Organized by DVSC and Matchday Festival, we are looking forward to welcoming all Loki fans on the season-opening fiesta on Wednesday, July 23, from 5 pm. at Nagyerdei Water Tower.
The entire team and coaching staff will be present, so everyone can meet their favourites. There will be opportunities for photos, autographs, chats with the players and a fan Q&A session. We’ll also unveil the jerseys of the new season. Expect quality food and drinks, entertaining programs, music, DJ and other surprises.
The DVSC family can finally come together again for a memorable afternoon before the season begins. Supporters of all ages are welcome.
We’re looking forward to seeing everyone there! Hajrá, Loki!
DVSC signed Ádám Varga on loan. The 26-year-old former U21 national team goalkeeper was raised at Ferencváros. Lately, he has saved the goal of Ferencváros, but during his career, he showed his great assets at second-division Soroksár and first-division Kecskemét as well. The multiple time Hungarian champion and cup winner Ádám Varga has made 17 appearances in NBI and proved himself in international and Hungarian Cup matches too. Welcome to Loki!
DVSC signed the French Julien Dacosta. The 29-year-old, 181 cm tall player can be deployed primarily as a full-back and has extensive international experience. Julien Dacosta has recently played at the French Sochaux and he was raised at Marseille at a young age. During his career, he has played for French teams, such as Chamois Niort and Nancy as well as the English Coventry, Shrewsbury and the Portugese Portimonense. Overall, he made 75 appearances in the French second division, he played in 22 matches in the English second-division and 11 times in the Portugese top league. Welcome to Loki!
DVSC held a press conference on Tuesday, attended by Ike Thierry Zaengel president and Sergio Navarro head coach. During the event, several topics were addressed, which were of great interest for the fans.
According to Ike Thierry Zaengel, after two successful seasons, the previous one did not go well. However, he believes that the upcoming season will be more successful with the new head coach, Sergio Navarro, who brings a new vision to the club.
“We have signed a great coach who will also aim to integrate young players into the team. A wonderful future lies ahead of us. We will still sign good players and I ask for your trust. I don’t live in the past—I believe in the future, and I’m proud to be the president of DVSC. I urge everyone not to believe fake news, only what the club officially communicates. I wanted DVSC to join a multi-club system for a long time, and now, through Five Eleven, we have a new partner. I am and will remain the president and a shareholder of the club. Our plan is for Loki to rise higher and higher within the multi-club system and we will share the news related to this with our fans,” emphasized Ike Thierry Zaengel in response to a question, also confirming that DVSC will extend Balázs Dzsudzsák’s contract.
“It’s a great honor for me to be the head coach of Loki,” began Sergio Navarro, who led Athletic Bilbao’s academy for the past three years. “Thank you for the trust. The project outlined by DVSC was very convincing to me. The club has a development plan based on the improvement of players and the integration of academy talents. My staff and I are here to make this plan a reality and with our professional experience, we know how to accomplish that. Beginnings are often difficult, but the most important thing is that we all understand what the path to success looks like.
When I decided to leave Bilbao, I had offers from several prestigious clubs, but I completely identified with the Debrecen project. I arrived with a staff that has professional experience and knowledge, and with the addition of local coaches, we can be competitive. As a player, I made it to Villarreal’s first team. During my coaching career, I worked as an assistant coach at Rubin Kazan and Levante, achieving success internationally, in the league and in cup competitions as well. I’ve been head coach in Ukraine and led two of Europe’s most important academies at Villarreal and Bilbao. I’m convinced that I can put all that experience to good use here in Debrecen. We’ll need time to merge as a team, but we are confident in our knowledge,” said Sergio Navarro, who also talked about several current issues.
“I really like the facilities here—the training center, the stadium—everything is in place for us to do good work. During the training camp in Austria, the main focus was on getting to know the players. I’m aware of the characteristics of the Hungarian league as it’s part of my job. We need to integrate new players and the ones we’ve chosen and will continue to choose are those who can truly help the team. The most important thing is that people enjoy the football we play and of course, we want to win every match,” stated the coach of Loki.
The coaching staff of DVSC is ready
Under the leadership of Sergio Navarro, the preparation of DVSC is already underway and the professional staff has also been finalized.
The 46-year-old Spanish professional, Sergio Navarro arrived from Athletic Bilbao, having led one of the most effective football academy in the world during the last three years. The pro-licence coach, who had also played at Villarreal, previously worked in various roles at Villarreal (youth methodology director), Levante (assistant coach), Rubin Kazan (assistant coach, head of youth development) and Karpaty Lviv (head coach), before taking over the leadership of the Athletic Club de Bilbao Academy (Lezama). Sergio Navarro obtained his university degrees in football studies at the universities of Valencia and Barcelona.
The selection of the new head coach was strongly influenced by his extensive and valuable experience and work in international football, particularly within the elite level of youth development. His appointment is symbolic of our club’s intention to move forward and develop along the path of integrating young homegrown players into the first team more efficiently and effectively. The experience, work ethic and philosophy represented by Sergio Navarro perfectly fits with our concept as we have many talented young players with great potential (a recent example is the two Hungarian Youth Cup titles that we’ve won last weekend). With the help of such a professional, our players can develop further for the benefit of both Debrecen and Hungarian football overall. We are glad and hopeful that such an expert has accepted our invitation and will support us in building this strategic direction.
The direct assistants of Sergio Navarro will include Álex Pallarés, who has previously worked as head coach at first-division Latin American clubs and Bilbao B in the 2022/23 season, now joining as assistant coach, as well as Sergio Manas Garcia, who will take on the role of strength and conditioning coach, having previously worked at the academies of Castellón and Villarreal. Pablo Alberola, who spent the last three years at the DVSC Football Academy as the local head of methodology as part of the cooperation with Villarreal CF, will also be a member of the staff. His responsibilities will include maintaining communication between the first and the second team as well as facilitating and coordinating the upward movement of players. Roberto Robles Feijoo has joined the staff as well. He is a highly qualified methodology expert, holding a UEFA Pro License, a degree in sports management, and a master’s degree from the FC Barcelona Foundation. He has previously worked at Athletic Bilbao, Hércules CF and Deportivo La Coruña. At DVSC, he is focused on the individual development of players. The team is also supported by physiotherapist Abdelilah Abdeslami El Kamboui, who arrived from Las Palmas. His expertise lies in the comprehensive treatment and monitoring of musculoskeletal injuries, implementation of prevention programs as well as pre- and post-operative rehabilitation. Several staff members remain at the club, including goalkeeper coach János Balogh, assistant coach Tibor Dombi, analyst Dávid Szalóczy and physiotherapist Patrik Kalydy.
DVSC played their third and final pre-season match in Austria on Friday afternoon. The opponent was Sigma Olomouc, the Czech Cup winner and a team of considerable strength. Head coach Sergio Navarro once again gave several young players the opportunity to prove themselves, which turned out to be very useful.
In the 7th minute, after a nice attacking move by Debrecen, Tamás Batai delivered a cross and David Nwachukwu narrowly missed the left post. However, in the 12th minute, the Czech side took the lead when Breite blasted the ball into the right side of the net from 12 meters out (0–1). In the 20th minute, Olomouc doubled their lead as Vasulin easily scored from close-range following a cross from the right (0–2). DVSC responded in the 24th minute when David Nwachukwu broke into the box from the right and fired the ball back into the near left corner from around 13 meters (1–2).
In the 44th minute, Sigma was awarded a penalty, which Janosek confidently converted (1–3), bringing the total to four goals by halftime. After the break, substitutions followed, and in the 53rd minute, Márk Engedi was called into action with a save. Shortly after, Donát Bárány took advantage of a clear scoring chance, but the goal was disallowed due to offside. In the 69th minute, Flórián Cibla found himself in a promising position but shot narrowly wide. Near the end of the match, Dominik Kocsis posed a threat, but his shot went over the bar. In the 88th minute, Ádám Lang’s header was saved by the goalkeeper, so the score remained unchanged.
From Monday, the team continues the work in Pallag.
DVSC signed the 4-time capped Venezuelan Josua Mejías. The 28-year-old, 185 cm tall central defender spent the last season at the Greek first-division Kallithea, playing in 24 matches and providing 1 assist.
Josua Mejías joined the Spanish Leganés at a very young age, just 19. During his time there, he was loaned out to several clubs, including FC Cartagena, Gimnàstic, Atlético Madrid B and Málaga. In 2021, he was signed by the Israeli top-flight club Beitar Jerusalem and two years later he moved to Greece.
Over the years, he gained experience in the Israeli and Greek first divisions, as well as in the Spanish second division with Málaga. He has also made 11 appearances for Venezuela’s U20 national team and has been capped 4 times for the senior national team. Welcome to Loki!
After the 1-0 victory over FK Miercurea Ciuc, DVSC played another practice match in the Austrian training camp on Monday. This time, the opponent of Loki was the silver medallist of the Romanian league and the cup winner CFR Cluj, who were way ahead in their preparation.
In the first minutes of the match, there were no dangerous chances in front of the goals. Then, in the 16th minute, Donát Bárány made a great pass from the goal line to Dominik Kocsis, but the goalkeeper managed to save his shot. However, in the 17th minute, our opponent took the lead. Emmerlahu made a powerful shot into the top corner of the goal from 18 meters (0-1). In the next minutes, midfield play dominated, Loki made several attempts, but could not equalize until the break.
In the second half, the young players came on (Kristóf Gyenti came off the bench already in the 39th minute to substitute Márk Szécsi, who felt pain in his thigh) and tried to play dynamic football. CFR missed an opportunity, after which there was mainly fight on the pitch, but our opponent doubled their lead in the 64th minute. After an 18-meter shot, Donát Pálfi could only punch the ball (0-2). In the final minutes, there were chances on both sides, but no more goals were scored. CFR has won, but it was a useful match for our team as well.
Pre-season match.
DVSC-CFR Cluj 0-2 (0-1).
DVSC in the 1st half: Erdélyi – Szécsi (Gyenti, 39.), Lang, Szakál, Vajda, Szűcs T., Manzanara, Youga, Kocsis D., Dzsudzsák, Bárány. DVSC in the 2nd half: Pálfi – Gyenti, Fábián, Mona, Grassi, Egri, Asztalos, Bodnár, Nwachukwu, Nyikos, Batai. Substitutions: Engedi, Tercza, Doktor, Bökönyi, Shedrach, Silue. Head coach: Sergio Navarro.
Henrik Castegren leaves DVSC for a transfer fee and continues his career in the Swedish first-division at Sirius. The 29-year-old defender arrived in Debrecen in February and played in 12 league matches during the spring season. We would like to thank Henrik Castegren for his work and wish him good luck!
DVSC played the first pre-season match in the Austrian training camp. The opponent of Loki was a first-division Romanian team FK Miercurea Ciuc with János Ferenczi in their starting XI, who was warmly greeted by our club.
At the beginning of the match, Donát Pálfi had to deny first a close-range header, then Babati’s shot in the 5th minute. The danger was finally cleared with the help of Balázs Bodnár. In the 13th minute, our opponent hit to the goalpost from a 20-meter shot. DVSC responded through Imre Egri’s attempt, but it went just wide off the goal from 15 meters.
In the second part of the 1st half, a lot of young players came on from DVSC. In the 33rd minute, at the end of a nice action, Tamás Batai and Botond Nyikos worked well together, but Nyikos’ shot narrowly missed the targed. No goals were scored until the break.
In the following minutes, both teams had some promising attacks, but there were no dangerous chances at either of the goals. In the 63rd minute, Kaye Shedrach passed to Yacouba Silue, who found himself in a scoring opportunity, but the goalkeeper saved his close-range shot. Then came a corner and some turmoil in the box, at the end of which Silue did not miss the target. He shot the ball into the net from the six-yard box, thus, Loki took the lead (1-0). Our opponent tried to react quickly, but they could not use their chances. In the 82nd minute, DVSC was awarded a penalty as Kaye Shedrach was fouled within the box. However, David Nwachukwu missed the penalty and our opponent almost managed to equalize from a counter-attack, but Márk Balogh T. made a huge save. No more goals were scored, so the match ended with Debrecen’s victory.
Brandon Domingues leaves DVSC and continues his career at the Spanish Real Oviedo for a transfer fee. The 25-year-old French winger arrived in Debrecen in the summer of 2023 and quickly became a fan favourite. His speed and great dribbling skills contributed a lot to the play of Loki, while most of his goals were highly enjoyable.
Overall, he played in 57 top-league matches in the ranks of DVSC, during which he scored 18 goals. His performance against ZTE this spring is unforgettable as our opponent was still leading in the 87th minute, but with the brace of Domingues, we could finish the match with a 4-3 victory.
We would like to thank Brandon Domingues for everything that he did for DVSC and wish him good luck in his future career!
Brandon Domingues’ message:
Dear DVSC family,
I have tears in my eyes while I’m writing this last text to you. It is time for me to leave, to say goodbye. I have to continue my childhood dream. I would like to thank all the people that contributed directly or indirectly to my progress both as a player and a man. I am grateful to the management and the President, who treated me in a great way. Thanks to my teammates, my brothers, without whom none of this would have been possible. I am honoured to have shared the field with you. Thanks to the fans, thank you for making me feel loved and respected. I had goosebumps on my skin when you shouted my name. I have accomplished my mission and my success will be yours too. Lots of love!
DVSC signed the Spanish Fran Manzanara. The 28-year-old defensive central midfielder spent the last season in the Spanish second division at Racing Ferrol, where he played in 24 matches and provided 1 assist.
The 182 cm tall player was raised in the youth teams of Valencia and Atletico Madrid. During his senior career, he played in the ranks of Levante and Numancia. Overall, Fran Manzanara made 73 appearances in the Spanish second division and 4 in the top league, playing against Sevilla and Atletica Madrid as well. Welcome to Loki!
