a wreath next to a metal bust of Fehér at Benfica's homeground, in tribute to his memory.[8] Before aUEFA Europa Conference League game at the ground where he died, Hungarian clubPuskás Akadémia FC paid tribute to him on 20 July 2022, which would have been his 43rd birthday.
He was only 24 years old when he died.[9]
Fehér earned his firstcap for theHungary national team on 10 October 1998, in aUEFA Euro 2000qualifying match againstAzerbaijan. He came on as a sixth-minute substitute forFerenc Horváth at theTofiq Bahramov Stadium inBaku, and scored the final goal of the 4–0 win.
On 11 October 2000, Fehér netted ahat-trick in a 6–1 away rout ofLithuania for the2002 FIFA World Cupqualifiers.[10] In total, he scored seven goals in 25 appearances.
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Győri ETO | 1995–96 | Nemzeti Bajnokság I | 8 | 2 | — | — | 8 | 2 | ||
| 1996–97 | 29 | 8 | — | — | 29 | 8 | ||||
| 1997–98 | 25 | 13 | — | — | 25 | 13 | ||||
| Total | 62 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 62 | 23 | ||||
| Porto | 1998–99 | Primeira Liga | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 1999–2000 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 1 | ||
| Total | 10 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 16 | 1 | ||
| Porto B | 1999–2000 | Segunda Divisão | 4 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 4 | 1 |
| 2001–02 | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 3 | 1 | ||
| Total | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | ||
| Salgueiros (loan) | 1999–2000 | Primeira Liga | 14 | 5 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 16 | 6 |
| Braga (loan) | 2000–01 | Primeira Liga | 26 | 14 | — | — | — | — | 26 | 14 |
| Benfica | 2002–03 | Primeira Liga | 17 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 18 | 4 |
| 2003–04 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 19 | 4 | ||
| Total | 30 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 37 | 8 | ||
| Career total | 149 | 52 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 164 | 54 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hungary | 1998 | 3 | 1 |
| 1999 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2000 | 4 | 4 | |
| 2001 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2002 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2003 | 3 | 1 | |
| Total | 25 | 7 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 October 1998 | Tofiq Bahramov,Baku, Azerbaijan |  Azerbaijan | 4–0 | 4–0 | Euro 2000 qualifying |
| 2 | 11 October 2000 | Darius and Girėnas,Kaunas, Lithuania |  Lithuania | 2–0 | 6–1 | 2002 World Cup qualification |
| 3 | 3–0 | |||||
| 4 | 5–1 | |||||
| 5 | 15 November 2000 | Gradski Stadium,Skopje, Macedonia |  Macedonia | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
| 6 | 17 April 2002 | Oláh Gábor Út,Debrecen, Hungary |  Belarus | 2–5 | 2–5 | Friendly |
| 7 | 20 August 2003 | Fazanerija,Murska Sobota, Slovenia |  Slovenia | 1–2 | 1–2 | Friendly |
Porto
Benfica
Individual
