On Thursday, the international cup has started for Loki in Armenia. Our team stepped onto the pitch against Alashkert in the 2^nd qualifying round of the Conference League in Abovyan, the city next to Yerevan. There were several supporters who even this far accompanied DVSC and some fans could not be at the match because of flight cancellation.

Antonio Mance and Alexander Mojzis were not in the travelling team because of smaller injuries but the others were ready for the fight in the really hot weather (35 °C). There were no big surprises in the starting eleven, Márk Szécsi and Alexandros Kyziridis started on the two sides.

At the beginning of the match, Loki almost took the lead: in the 3^rd minute, Balázs Dzsudzsák hit the crossbar and his next shot, not long after, was brilliantly saved by the Armenian goalkeeper. The home team was also trying but Balázs Megyeri confidently saved the long-range shot of Wheymar. Both teams were giving the maximum and there were a lot of actions.

In the 8^th minute, Márk Szécsi shot wide from 17 meters and in the 11^th minute, Cancarevic saved the close-range curl of Dorian Babunski, which was a great chance. DVSC was definitely playing better but we weren’t able to convert our chances to goals. In the 26^th minute, the Armenian goalkeeper saved another shot from Dzsudzsák, while on the other side, Agdon slid wide from 8 meters in the 31^st minute.

In the final minutes of the 1^st half, Khurtsidze headed wide of the goal. In the 41^st minute, Jánost Ferenczi had to be substituted because of an injury and Oleksandr Romanchuk came instead of him. After the substitute, Christian Manrique was playing as left-back and Dusan Lagator stepped higher. There were no goals scored until the break.

After the halftime, Loki tried to put bigger pressure on the opponent, and we succeeded. In the 50^th minute, Dorian Babunski passed from the left to the centre and Stefan Loncar, who arrived on the long side, tackled and scored to the bottom right corner from 14 meters (0-1).

We had an advantage but had to be cautious in the back as well: in the 55^th minute, Khurtsidze headed just wide of the goal. In the 60^th minute, Dorian Babunski shot over the goal from 11 meters, but our team had several great build-ups. In the 69^th minute, Brandom Domingues and Joao Oliveira, the two new summer transfers, came on as substitutes and Loki tried to finish the match with a victory.

The final minutes were also exciting, in the 80^th minute, Balázs Megyeri made a brilliant save when Wbeymar shot from close-range. Alashkert did everything to equalize, and meanwhile, Ádám Bódi and Donát Bárány also stepped onto the pitch. In the final minutes, there were some chances on both sides but the final result was the 0-1 victory away for Loki. On Monday, DVSC will play the first league match against Mezőkövesd at home, and a week later comes the return match against Alashkert in the Conference League.

With the eyes of the coach

Srdjan Blagojevic: The match was tough as expected, and it was the first competitive match in this season. In spite of the hot weather, we had some periods of good play but we weren’t able to score for some time. For 60 minutes, we were controlling the game and scored as well. In the last part of the match, we had to be more defensive but all in all, I’m satisfied with the play of the team. It was only the first match of the duel and we know that the return match in Debrecen won’t be easy.

UEFA Conference League, 2^nd qualifying round, 1^st match.

Alashkert (Armenian)-DVSC 0-1 (0-0).

Abovyan City Stadium, 1400 spectators. Referee: Vassilis Fotias (Greek).

Alashkert: Cancarevic – Ustinov, Carrillo, Voskanyan, Muzek – Racines (Fatai, 77.), Mimito (Gareginyan, 77.), Khurtsidze (Naibandyan, 90.), Wbeymar, Flores – Agdon (Kutalia, 60.). Head coach: Vahe Gevorgyan.

DVSC: Megyeri – Kusnyír, Dreskovic, Lagator, Ferenczi (Romanchuk, 41.) – Loncar, Manrique – Szécsi (Joao Oliveira, 69.), Dzsudzsák (Bódi, 87.), Kyziridis (Domingues, 69.) – Dorian Babunski (Bárány, 87.). Head coach: Srdjan Blagojevic.

Goal: Loncar (50.).

Yellow card: Muzek (65.).

On Monday, DVSC organized its usual pre-season conference, which was of great interest. The venue of the event was the press conference room at Nagyerdei Stadium. Among the participants were: Ike Thierry Zaengel, president, Balázs Makray, managing director, Srdjan Blagojevic, head coach, Balázs Dzsudzsák, captain and the young Botond Vajda.

Ike Thierry Zaengel expressed his appreciation to the staff, the players and the fans too.

“For those who are here today, Loki is very important as it is for me personally. When we arrived here, we asked everyone to give us 3 years. This amount of time is needed for putting DVSC back on the place that it deserves to be at. I believe that we are on the right path, the play of the team is different now than it was earlier. I want a strong team with a strong identity. I want to see warrior players and warrior fans who consider Nagyerdei Stadium as their own home,” the President stated.

The managing director Balázs Makray told us that he sees the progress of Loki in various aspects.

 “Great thanks to everyone who believed and believes in this club and this project. During the spring season, there were two times when there were 14,000 people at the stadium, which represents the support and trust of the fans. The 40% increase in the average number of viewership means a lot to the players as well,” said the managing director.

Srdjan Blagojevic expressed his hope regarding the future support of the fans during the season, and added that he is satisfied with the conditions of the preparation.

“We are physically prepared but regarding the play, there is always room for progress. We are really motivated and are eagerly waiting for the matches. A long season is in front of us, which can mainly be compared to a marathon,” said the Master of Loki.

Balázs Dzsudzsák was glad to participate in the conference. He feels that the team, the staff and the fans are reunited.

“We can talk about a big DVSC family again. I’m hopeful but we are planning only match by match. We always try to thank the fans for their support and do our best to deserve it,” pointed out the captain of the team.

Botond Vajda said that he was greatly welcomed in Debrecen, he feels good here and wants to prove himself in the colours of Loki.

The third qualifying round draw of the UEFA Conference League took place on Monday. Right now, the most important thing is the match on Thursday but it was already obvious on Monday that if DVSC qualifies for the next round against the Armenian Alashkert (the first match will be at 17:00 on Thursday in Yerevan, the return match will be at 9 pm. on August 3 in Debrecen), then our opponent can be the winner of the matchup between the Serbian Partizan Belgrade, the Israeli Maccabi Tel-Aviv, and the Moldovan FC Petrocub-Hincesti, as well as the Austrian Rapid Vienna, the Bulgarian CSKA Sofia and the Romanian Sepsi OSK (Sepsiszentgyörgy).

The UEFA draw revealed that the winner of the DVSC-Alashkert matchup will face Rapid Vienna in the next round. The first match will be in Vienna, at the home of the 32-time Austrian champion.

Match days: August 10 and 17.

The season starts for DVSC with an away cup match against Armenian Alashkert. We asked our head coach, Srdjan Blagojevic, about the preparation, new players, and the Conference League.

Have you managed to complete the work that was planned for the training camp?

Yes, we managed to complete all the training sessions and matches that were planned for the training camp, nothing was postponed or cancelled. All players completed all training sessions and all of them had approximately the same number of minutes during the games. However, as coaches, we always miss at least one more practice, one more training or at least one more quality player.

How satisfied are you with the players’ attitude?

As I have already mentioned, I am very satisfied with the work and commitment of each player. Maybe, at some point, someone grumbles, complains but everyone does their job. Each player is aware of the fact that there is no success without dedication in work and without leaving the comfort zone. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their efforts and praise them. This must be the standard, regardless of the circumstances of the next season. The only thing that I’m not satisfied with is how we looked like in most of the first half of the last game against Al-Shabab. Regardless of the fatigue, regardless of the fact that we played against one of the best teams in Saudi Arabia… Perhaps, some people think that individual and collective success will come without much effort. However, we are not a special team, I’m not a special coach, only hard work and a serious approach, along with passion and ambition can lead us to similar results. If we lose that, we have nothing to hope for.

At which stage of the progress is the team now? Are they ready for the start of the season?

My impression is that we have progressed compared to the winter camp in Turkey. All of this is a consequence of the continuous work of the team and the professional staff. We are ready physically and we must maintain this level during the competition. From a tactical and technical point of view, there is still a lot of room for work and progress. The next season must be viewed not as a 100-meter race but more like a marathon. There will be ups and downs, victories but also defeats. The most important thing is that we stick together in all cases. It refers to the players, coaches, management and fans as well. All of us will need patience, trust, support and respect. Let’s remain what we were: modest, respectful, quiet, focused exclusively on work, without big announcements and unrealistic expectations.

What is your opinion about the new players?

In my opinion, we also made progress in this aspect. We tried to find the best solution and I hope that we managed to do that. It was not easy to find players who fit into this team and club, and who are within the limits of our possibilities. I believe that we made a good choice and we got more competition in the team. We give them daily attention in order to help them adapt to the team as soon as possible.

The Armenian Alashkert will be our opponent in the Conference League.

The result of the return match says a lot… Winning away from home so convincingly and being absolutely dominant in both matches, regardless of the draw in the first match, should be of great respect. It is clear that we have a big challenge and a demanding opponent in front of us. I especially liked their offensive potential. Regardless of all that, we have a huge desire to show that we deserve to play in the European competition. This is what we have been fighting for during the last season and we want to enjoy it. Let’s go step by step, respecting our opponents but believing in ourselves.

A new video analyst joined the coaching staff of Loki. The 41-year-old Serbian coach, Nikola Stankovic has a pro licence and he had worked as an assistant coach at the Serbian Radnik, Metalac, as well as the Montenegrin Buducnost and lately, the Saudi Arabian Al-Shahel.

The opponent of DVSC in the Conference League will be the Armenian Alashkert. After the 1-1 draw at home, they have defeated Arsenal Tivat in Montenegro with a score line of 1-6 on Thursday evening. We will play the first match on July 27 in Yerevan, and the return match will be on August 3 in Debrecen.

Loki played the last match of the Austrian training camp on Wednesday evening against Al-Shabab from Saudi Arabia. It is telling that among the opponent’s starting eleven there was the 65-time Argentin national player Ever Banega, who won the Europa League 3 times with Sevilla, as well as the 24-time Columbian national player and former Flamengo-player, Gustavo Cuellar.

The team of DVSC consisted of those players who were not on the pitch during the 10-1 victory against Anif. Both teams started the match in a great pace and the first chance was missed by the Saudis in the 3^rd minute. Afterwards, the play was balanced without any decent shots.

In the second part of the first half, Loki was becoming more and more confident. In the 29^th minute, the goalkeeper made a brilliant save when Balázs Dzsudzsák shot and after Vajda Botond’s attempt, the defenders cleared the ball off the goal line. In the 31^st minute, the Saudi goalkeeper saved the clear-cut chance of Dorian Babunski and just before halftime, there was some pushing and shoving but no goal was scored.

At the beginning of the second half, Loki was dominating more, and in the 58^th minute, the goalkeeper caught János Ferenczi’s shot. Meanwhile, it started raining and in the 59^th minute, Banega took advantage of the opportunity and cleverly scored with a short, precise shot into the goal of Debrecen (0-1).

Afterwards, the goalkeeper of Al-Shabab punched out Ádám Bódi’s curl. Twenty minutes before the end, Márk Szécsi, Joao Oliveira and Brandon Domingues came on as substitutes. Loki did everything to equalize but the goal, which was scored after a corner, was deemed as a foul. Towards the end, our team played with a significant advantage in terms of possession but the score remained 0-1. All in all, the performance of DVSC was not bad and the training camp can be considered as specifically useful. We will continue at home!

Preparation match.

DVSC-Al-Shabab 0-1 (0-0).

DVSC: Megyeri – Kusnyír, Dreskovic, Romanchuk (Loncar, 76.), Ferenczi – Lagator, Manrique – Vajda (Joao Oliveira, 70.), Dzsudzsák (Szécsi, 70.), Bódi – Dorian Babunski (Domingues, 70.). Head coach: Srdjan Blagojevic.

Goal: Banega (59.).

A beautiful anniversary is ahead of Loki, the fans and the whole DVSC family: the return match of the upcoming Conference League-qualifiers (against the Armernian Alashkert or the Montegrin Arsenal Tivat) will be the 100^th international cup match in the history of our club!

Until now, DVSC has played 98 matches on the international stage (Champions League, Europa League, UEFA-cup, KK, Intertoto), with a balance of 32 wins, 19 draws and 47 losses. All of this should be judged in the light of the teams that we were up against: Liverpool, Fiorentina and Lyon in the Champions League, PSV Eindhoven and Sampdoria in the Europa League, Manchester United or Wolfsburg during the qualifiers.

The story began with the Central European Cup in 1979, in which we played in the home of the Bosnian Celik Zenica aways and lost 2-0 away. In fact, Lajos Garamvölgyi, the latter legendary coach of Loki, also stepped onto the pitch on that match. Our first victory was in March 1980, when the team won 2-1 against the Czech Cheb in the Central European Cup. In this series, Loki also played against top Italian teams and and held their ground decently against Udinese and Pisa. On both occasions, they were defeated with a scoreline of 2-0.

Then came a long list of fantastic victories. In 1998, under the leadership of András Herczeg, Debrecen, after a 1-1 draw at home, knocked out German Bundesliga team Hansa Rostock from the prestigious UEFA Intertoto Cup with a 2-1 away victory. In 1999, the team defeated Wolfsburg 2-1 at home in the UEFA Cup. In 2001, also in Debrecen, they defeated the star-studded French Bordeaux 3-1. Then, in the 2003/2004 UEFA Cup, they marched all the way to the spring phase until they were eventually stopped by the Belgian team Bruges, albeit with great difficulty.

The 5-0 victory in Split in 2005 is a memorable event even for the younger generation, not to mention the 2009 Champions League march, where Debrecen reached the group stage. Afterwards, DVSC continued to claim valuable victories. In 2014, they defeated BATE Borisov 1-0, and in 2015, they scored nine goals against Skonto Riga at the Nagyerdei Stadium. Four years ago, we had a clash against the Italian Torino.

The story continues on 27 July and 3 August, 2023, with the second match being the 100^th international cup match in the history of DVSC. Loki has already burdened their opponents’ net with 125 goals, and more goals are yet to come. Hajrá, Loki!

At the end of June, DVSC signed the 17-year-old Kristóf Gyenti, who will start new season at the second division team of Nyíregyháza. The talented player, who started his football career in Debrecen, has already made his debut in the U18 Hungarian national team.

Loki played the 4^th preparation match in the Austrian training camp at 7 pm. on Tuesday. Our opponent was USK Anif, a team playing in the Austrian fourth division.

DVSC quickly took the initiative at the match in Windischgarsten as Alexandros Kyziridis dribbled the goalkeeper and scored in the 3^rd minute (1-0). In the 11^th minute, Loki was leading by two goals: at the end of a quick counter-attack, Zsombor Bévárdi gave an assist to Joao Oliveira (2-0). In the 14^th minute, after a great teamwork, Donát Bárány scored from 9 meters, so our team already scored 3 goals in fifteen minutes (3-0).

According to the power relations, the picture of play hasn’t changed later. In the 18^th minute, Alexandros Kyziridis doubled when he converted a free-kick from 17 meters (4-0). In addition to the goals, DVSC had some clear cut chances but the Austrian goalkeeper made some big saves, so no more goals were scored until the break.

After the break, Zsombor Bévárdi continued the series and scored a backheel goal from close-range (5-0). The next Debrecen goal came in the 51^st minute, after a beautiful through pass and cross, Donát Bárány scored his second goal (6-0). In the 54^th minute, Alexandros Kyziridis reached a hat-trick at the end of an excellently executed action (7-0), and then in the 57^th minute, the enthusiastic Austrian team pulled one back (7-1).

Meanwhile, Brandon Domingues came on as a substitute, followed by Bence Takács and Tamás Farkas in the 64^th minute, and Donát Bány took away the ball from the goalkeeper and reached a hat-trick in the 68^th minute (8-1). At the end, both Alexandros Kyziridis and Donát Bárány scored for the 4^th time, so it was a real goal fest for our team (10-1).

Loki will play one more match in Austria, starting from 6 pm. on Wednesday, against the Al Shabab FC from Saudi Arabia with Éver Banega, the 65-time Argentin international, among their ranks.

Preparation match.

DVSC-Anif 10-1 (4-0).

DVSC: Engedi – Baranyai, Neofytidis, Ojediran, Bévárdi – Loncar, Varga J. – Oliveira, Szécsi, Kyziridis – Bárány. Substitute: Domingues, Farkas T., Takács B. Head coach: Srdjan Blagojevic.

DVSC goals: Kyziridis (3., 18., 54., 81.), Oliveira (11.), Bárány (14., 51., 68., 84.), Bévárdi (46.).

After the 4-1 victory against Ried, DVSC played another preparation match against the Austrian bronze medallist on Friday afternoon. LASK promised to be the toughest opponent of the training camp in Austria but DVSC showcased several of its virtues during the match, although, naturally, there were also some mistakes.

In the 1st minute of the game, Linz immediately capitalized on a defensive error and Zulj scored the first goal (1-0). However, our team reacted well to the quick Austrian goal, trying to build up their attacks, although Megyeri Balázs had to make a save in the 12^th minute. Then, in the 16^th minute, Loki equalized as Ádám Bódi made a move on the left wing, delivering a precise cross for Dorian Babunski, who beautifully headed the ball into the right side of the net approximately from 8 meters (1-1).

Afterwards, our team had some chances, although there were also a few precarious situations in front of the goal of Debrecen as well. In the 33^rd minute, Dorian Babunski scored again but the goal was disallowed due to offside. Until half-time, no valid goals were scored but Loki led some beautiful attacks.

In the second half, in the 50^th minute, Zulj threatened Megyeri Balázs’ goal (the ball went over the crossbar), but in the 55^th minute, it was DVSC who came close to scoring. After a corner kick by Balázs Dzsudzsák, Christian Manrique’s header from 12 meters missed the target by just a few centimeters.

However, in the 58^th minute, it was Linz who found the back of the net once again as Ljubicic slid the ball into the bottom right corner from 10 meters, putting Loki at a disadvantage once again (2-1). In the 69^th minute, Balic attempted a shot that required a brilliant save from Balázs Megyeri and then in the 73^rd minute, Ljubicic managed to double the lead with a beautiful lob (3-1).

In the final stages, the Austrians, who made substitutions after an hour, understandably had more energy compared to Debrecen, who played without any changes until the 84^th minute. Nevertheless, Debrecen managed to pull one back: after a cross from Joao Oliveira, Letard scored an own goal (3-2). The net trembled on the other end as well, in the 88^th minute, as Havel found the back of the net from close range after a swift counter-attack (4-2), which ultimately became the final result.

Preparation match.

Linz-DVSC 4-2 (1-1).

Linzer ASK: Lawal – Ziereis, Renner, Michorl, Ljubicic, Zulj, Ba, Goiginger, Horvath, Luckeneder, Nakamura. Substitutes: Siebenhandl, Letard, Koné, Balic, Usor, Jovicic, Pintor, Ljubic, Mustapha, Havel, Twardzik, Flecker. Head coach: Thomas Sageder.

DVSC: Megyeri – Kusnyír, Dreskovic, Lagator, Ferenczi – Loncar, Manrique – Szécsi, Dzsudzsák (Joao Oliveira, 84.), Bódi (Domingues, 84.) – Dorian Babunski. Head coach: Srdjan Blagojevic.

Goal: Zulj (1.), Ljubicic (58., 73.), Havel (88.), as well as Dorian Babunski (16.), Letard (own goal, 85.).

DVSC played the second preparation match at 12:30 on Friday in Windischgarsten. Our opponent was SV Ried, who were relegated from the Austrian top division at the end of the previous season.

Even though the match started at a fast pace, the first opportunity didn’t come until the 14^th minute, when Ojediran, after a beautiful tackle, unleashed a powerful shot towards the top right corner but the Austrian goalkeeper deflected it for a corner. In the 26^th minute, Ried could have taken the lead but their 20-meter shot didn’t reach its target. In the 37^th minute, the biggest chance of the match so far was missed when Baranyai rolled the ball to Bárány from the base line but the defender saved it in the last moment. In the 41^st minute, we took the lead when Mance converted Kyziridis’ right-cross from 7 meters out. The teams were close to heading into halftime with a two-goal lead for Debrecen, but in the 43^rd minute, Bévárdi, after a beautiful solo run, shot straight at the goalkeeper.

In the 59^th minute, Kyziridis capitalized on a loose ball and attempted a lofted shot from 20 meters but a defender cleared it off the goal line. By the 67^th minute, we were already leading by two goals. Following a beautiful counter-attack, Oliveira passed to Mance, who arrived completely unmarked in the center and he shot into the empty net. In the 70^th minute, our latest signing, Domingues, came on as a substitute, replacing Kyziridis. In the 75^th minute, Antonio Mance came very close to completing a hat-trick but his shot, after a corner, hit the crossbar. However, four minutes later, our Croatian forward managed to score his third goal, taking advantage of a major defensive mistake. In the 84^th minute, Baranyai committed a foul inside the box, resulting in a penalty for Ried, so Ungar scored. In the 91^st minute, Domingues also scored after a counter-attack, resulting in a 4-1 victory against SV Ried.

Preparation match.

DVSC-SV Ried 4–1 (1-0)

DVSC: Milosveic – Baranyai, Neofytidis, Romanchuk, Bévárdi – Vajda, Varga, Ojediran, Kyziridis (Domingues, 70.) – Bárány (Oliveira, 62.), Mance

Goal: 1-0 Mance (41.), 2-0 Mance (67.), 3-0 Mance (79.), 3-1 Ungar (87., from penalty), 4-1 Domingues (91.)