The 2023/24 season will stay memorable for five young, homegrown players of Debrecen as they’ve made their debut in the first division. The debut of these young players was not accidental in any way, because many of them have already been training with the first team.
The 19-year-old striker, Tamás Batai made his first appearance in the first team back in December in Kisvárda, while the 17-year-old defender, Csaba Hornyák played for the first time in NB I against Zalaegerszeg in March. During the final match against Puskás Academy, our talented goalkeeper Benedek Erdélyi (18 years old) as well as our defender Balázs Gellén (22 years old) and our midfielder Flórián Cibla (19 years old) came on as substitutes and proved that they can be counted on in the future.
It is important to highlight that considering the first division, DVSC earned the most points from young minutes this season, which is also a nice result.
In the last match of the 2023/24 season, DVSC played against Puskás Academy in Felcsút. Regardless of the result of this match, our team finished in the 5th place in the championship. Nine players were out of the squad: Erik Kusnyir, Jorgo Pellumbi and Thor Úlfarsson were still on rehabilitation, Donát Bárány and Meldin Dreskovic had minor injuries, while Márk Szécsi, János Ferenczi, Dusan Lagator and Stefan Loncar were suspended because of the yellow cards that they’ve collected. For this reason, the technical staff decided to fill the squad with the youngsters of the second team. Among the starting XI were Máté Tuboly as a right-back, Nimród Baranyai as a centre-back and Balázs Dzsudzsák as a striker.
The match started at a good pace, and even though a lot of players were missing, Loki entered the game bravely. In the 10th minute, the ball accidentally bounced on the hand of Balázs Dzsudzsák within the box and the referee awarded a penalty. The VAR checked it, but the decision remained unchanged and Zsolt Nagy converted the penalty (1-0). Right after that, there was a doubtful situation in front of the opponent’s goal, the referee didn’t blow his whistle, but he gave a yellow card to the bench of Debrecen.
In the 24th minute, the referee sent-off Christian Manrique, who collided with Komáromi as the second-to-last man (it was also a controversial decision), and another lengthy VAR review followed, but it didn’t change the red card. The ball went over the goal after the 16-meter free-kick. Botond Vajda became the left-back and in the 36th minute, Puskás doubled its advantage, when Komáromi shot the ball into the bottom left corner from 17 meters (2-0). However, DVSC pulled one back before the break: at the end of extra time, Soma Szuhodovszki made a nice cross and the arriving Ádám Bódi scored a beautiful goal into the right corner of the goal from 7 meters (2-1).
The second half started with another goal from Puskás. After a right-sided cross, Zsolt Nagy was left alone and he headed the ball into the net from close-range. During that period of the match, Puskás, who were in numerical superiority, dominated and they missed some big chances.
There were no big excitements in the last thirty minutes of the match, but in the 90th minute, Komáromi was lucky to score another goal (4-1). However, it was a big pleasure that the young Csaba Hornyák and Tamás Batai came on as substitutes. Benedek Erdélyi, the goalkeeper, made his debut in the first division as well as Balázs Gellén and Flórián Cibla.
Now the team goes on a four-week break, after which the preparation for the new season will begin.
According to the coach
Srdjan Blagojevic: There is nothing special to analyse, the penalty and the red card decided the match. It was difficult to play with such a line-up, but I was satisfied with the way we started, but then came the penalty. I’m very glad that a lot of players could make their debut in the team, congratulations to them, it is very important for the club. At the end, we played with 10 young players and I’m sorry for the defeat. Thanks for the support of the fans!
DVSC will play the last match of the 2023/24 championship at the home of Puskás Academy, in Felcsút, starting from 17.45 on Saturday.
Important information: club card and personal data are not necessary for purchasing tickets. However, those who would like to buy discounted tickets, need to show their ID, which makes them eligible for the discount (e.g. a student ID). There is a discount for online tickets: earlybird and online tickets cost 800 HUF for adults, while on site, guests can buy tickets for 1000 HUF each.
The guest sectors include the 3I and the 3H sectors, while tickets can be bought at ticket offices 5 and 6. The ticket offices for the guest supporters and the gates open two hours before the match, that is at 3.45 pm.
The goalkeeper of DVSC, Balázs Megyeri received the Zilahi award, which is given to a player of Loki, who delivers the best performance during the season. Our 34-year-old player is the third goalkeeper in the history of the club, who can be proud of this trophy.
– Looking at the list of players on the Zilahi award, I got admitted to quite an illustrious company, so for me, it means a huge recognition – said Balázs Megyeri to our website. –When I was playing at Fradi and Olimpiacos, I received some individual awards, but it was not characteristic to have such an acknowledgement during the recent years of my career. After a long break, I have another trophy in my vitrine, which is obviously a good feeling, although I would have traded it for a place on the podium.
It was a pretty uneven season and during the weekend, it became official that the team finished in the 5th place. How would you evaluate this season?
– It was rhapsodic. We had some good matches and big victories, and it makes me glad to remember that we made a comeback after 2-0 and earned a point at Groupama Arena. Sometimes we performed well, but didn’t get any points and there were times, when our play was not so attractive, but we won. Basically, it was characteristic of the whole season. We started well, then we had some ups and downs, but I’m glad that throughout the whole season, we were at the forefront of the table. It could be encouraging for the future that even with such a season, we consistently remained in the top part of the table.
You made numerous brilliant saves and saved the team from conceding goals many times. Are you satisfied with your performance?
– There were times, when I could perform some feats and contributed to the success of the team, but there was also a period, when I was not lucky and the ball bounced into the net either from the bar or a defender. During the run in, I think that I was in a good form and contributed to the results of the team, but that’s the reason why I’m in the goal. We have one match left and even though our fate has already been decided, we have to deliver our best performance as professional sportsmen. It also matters in what kind of mood we go on a break, but after the match against Fehérvár, we took a step forward. We showed that we are competitive, which can provide motivation for the future. One is thing is for sure: we are not going to Pancho Arena with a white flag, we will do everything to be successful, moreover, in order to finish the season with two victories. It would be rewarding for our soul and it would indicate that we can achieve a better result in the next season.
You arrived in Debrecen two years ago and the club prolonged your contract last year. How do you feel in the city?
– I really like to be here. Compared to the previous year, the only difference is that my family also moved here. My wife and children love the city. My daughters go to an excellent school, so they got used to life in Debrecen. The club and the city have both welcomed us, which makes our life easier. We look towards the future with good feelings, and I believe we’ll be here for at least another two years.
In the last auction of this season, supporters can bid on the dedicated shirts of our players, worn during the match against Fehérvár. Supporters can easily create an account on the www.matchwornshirt.com website and follow the auctions of Debreceni VSC. Fans can bid on the red jerseys of the players and the black jerseys of the goalkeepers until 2 pm. on Saturday HERE!
On Sunday evening, Loki played the last match at home against Fehérvár without Erik Kusnyir, Thor Úlfarsson and Jorgo Pellumbi. As usual, the best football player of the season has been chosen and greeted at the beginning of the final home match. This year, the goalkeeper of DVSC, Balázs Megyeri received the Zilahi award, presented by András Zilahi, the son of Géza Zilahi and the management of the club. His brother was Zoltán Zilahi, the former talented player of Loki, who tragically passed away. Congratulations to Balázs Megyeri! Dusan Lagator was also greeted on the occasion of his 50th appearance in the Hungarian first division.
The match started with a minute of silence. János Szűcs, the excellent former defender of Loki, passed away at the age of 67 after a short and serious disease. János Szűcs, famous for his elegant play, was a player of DMVSC with only a brief interruption for nearly a decade, from 1979 to 1988. He had 156 appearances in NB I and NB II in the colours of Loki and scored 7 goals. We will cherish his memory.
The match started at a relatively good pace. In the 6th minute, Balázs Megyeri made a huge save to deny Karamoko’s one-on-one opportunity. As an answer to that, Brandon Domingues shot over the goal from 18 meters in the 11th minute. Not long after, the ball bounced off the bar after Katona’s header and Megyeri had to deny one more shot.
The game was balanced, but in the 24th minute, Botond Vajda took the ball, he shot from a sharp angle but Tóth saved it. In the 30th minute, Schön had an opportunity on the other side of the pitch, but Balázs Megyeri punched the ball away. No goals were scored until the break.
What concerns the beginning of the second half, the game didn’t change much. DVSC had bigger possession, while Fehérvár relied on quick movements. In the 61st minute, the goalkeeper of Fehérvár saved Hamzat Ojediran’s powerful shot. Later, Csongvai tried to convert a free-kick from close-range, but it went wide off the goal.
Stefan Loncar and Márk Szécsi came on as substitutes for the last 20 minutes (Ádám Bódi, Dominik Kocsis and Oleksandr Romanchuk also came on for the endgame). In the 72nd minute, Hamzat Ojediran had one more dangerous shot. At the beginning of the final minutes, in the 79th minute, DVSC took the lead! Following a corner, Brandon Domingues made a cross from the left side, the defenders tried to clear, but Meldin Dreskovic shot the ball into the right corner of the goal from 14 meters (1-0). This goal meant three points for our team, which said farewell to the fans with this victory. Thus, Loki finished in the 5th place and the team will go to Felcsút in the last round of the championship.
According to the coach
Srdjan Blagojevic: It was not an easy match. Mentally it was difficult because we conceded 5 goals last week against FTC and we lost the opportunity to participate in European cups. It was hard to maintain the intensity, but luckily, we managed to do that. Fehérvár is a good team, physically strong, but today we could win due to Balázs Megyeri’s saves and our patience. It was not our best performance, but we won. I would like to say thanks for the support of the fans during the whole season.
Bartosz Grzelak: Congratulations to our opponent. Our performance was very good, it was the best in Debrecen since I’m the coach of Fehérvár. However, this is football, we are disappointed but we must go on!
OTP Bank Liga, round 32.
DVSC-Fehérvár 1-0 (0-0).
Nagyerdei Stadium, 5347 spectators. Referee: Bognár T.
Fehérvár: Tóth B. – Serafimov, Spandler, Gergényi – Bese, Csongvai, Sigér D. (Gradisar, 78.), Schön – Christensen, Karamoko (Pető, 84.), Katona M. (Stefanelli, 68.). Head coach: Bartosz Grzelak.
Goal: Dreskovic (79.).
Yellow card: Lagator (23.), Ferenczi (34.), Vajda (54.), Baranyai (73.), Bódi (93.), Szécsi (94.), Loncar, (96.) as well as Bese (66.).
Due to the high-level cooperation agreement between DVSC and Villarreal CF, the Hungarian club’s professionals learn from the Submarine’s knowledge.
The coaches and playes of the DVSC Football Academy (general director András Herczeg, U19 coach Zsombor Kerekes, video analyst Levente Kiss, as well as five talented players, including Imre Egri, Dénes Szakál, Milán Sánta, Zsolt Varga and Botond Nyikos) spent one week in Spain, during which they could acquire new skills as part of their training plan.
“Over the last year, Villarreal’s coaches have been with us and we have gained information about how they work here through many meetings, not only about technique or tactics, but also about organisation. Our academy is among the best in Hungary, but we can do even better,” confesses András Herczeg, director of the academy.
According to Herczeg, it is a pleasure to work together with the coaches of Villarreal as they are showing a lot of new things, most of them related to the methodology programmes for coaches in Debrecen.
“It is also a pleasure to be here visiting the facilities, training and playing against the youth teams. The coaches also enjoy watching the training sessions, having meetings and leaving with new information from the academy coaches.”
Besides methodology and football concepts, Hungarian coaches learn everything about how a professional academy works from Yellows who are based in Hungary: “One of the best examples, which I think shows one of the most important changes for their club, is to think about how they have to behave with the players and give them feedback, how to lead them. All the teams have grown because the head coach treats everyone equally. That has been a big improvement, but I would also highlight how the other departments treat the players. All players think that this has changed and they trust us”, says Álex Viña, one of the coaches from Villarreal, who accompanies them in this process. Viña explains that they also teach them “how the rest of the departments work in the club to be able to give more effective tools for their young talents.”
Herczeg also highlights the work of the club’s medical services and psychology department, which were also very impressive. One of the players, who had the opportunity to experience this week at the José Manuel Llaneza Training Ground, Dénes Szakál, agrees with his mentor: “They help both players and coaches to improve individually and they focus on that and take care of us”, but he believes that the best part of his stay here “are the training sessions because the sensations and the environment are spectacular.”
The guests from Debrecen were able to attend the match between the Submarine and Rayo Vallecano at the Estadio de la Cerámica. For some of them, it was the first LaLiga match, which they consider to be the best regular competition in the world. “It is obvious that Spanish football is the best in the world and we are very happy to learn from them because the level is very high,” Herczeg underlined.
DVSC is the first foreign club to join the Villarreal family in this kind of cooperation.
In the last auction of this season, supporters can bid on the dedicated shirts of our players, worn during the match against Fehérvár. Supporters can easily create an account on the www.matchwornshirt.com website and follow the auctions of Debreceni VSC.
The auction starts at the same time as the match does, at 7.30 pm. on May 12 and lasts until 2 pm. on May 18. Fans can bid on the red jerseys of the players and the black jerseys of the goalkeepers HERE!
An exciting football weekend is ahead of us. On Saturday, a Debrecen derby will take place in the city. DEAC, currently in the 5th place in the NB III Northeast group, will host the second team of DVSC, which is in the 3rd place, at the university complex on Dóczy Street. On Sunday evening, there will be a Loki-Fehérvár rivalry game at Nagyerdei Stadium, starting from 7.30 pm. Depending on the result of the MTK-Puskás Academy match on Saturday, it can still be relevant regarding participation in international tournaments.
Our team needs the support of the fans, while our club is trying to please the supporters.
Opening hours of the DVSC Shop: Tuesday-Wednesday – 3-6 pm, Thursday-Friday – 2-6 pm, Saturday – 10 am-3 pm, Sunday – 1-10 pm. Tickets are also available online at www.nagyerdeistadion.hu.
Our club is organizing various programs to make the match even more enjoyable for the fans. The stadium opens at 6.30 pm., but from 4.30 pm, we will organize a family day at Red&White. There will be various games that visitors can participate in until the start of the match (Combi Sport Arena, face painting, live foosball, subsoccer and a lot of others). Food and drinks will also be available on site. Moreover, there will be a competition for the fans in halftime too. The BMW Group Debrecen will also await visitors and their families with exciting activities at Nagyerdei Stadium.
In halftime, we will launch our T-shirt gun due to our collaboration with MOMED. Besides the usual services, our VIP-guests can enjoy a live discussion with 7-time champion of DVSC, Csaba Bernáth.
Travelling on the routes of DKV is free for those who have a valid ticket or pass 3 hours before and after the match (from 4.30 pm until the last scheduled departure).
Important to note: Red&White has adopted a cashless payment system, allowing payment only by bank card or Unipass card (but not with Nagyerdei Stadium card).
Those who do not have a bank card or Unipass card, can obtain and charge an anonymous Unipass card on site, which can be used at other venues operated by Debreceni Campus N.K. Kft., including Nagyerdei Stadium.
On Sunday evening, Loki tried to play effectively at the home of the champion Ferencváros as our team was still competing for a spot in international tournaments. There was a genuine football atmosphere and several hundred fans from Debrecen encouraged the team. Since the match was on Mother’s Day, the players from both teams went onto the pitch hand in hand with their mothers.
Due to rehabilitation, Erik Kusnyir and Thor Úlfarsson were out of the squad, but Donát Bárány and Jorgo Pellumbi were back on track. Compared to the previous week, there were two changes in the starting XI: Meldin Dreskovic started instead of Oleksandr Romanchuk and Donát Bárány was on the pitch instead of Márk Szécsi.
In the 1st minute of the match, Traore scored on behalf of FTC, but the goal was disallowed for offside. Still, the home team tried to put pressure on DVSC. Our team took on the duels, but the home team was dangerous. In the 7th minute, for example, Lisztes shot wide off the goal. However, in the 12th minute, Nimród Baranyai blasted over the bar after a nice team play, and in the 20th minute, János Ferenczi missed the target from distance. At that time, the play was balanced and neither of the goalkeepers had to perform any feats. In the final minutes of the first half, Ferenváros increased the pressure, but they could not score due to our team’s organized play. Still, Balázs Megyeri made a brilliant save to deny Traore’s clear-cut chance in the 43rd minute. No goals were scored until the break.
Oleksandr Romanchuk and Máté Tuboly came on for the second half, so DVSC made a tactical change. Nevertheless, in the 49th minute, Ferencváros took the lead, when Abena scored from close-range after Megyeri’s feat and some turmoil (1-0). DVSC tried to get into the opponent’s box, but our teams’ attempts were not successful. Moreover, in the 56th minute, FTC doubled their advantage: Traore came from the right side, he broke into the box and shot the ball into the far corner of the goal (2-0).
It was very difficult to make a comeback, but Botond Vajda showed his talent in the 63rd minute. He broke into the box after a nice dribble around the goal line and scored a huge goal that Dibusz could not save (2-1). Not long after that, Lisztes fell onto the pitch next to Vajda within the penalty area, for which the referee awarded a penalty. Barnabás Varga converted the penalty in the 68th minute (3-1).
At the beginning of the final minutes, FTC scored again in the 72nd minute. After a scramble following a free-kick, it was Abena who found the ball and shot it under the crossbar (4-1). Stefan Loncar, Márk Szécsi and later Dominik Kocsis came off the bench, but there was no way to make a comeback. Moreover, in the 80th minute, Abu Fani also scored, hitting the bottom right corner from 17 meters. The ball bounced off the post into the net (5-1).
Thus, the match ended in a heavy defeat. We will continue next Sunday against Fehérvár at Nagyerdei Stadium.
According to the coach
Dejan Stankovic: Since the 1st minute of the match, we played the way we wanted. In the second half, we also dominated physically and I’m really glad for that. Even though we have already won the championship a few weeks ago, we still worked hard. That’s the mentality that we should adhere to.
Srdjan Blagojevic: Congratulations to FTC for the victory. It was the worst match that we’ve played since I’m the coach of Debrecen. I was not satisfied with our performance even in the first half, but after the first goal, we fell apart. It was like a cat and mouse play, which was far from our best performance. I would like to apologize to the fans.
OTP Bank Liga, round 31.
FTC-DVSC 5-1 (0-0).
Groupama Arena, 11 959 spectators. Referee: Antal P.
FTC: Dibusz – Botka, Cisse, Abena, Ramirez (Pászka, 81.) – Maiga, Katona B. (Ben Romdhan, 73.) – Traore (Sevikyan, 73.), Abu Fani (Tóth, 81.), Lisztes (Kodro, 73.) – Varga B. Head coach: Dejan Stankovic.
In the next round of the OTP Bank League, DVSC will play against FTC on May 5, starting from 6.30 pm in Groupama Arena (Budapest, IX district, Üllői street 129.). Tickets are available online at https://jegymester.hu/production/741299/ferencvarosi-tc-dvsc/74001354, while the ticket offices for the guest supporters open 2 hours before the match on site. It is recommended to purchase the tickets online in order to avoid waiting in queques.
Fans without a valid ticket will not be admitted to the stadium!
The DVSC-Újpest derby on Saturday evening was crucial for Loki in terms of points and the hope of participating in international cups was at stake. Erik Kusnyir, Jorgo Pellumbi and Thor Úlfarsson were still on rehabilitation, so they were out of the squad as well as Donát Bárány, who suffered a minor injury. Meldin Dreskovic was back on track, while Soma Szuhodovszki and Márk Szécsi got an opportunity to be in the starting XI this time. Before the match, Donát Bárány was greeted on the occasion of his 50th appearance in the first division by the managing director of DVSC, Balázs Makray.
The match started basically in the 6th minute with the close-range header of Romanchuk, which was saved by Banai. The guest team stood up with three centre-backs, so obviously, they were afraid of the attacks of Debrecen. It was difficult to find open spaces, but in the 13th minute, Balázs Dzsuzdák made a free-kick from long-range, which went just over the goal. DVSC was getting creative in terms of attacks and in the 17th minute, the goalkeeper of Újpest saved our captain’s powerful shot, after which János Ferenczi headed the ball over the goal.
In the middle of the first half, the match slowed down a bit after a break in play, then it became more exciting before the break. In the 28th minute, Soma Szuhodovszki shot just wide off the goal from 18 meters (it looked like Banai touched the ball), not long after which Soma had one more attempt, but it was blocked. The first goal of Debrecen came in the 35th minute: Brandon Domingues made a nice dribble, after which Kobouri scored an own goal, but it was ruled to be offside by VAR. The match had to be decided after the break.
The second half started with a dismissal for Újpest as Tamás fouled Botond Vajda very badly. After some VAR review, Berke gave him a red card. Thus, Loki appeared to be in a numerical superiority and a greater advantage, which our team tried to capitalize on. In the 60th minute, Brandon Domingues narrowly missed with a diving shot, then Botond Vajda blasted the ball over the goal from the edge of the box. Our team increased the pressure and in the 66th minute, after János Ferenczi’s header, the goalkeeper of Újpest pushed the ball onto the crossbar.
Tamás Batain came off the bench for the endgame (later Ádám Bódi, Stefan Loncar, Meldin Dreskovic and Christian Manrique also came on). In the 83rd minute, Tamás Batai was close to scoring, but his backheel shot went wide off the goal. However, in the 88th minute, Banai could only punch away the ball after Tamás Batai’s header, and the arriving Hamzat Ojediran rolled the ball into the net from close-range (1-0).
DVSC earned very important three point, which were well-deserved. We will continue next Sunday away against FTC.
According to the coach
Srdjan Blagojevic: It was a dramatic match, it must be exciting to watch our games. I am very happy and I would like to praise the players. They were not in an easy situation as we have lost many games, in which we’ve dominated. The guys proved that they believe in our joined work. The goal was a very emotional moment for us, it had to be like this. I would like my team to always play like this. We are still alive and we will fight until the end. I would like to say thanks for the fans, who constantly supported us and I would like to have this kind of atmosphere in the stadium all the time.
Géza Mészöly: Our plan was to play in an organized way and more or less, we succeeded in that. In the first half, we could not get close to the box, so we changed during the break, but the dismissal ruined our plan. We defended heroically, but in the end, we conceded a goal. On the other side, the referee wasn’t called out to check what happened exactly when Szécsi fouled our player.
OTP Bank League, round 30.
DVSC-Újpest 1-0 (0-0).
Nagyerdei Stadium, 6592 spectators. Referee: Berke B.
