UEFA drew the pairings for the fourth, play-off qualifying round of the Conference League on Monday afternoon, and the “pots” were already prepared in the morning.

Based on this, it was known that the winner of the DVSC-Rapid Wien match would face an incredibly strong opponent in the next round. This could have been either the Belgian Brugge, the Serbian Partizan, the Greek PAOK, the Israeli Maccabi Tel-Aviv, or the Italian Fiorentina.

During the draw, it was revealed that the winner of the DVSC-Rapid match will play against the Italian Fiorentina for the group stage, and the second leg will take place in Florence.

The match dates are: August 24 and 31.

DVSC prolonged the contract of Erik Kusnyir until 2026. The 23-year-old homegrown player has been showing great performance from match to match, and he has been a key player of the team for many years.

In the last season, he played in 21 league matches and was one of the best players during the cup match on Thursday as well.

“I’m happy to continue my career in Debrecen. The decision was obvious when the club informed me about their intention to extend my contract. DVSC is the team where I became a professional football player, the place where I made my debut in the first division and I owe a lot to the club. I hope that we can reach much more success together and I would like to play more games on the international stage too. In fact, it is no secret that my goal is to make a debut in the Hungarian national team as well,” said Erik Kusnyír happily after signing his contract.

We congratulate our player and wish him success in the ranks of DVSC!

On Thursday evening, Loki played the 100^th international cup game in the history of the club at Nagyerdei Stadium, which was the second leg of the second qualifying of the UEFA Conference League. Winning 0-1 away against the Armenian Alashkert created a good basis for qualifying but everybody knew that still, the battle had to be fought.

Except János Ferenczi, who was not in the squad because of his injury, everybody was ready to play, so there were no surprises regarding the line-up. The match started in a fantastic atmosphere, the fans gave huge support to the team. Loki started the match dynamically, in the 3^rd minute Balázs Dzsudzsák shot over the goal from long-range, after which Kyziridis also tried and was not far from scoring. In the 10^th minute, Christian Manrique shot sharply from the left wing but it hit the crossbar.

The first chance for Alashkert came in the 18^th minute, when Megyeri saved the close-range shot of Khurtsidze but the opponent took the lead after the corner. Ustinov headed the ball into the center of the goal from 7 meters (0-1).

At this point, it looked like there will be extra time so DVSC tried to fix the situation. In the 29^th minute, Meldin Dreskovic headed over the goal. There were some other dangerous situations in front of the opponent’s goal but no equalizer goal was scored until the halftime.

At the beginning of the second half, in the 51^st minute, DVSC earned a free-kick about 23 meters from the goal, Balázs Dzsudzsák’s ball bounced off the defensive wall. In the 55^th minute, Stefan Loncar shot over the goal from 24 meters but our team still tried to equalize. In the 58^th minute, Balázs Megyeri made a brilliant save when Agdon was in a clear-cut chance. After that, Ádám Bódi came onto the pitch.

In the 66^th minute, Dorian Babunski slid the ball just wide off the goal. Then, Alashkert scored in the 67^th minute: after a quick attack, Mimito shot the ball into the bottom right corner (0-2). So, there was trouble, big trouble, DVSC was on the verge of relegation. During the final minutes, Brandon Domingues and Donát Bárány came on as substitutes but still, there were lots of mistakes in our play.

Finally, the Loki goal came in the final minutes! In the 77^th minute, Domingues came from the right wing and made a great cross, and the arriving Balázs Dzsudzsák shot the ball into the left side of the goal from 12 meters (1-2). Later, both Stefan Loncar and Donát Bárány had their chances and in the 87^th minute, Kutalia kicked Domingues from the back and received a red card, so the guest team was playing undermanned from that point on. No other goals were scored during the extra time (8 minutes), then came the 2×15 minute prolongation.

In the first part of the prolongation, the superiority of Loki was obvious but our team didn’t really have a big chance to score. There was a waiting game on the pitch, in the 98^th minute, Balázs Dzsudzsák shot over the goal. Antonio Mance also came on (he had a huge chance) but the decision was left for the last 15 minutes, and as it turned out, it went to penalties.

In the 106^th minute, the opponent goalkeeper Cancarevic brilliantly saved at first Donát Bárány’s, then Antonio Mance’s clear-cut chance. The spectators saw a real cup battle and experienced dramatic excitements at the stadium. The game was resumed for lots of minutes, and Joao Oliveira, who came on as a substitute in the 109^th minute, shot over the goal from a really close distance. Then came the penalties.

Yadigariyan missed it (Balázs Megyeri punched out the ball), Ádám Bódi scored (1-0), Mimito shot wide off the goal, Mance shot at the top right corner and scored (2-0), Muzek converted the goal (2-1), Donát Bárány also scored (3-1), however, Balázs Megyeri saved Fatai’s shot, and that’s how DVSC qualified for the next round with a 2-2 final score and penalties.

Our next opponent on the international stage is the 32-time Austrian champion, Rapid Wien. The first leg will be on August 10 in Vienna, while the second leg will be on August 17 in Debrecen.

With the eyes of the coach

Srdjan Blagojevic: It was a dramatic match. Perhaps, the spectators enjoyed some parts of these excitements but me, as a coach, like when we control the game. Now, it didn’t happen. I knew that it will be a tough match and it showed up on the pitch as well. We had some tactical and technical mistakes, and lost the second balls lots of times. During several parts of the game, the opponent was better. However, I would like to praise my players because they brought a lot of energy in order to succeed. The goal of Balázs Dzsudzsák kept us alive and the red card changed the game. We are happy but we learned what are those aspects, in which we should still progress.

Vahe Gevorgyan: Congratulations to Debrecen for qualifying for the next round. It was a really good match but I do not agree with some decisions of the referee, such as the red card. From a tactical point of view, both matches, the one in Yerevan and the one in Debrecen, were interesting. We wanted to put high pressure on our opponent but the red card changed the game. Penalties are often down to luck.

UEFA Conference League, second qualifying round, second leg.

DVSC-Alashkert (Armenian) 1-2 (0-1, 1-2, 1-2), in total 2-2, with penalties 3-1.

Nagyerdei Stadium, 10 708 spectators. Referee: Robert Schröder (German).

DVSC: Megyeri – Kusnyír, Dreskovic, Romanchuk, Manrique (Joao Oliveira, 117.) – Lagator, Loncar (Mance, 99.) – Szécsi (Domingues, 73.), Dzsudzsák, Kyziridis (Bódi, 65.) – Dorian Babunski (Bárány, 73.). Head coach: Srdjan Blagojevic.

Alashkert: Cancarevic – Ustinov, Carrillo (Yadigaryan, 109.), Voskanyan, Muzek – Flores (Mensah, 89.), Wbeymar (Gareginyan, 83.), Khurtsidze (Grigoryan, 106.), Mimito, Racines (Fatai, 61.) – Agdon (Kutalia, 61.). Head coach: Vahe Gevorgyan.

Goal: Dzsudzsák (77.), as well as Ustinov (18.), Mimito (67.).

DVSC has signed a cooperation agreement with Road Service Kft., the official dealer of Toyota and Lexus.

The agreement was announced on Tuesday, August 1, at Nagyerdei Stadium by managing director Balázs Makray, together with Kálmán Illés-Tóth and Rudolf Gánya, the owners of Road Service Kft.

Before the opening game against Mezőkövesd, there were joyful and sad moments at the same time. As a lead-up to the game, the U14, U15 and U15 teams of the DVSC Football Academy were celebrated because of their national championship titles.

We also held one-minute silence to bid farewell to our fellow supporter, who tragically passed away suddenly. Roland Nagy passed away at the age of 25, leaving an irreplaceable void. He had been part of the DVSC family for long years, supporting the team at home and away since he was a child. Also, the audience commemorated our former player Papp II László, who passed away at the age of 85. The former left-back of DVSC, nicknamed Sutyi, had been a player of the first team of Loki since the age of 17, from 1955 until 1961.

Now, let’s talk about the match. János Ferenczi and Alexander Mojzis were not in the squad because of their injuries, while Brandon Domingues was banned as a result of his red card that he received during the last game of the previous season. On the other hand, among the starting eleven were Joao Oliveira, who arrived this summer, the 19-year-old Botond Vajda, as well as Donát Bárány and Ádám Bódi.

Right from the beginning of the match, it was evident that the guest team was focusing on organized defence and it would not be easy to break through that. The midfield play dominated and the first shot was in the 19^th minute, when Balázs Megyeri confidently saved the curl of David Babunski. In the 22^nd minute, after a cross from Botond Vajda, Joao Oliveira shot from close-range but Piscitelli saved with his leg. Not long after, following a corner, Meldin Dreskovic headed just wide of the goal from 9 meters.

By the middle of the first half, Loki had some chances but in the 27^th minute, Mezőkövesd took the lead due to Drazic, who shot a rebound into the net from 12 meters (0-1). DVSC appeared in a tough situation but reacted well as they equalized already in the 33^rd minute! Stefan Loncar received the ball about 23 meters away from the goal and then brilliantly curled it into the top left corner, leaving the goalkeeper with no chance to save. It was an amazing goal (1-1)! Until the halftime, no more goals were scored, so the match was decided in the second half.

After the break, in the 47^th minute, Erik Kusnyír’s shot was blocked by the defenders, but in the 55^th minute, Loki turned the game around. Ádám Bódi delivered an excellent cross from the left, and the arriving Stefan Loncar slid the ball into the net from 8 meters to score his second goal (2-1). Our team played superbly during this period, impressing the fans and earning applause multiple times.

Mezőkövesd also tried to score but the superiority of Debrecen was obvious. In the 67^th minute, after a nice dribble, Botond Vajda hit the left bar, then Márk Szécsi and Balázs Dzsudzsák came on as substitutes. In the final minutes, Piscitelli saved Christian Manrique’s clear-cut chance, then Dorian Babunski and Alexandros Kyziridis also came on. There were some exciting moments even in the final minutes but in the 92^nd minute, Dorian Babunski finished the match with a great clear-cut chance (3-1). Thus, Loki won and started the championship with valuable 3 points.

We will continue on Thursday against the Armenian Alashkert in the UEFA Conference League, starting at 9 pm. at Nagyerdei Stadium.

With the eyes of the coach

Srdjan Blagojevic: It’s a great pleasure to start the season with a victory. The start of the championship is always difficult though. In the first half, we were too shy and energy was missing, and we also did some basic mistakes. We conceded a goal but the beautiful shot of Stefan Loncar kept us alive. During the halftime, we realized what kind of tactical changes we need to make. These changes were successful, we scored goals, so I’m satisfied with the second half. We don’t have time to celebrate as we have an important match on Thursday. This victory is also a call for our fans to come to the stadium and support us because it helps a lot.

Attila Kuttor: Congratulations to Debrecen, they deserved to win. For a long time, we managed to realize our plans, it worked for some time but then the opponent broke us.

OTP Bank Liga, 1^st round.

DVSC-Mezőkövesd 3-1 (1-1).

Nagyerdei Stadium, 4844 spectators. Referee: Káprály.

DVSC: Megyeri – Kusnyír, Dreskovic, Romanchuk, Manrique – Lagator, Loncar (Ojediran, 92.) – Joao Oliveira (Szécsi, 70.), Vajda B. (Dzsudzsák, 70.), Bódi (Kyziridis, 78.) – Bárány (Dorian Babunski, 78.). Head coach: Srdjan Blagojevic.

Mezőkövesd: Piscitelli – Kállai, Lukic, Pillár, Filip – Prudnikov (Cseri, 59.), Brtan, David Babunski (Hudák, 75.), Illés (Cseke, 75.), Vajda S. – Drazic. Head coach: Attila Kuttor.

Goal: Loncar (33., 55.), Dorian Babunski (92.), and Drazic (27.).

Yellow card: Lagator (64.), and Lukic (24.), Brtan (29.).

For three years now, Tranzit Group has been the main sponsor and partner of DVSC. On a press conference on Monday, July 31, the parties announced the extension of their contract for one more year. The name and logo of the Tranzit Group will stay on the jersey of DVSC and be present at Nagyerdei Stadium as well.

On the press conference, the mayor of Debrecen Dr. László Papp stated that Loki successfully finished the previous season, and we can be proud of the team.

“In my opinion, the composition and mentality of the team is excellent, and DVSC can fight for significant goals in the next season as well. In this case, the stable financial background is especially crucial, and it is important that those who have stood by the club, stand still in the future too. For this reason, it is a pleasure to announce that the contract between the club and the Tranzit Group has been extended for one more year. For me, it is an important confirmation that a company, such as Tranzit Group, is a representative of local commitment,” said the mayor.

Miklós Szabó, the founder of Tranzit Group, stated that the company group has been supporting sports in Debrecen for over 30 years.

“Why is it worthy for the company? I always say that because of Debrecen, but of course, it can also be beneficial from a business perspective. We do love football, and if everything happens according to our plans, we can even prolong our cooperation”, stated Miklós Szabó.

Balázs Makray, managing director of DVSC, talked about the fact that similarly to Tranzit Group, DVSC also aims to reach higher levels.

“We are really glad that a company from Debrecen supports the football club of Debrecen. We do everything in order to continue our cooperation. During the last season, the team progressed and they are on the right path,” said the managing director.

Tranzit Group

The Debrecen-based Tranzit Group, with over three decades of history, is now recognized in the global market for the production, processing and trade of waterfowl. Founded and led by Miklós Szabó and his family 33 years ago, the company has become a significant player in the Hungarian and European poultry industry thanks to their work over the past decades, a stable team of experts and continuous growth.

Matar Dieye leaves DVSC. The Senegalese forward arrived in Debrecen last summer and spent the spring season at the Finnish KuPS on loan. It has become official that Matar Dieye permanently leaves DVSC.

We wish him good luck in his future career!

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.