Honved U18

Hungarian NB I U18
2 May 2030
Thursday
Process
196 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

29 Apr 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Only the photograph left for Benedek Simon

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Benedek Simon will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Honved the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Barna Kesztyűs out for 88 days

The medical room confirms 88 days on the sidelines for Barna Kesztyűs, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Squad

Tempers go at Honved

Aleksandar Ćirković was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

In brief

Back issues
195 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

22 Apr 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Boardroom

The silence upstairs is getting loud at Honved

Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.

Market

Kolen Onder asks to leave Honved

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Squad

Tempers go at Honved

Dominik Kocsis was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

In brief

194 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

15 Apr 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Only the photograph left for Zsombor Liziczay

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Zsombor Liziczay will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Honved the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Dominik Kocsis in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Honved this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Gergő Bodnár

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

In brief

193 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

8 Apr 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Alexandre Tam keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Honved may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Júlio Romão stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Júlio Romão and Honved agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

Aleksandar Ćirković in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Honved this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Gonzalo Gamarra

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Boardroom

Honved pull $22.5K back off the table

The money that was there in the summer is not there now. Nobody upstairs calls this a change of ambition, and everybody downstairs reads it as one.

Market

The Kevin Kállai question follows Honved around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Kevin Kállai’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

In brief

192 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

1 Apr 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Honved count the cost of losing Barna Kesztyűs

119 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

Market

Benedek Simon has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Honved they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Tempers go at Honved

Aleksandar Ćirković was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

In brief

191 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

25 Mar 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Boardroom

The silence upstairs is getting loud at Honved

Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.

Market

Kolen Onder hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Honved can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Aleksandar Ćirković in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Honved this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

In brief

190 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

18 Mar 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Zsombor Liziczay is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Honved is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Tempers go at Honved

Aleksandar Ćirković was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Aleksandar Ćirković

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

In brief

189 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

11 Mar 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Aleksandar Ćirković in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Honved this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Dominik Földi stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Dominik Földi and Honved agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

No hiding place for Barna Kesztyűs

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Barna Kesztyűs, and the manager let it.

In brief

188 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

4 Mar 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Ákos Baki: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Honved have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Market

Benedek Simon has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Honved they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Dominik Kocsis in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Honved this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

In brief

187 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

25 Feb 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Honved out of the cup

Paksi ended it 0‑2. The season narrows to the league now, and everyone in the ground knew it before the final whistle.

Squad

Danila Bokov keeps Honved in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Boardroom

The scrutiny sharpens at Honved

Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Honved is running low.

Player ratings

Aleksandar Ćirković runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 26. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Tempers go at Honved

Dominik Kocsis was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

Aleksandar Ćirković is in the form of his life

A season average of 7.43 with 8 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.

Squad

The manager makes an example of István Márk Pekár

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Player ratings

Kevin Mondovics leaves them behind him

Shots: 12. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.

Player ratings

Ákos Zuigeber keeps on missing

Shots: 7, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.

In brief

186 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

18 Feb 2030
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Gergő Bodnár keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Honved may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Market

Zsombor Liziczay has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Honved they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Tempers go at Honved

Aleksandar Ćirković was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

In brief

185 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

11 Feb 2030
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Axel Freyr Harðarson says Honved went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Squad

Tempers go at Honved

Aleksandar Ćirković was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Market

The Kevin Kállai talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Honved know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

Squad

A wage question at Honved

Aleksandar Ćirković has done the arithmetic and does not like the answer. Nothing corrodes a squad faster, and no club has ever solved it by explaining the wage structure to a footballer.

Market

Window shut, Dominik Kocsis still here

Honved spent the window trying to move Dominik Kocsis on and nobody came. He trains with a squad that has already told him he is not part of it, and both sides now wait for the next one.

Squad

“I want to play”: Benjámin Kárász speaks

“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.

In brief

184 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

4 Feb 2030
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Ádám Gyurcsó: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Honved have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Market

Kolen Onder hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Honved can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Benedek Simon has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Honved they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Ákos Zuigeber signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Ákos Zuigeber commits to Honved for another 4 years.

Squad

Aleksandar Ćirković in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Honved this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

No hiding place for Gonzalo Gamarra

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Gonzalo Gamarra, and the manager let it.

In brief

183 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

28 Jan 2030
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Market

Gonzalo Gamarra hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Honved can pretend not to have heard.

Boardroom

The silence upstairs is getting loud at Honved

Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.

Squad

Tempers go at Honved

Aleksandar Ćirković was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

In brief

182 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

21 Jan 2030
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Aleksandar Ćirković in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Honved this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

Debrecen expected to open talks for Benedek Simon

Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Honved will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.

Squad

Aleksandar Ćirković knocks on the manager’s door

“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Aleksandar Ćirković trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

In brief

181 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

14 Jan 2030
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Gyrðir Hrafn Guðbrandsson: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Honved have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Dominik Kocsis in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Honved this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

Debrecen watching Benedek Simon

The interest is real enough to have reached print. Honved have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.

In brief

180 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

7 Jan 2030
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

The season belongs to István Márk Pekár

An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Honved have had the benefit of it.

Market

Alexandre Tam hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Honved can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Tempers go at Honved

Dominik Kocsis was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Gonzalo Gamarra

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Squad

Marin Brigić out for 17 days

The medical room confirms 17 days on the sidelines for Marin Brigić, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Market

Honved put Gonzalo Gamarra up for sale

The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Gonzalo Gamarra may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.

In brief

179 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

31 Dec 2029
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Boardroom

Pressure builds in the Honved boardroom

The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.

Market

Only the photograph left for Benedek Simon

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Benedek Simon will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Honved the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Tempers go at Honved

Aleksandar Ćirković was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

In brief

178 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

24 Dec 2029
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Danila Bokov keeps Honved in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Player ratings

Nothing got past Júlio Romão

Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 23 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.

Squad

Aleksandar Ćirković in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Honved this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

A masterclass from István Márk Pekár

Marked 9.32 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.

Match

Honved see off Diosgyor

Three points for Honved, 2‑0 the final word against Diosgyor in a contest settled by the finer margins.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Vinko Međimorec

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

In brief

177 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

17 Dec 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Danila Bokov

There were 8 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.

Squad

Bence Komlósi: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Honved have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for Júlio Romão

Defensive actions: 25. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

Squad

Tempers go at Honved

Aleksandar Ćirković was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

No hiding place for Ádám Gyurcsó

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ádám Gyurcsó, and the manager let it.

Player ratings

Dominik Kocsis runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for Andrés Schetino

Defensive actions: 15. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

Match

Honved and Puskas Akademia cancel each other out

Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Puskas Akademia came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.

Player ratings

István Márk Pekár shuts the door

Defensive actions: 11, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

In brief

  • Market The shop window has Gergő Kovács in it
  • Boardroom The Honved production line keeps running
176 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

10 Dec 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Aleksandar Ćirković in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Honved this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Aleksandar Ćirković runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Match

Ferencvaros take the points off Honved

Beaten 2‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Júlio Romão

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Player ratings

István Márk Pekár in the eights

A performance of 8.68 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Player ratings

Miguel Medina in the eights

A performance of 8.35 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Squad

Honved lose Marin Brigić

18 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

Squad

No place for Gonzalo Gamarra on the big day

He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Honved pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.

Boardroom

Wages eat 90% of everything Honved earn

There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.

In brief

175 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

3 Dec 2029
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Boardroom

The silence upstairs is getting loud at Honved

Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.

Market

Only the photograph left for Benedek Simon

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Benedek Simon will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Honved the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Match

Nobody wants to play Honved right now

3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.

Squad

Vinko Međimorec signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Vinko Međimorec commits to Honved for another 2 years.

Squad

Tempers go at Honved

Aleksandar Ćirković was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Match

Kevin Mondovics the difference as Honved beat Bekescsaba

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Kevin Mondovics. 3‑1 against Bekescsaba, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

Squad

Defences have started doubling up on Aleksandar Ćirković

8 goals and a season average of 7.44 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.

Player ratings

Aleksandar Ćirković in the eights

A performance of 8.95 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Squad

Gonzalo Gamarra gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

In brief

174 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

26 Nov 2029
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

15 unbeaten for Honved

Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 15 matches without defeat is a foundation Honved did not have in the autumn.

Match

Honved through in the cup

A 2‑0 win over Puskas Akademia, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.

Match

Honved run riot against Fehervar

5‑0, and the margin flattered nobody — it could have carried another goal or two without complaint. Afternoons like this are why people keep coming.

Squad

Aleksandar Ćirković takes the match ball home

3 goals in one afternoon from one man. The other players were also present, a witness confirmed.

Squad

Kevin Kántor says Honved went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for Kevin Kállai

Defensive actions: 29. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

Squad

Danila Bokov keeps Honved in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Squad

Tempers go at Honved

Dominik Kocsis was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Player ratings

One of those days for Aleksandar Ćirković

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.91, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

In brief

173 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

19 Nov 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Whatever happens, Honved do not lose

13 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.

Squad

Gonzalo Gamarra in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Honved this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Gergő Bodnár in the eights

A performance of 8.54 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Miguel Medina

Marked 8.09 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.

Squad

Kevin Kántor gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Squad

Danila Bokov lets one through his hands

A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.

Squad

Aleksandar Ćirković is in the form of his life

A season average of 7.29 with 4 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.

Match

Honved share the spoils with Vasas

A 1‑1 draw with Vasas leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.

Player ratings

Kevin Mondovics keeps on missing

Shots: 11, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.

In brief

172 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

12 Nov 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Still nobody has beaten Honved

The unbeaten run reaches 12. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.

Player ratings

Dominik Kocsis runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 30. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Aleksandar Ćirković in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Honved this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Kevin Mondovics in the eights

A performance of 8.16 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Benjámin Kárász

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Squad

Ákos Zuigeber is carrying Honved

6 goals and a season average of 7.25. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.

Squad

Gergő Kovács signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Gergő Kovács and Honved agree another 3 years.

Match

Honours even between Honved and Paksi

1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.

Player ratings

The one thing Ákos Zuigeber could not do

Shots: 6, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.

In brief

171 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

5 Nov 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Danila Bokov keeps Honved in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 10 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Match

Whatever happens, Honved do not lose

11 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.

Market

Benedek Simon has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Honved they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Honved lose Oliver Pettersson

15 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

Squad

Tempers go at Honved

Aleksandar Ćirković was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

No hiding place for Ádám Gyurcsó

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ádám Gyurcsó, and the manager let it.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Aleksandar Ćirković

Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Boardroom

90% of the income goes out in wages at Honved

Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.

Match

Honours even between Honved and Debrecen

1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.

In brief

170 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

29 Oct 2029
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

Whatever happens, Honved do not lose

10 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for István Márk Pekár

Defensive actions: 28. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

Squad

Danila Bokov keeps Honved in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Squad

Aleksandar Ćirković in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Honved this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Honved get the job done against Haladas

A 1‑0 win over Haladas, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.

Squad

Marin Brigić out for 67 days

The medical room confirms 67 days on the sidelines for Marin Brigić, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Dominik Kocsis

Marked 8.41 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.

Player ratings

Júlio Romão shuts the door

Defensive actions: 19, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

Player ratings

Oliver Pettersson shuts the door

Defensive actions: 19, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

In brief

169 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

22 Oct 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Aleksandar Ćirković

Successful dribbles: 33. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Match

9 unbeaten for Honved

Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 9 matches without defeat is a foundation Honved did not have in the autumn.

Squad

Tempers go at Honved

Aleksandar Ćirković was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Vinko Međimorec

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Kevin Mondovics

Marked 8.05 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.

Squad

Danila Bokov lets one through his hands

A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.

In brief

168 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

15 Oct 2029
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Danila Bokov keeps Honved in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 10 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for Júlio Romão

Defensive actions: 28. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for Kevin Kállai

Defensive actions: 27. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

Match

Still nobody has beaten Honved

The unbeaten run reaches 8. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.

Squad

Aleksandar Ćirković in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Honved this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Aleksandar Ćirković in the eights

A performance of 9.12 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Match

Honved find a way past Ujpest

Ujpest made Honved work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.

Player ratings

Gergő Bodnár shuts the door

Defensive actions: 19, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Kevin Kántor

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

In brief

167 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

8 Oct 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Only the photograph left for Benedek Simon

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Benedek Simon will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Honved the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Player ratings

Dominik Kocsis runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 23. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Match

7 unbeaten for Honved

Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 7 matches without defeat is a foundation Honved did not have in the autumn.

Squad

Gonzalo Gamarra in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Honved this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

One of those days for Aleksandar Ćirković

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.14, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Squad

Oliver Pettersson gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Squad

Ákos Zuigeber named player of the month

The award goes to Ákos Zuigeber, and nobody around here is inclined to argue with the choice.

Match

Honved share the spoils with Diosgyor

A 1‑1 draw with Diosgyor leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.

Squad

Aleksandar Ćirković is carrying Honved

3 goals and a season average of 7.20. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.

In brief

166 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

1 Oct 2029
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Market

Vinko Međimorec hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Honved can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Zé Henrique is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Honved is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Tempers go at Honved

Gonzalo Gamarra was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Match

Still nobody has beaten Honved

The unbeaten run reaches 6. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.

Player ratings

Dominik Kocsis runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Marin Brigić out for 98 days

The medical room confirms 98 days on the sidelines for Marin Brigić, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Squad

No hiding place for Gonzalo Gamarra

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Gonzalo Gamarra, and the manager let it.

Player ratings

One of those days for István Márk Pekár

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.39, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Player ratings

Ákos Zuigeber in the eights

A performance of 8.31 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

In brief

165 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

24 Sep 2029
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Benedek Simon says Honved went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Squad

Gonzalo Gamarra in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Honved this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

Andreas Holm comes home

The shirt still fits. Andreas Holm is back at Honved, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.

Match

Ákos Zuigeber sends Honved past Ferencvaros

It finished 3‑1, and it was Ákos Zuigeber’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Honved.

Player ratings

Ákos Zuigeber in the eights

A performance of 8.83 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Player ratings

One of those days for Aleksandar Ćirković

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.34, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Kevin Mondovics

Marked 8.29 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.

Squad

No hiding place for Ákos Baki

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ákos Baki, and the manager let it.

Squad

Somebody is after Júlio Romão’s shirt

A new face in his position, and Júlio Romão suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Honved have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.

In brief

164 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

17 Sep 2029
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Kevin Varga: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Honved have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for Júlio Romão

Defensive actions: 27. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

Market

Zé Henrique asks to leave Honved

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Squad

Aleksandar Ćirković in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Honved this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

One of those days for Ákos Zuigeber

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.17, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Squad

No hiding place for Vinko Međimorec

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Vinko Međimorec, and the manager let it.

Match

Ákos Zuigeber the difference as Honved beat Bekescsaba

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Ákos Zuigeber. 1‑0 against Bekescsaba, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Aleksandar Ćirković

Marked 8.46 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.

Squad

Home is on Zé Henrique's mind

“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Honved are dealing with a man who wants a different country.

In brief

163 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

10 Sep 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Benedek Simon has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Honved they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Gonzalo Gamarra in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Honved this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Marin Brigić signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Marin Brigić and Honved agree another 3 years.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Ádám Gyurcsó

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Aleksandar Ćirković

Marked 8.35 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.

Boardroom

Wages eat 85% of everything Honved earn

There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.

Match

Aleksandar Ćirković rescues a point for Honved

It needed Aleksandar Ćirković to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Fehervar, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.

Squad

Aleksandar Ćirković knocks on the manager’s door

“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Aleksandar Ćirković trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

Market

36 months and counting on Marin Brigić

Still no offer on the table, and Marin Brigić’s deal keeps shrinking. In boardroom language, silence this long stops being an oversight and starts being an answer.

In brief

162 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

3 Sep 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Honved march on in the cup

Diosgyor are out and Honved go through, 3‑0 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Aleksandar Ćirković

Successful dribbles: 33. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for Bence Komlósi

Defensive actions: 28. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

Squad

Honved lose Marin Brigić

129 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

Market

Zé Henrique has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Honved they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Kevin Kállai stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Kevin Kállai and Honved agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

Tempers go at Honved

Gonzalo Gamarra was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for Gyrðir Hrafn Guðbrandsson

Defensive actions: 22. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

Match

Honved find a way past Vasas

Vasas made Honved work for it, but the scoreboard read 3‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.

In brief

161 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

27 Aug 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

The wait goes on for Honved

5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.

Squad

Tempers go at Honved

Aleksandar Ćirković was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Match

Honved come up short against Paksi

Paksi left with the points after a 1‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Squad

No hiding place for Kevin Kállai

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Kevin Kállai, and the manager let it.

Player ratings

István Márk Pekár in the eights

A performance of 8.36 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Player ratings

One of those days for Ákos Zuigeber

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.03, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Squad

Danila Bokov lets one through his hands

A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.

Squad

Miguel Medina asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

Player ratings

Dominik Kocsis runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 13. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

In brief

160 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

20 Aug 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Zé Henrique asks to leave Honved

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Squad

Alexandre Tam: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Honved have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Match

4 matches without a win for Honved

The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Honved are no longer polite ones.

Squad

Tempers go at Honved

Gonzalo Gamarra was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

István Márk Pekár gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Player ratings

One of those days for Dominik Kocsis

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.40, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Player ratings

Aleksandar Ćirković in the eights

A performance of 8.11 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Match

Honved share the spoils with Debrecen

A 2‑2 draw with Debrecen leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.

Squad

Gonzalo Gamarra asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

In brief

159 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

13 Aug 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Marin Brigić keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Honved may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Danila Bokov keeps Honved in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Market

Honved turn down Fehervar for Benedek Simon

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Squad

Gonzalo Gamarra in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Honved this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

No hiding place for Vinko Međimorec

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Vinko Međimorec, and the manager let it.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Dominik Kocsis

Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

In brief

158 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

6 Aug 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Danila Bokov

There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.

Market

Only the photograph left for Zé Henrique

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Zé Henrique will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Honved the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Tempers go at Honved

Gonzalo Gamarra was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Ákos Zuigeber

Marked 8.83 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.

Market

Benedek Simon attracts admirers

The name of Benedek Simon has come up in conversations Honved were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.

Squad

Kevin Mondovics gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Player ratings

István Márk Pekár in the eights

A performance of 8.26 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Player ratings

Aleksandar Ćirković runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Match

Honved and MTK Budapest take a point apiece

It finished 2‑2, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.

In brief

157 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

30 Jul 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Kolen Onder says Honved went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Squad

Gonzalo Gamarra in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Honved this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

As if he never left: Bence Fiola returns

Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Bence Fiola is a Honved player again, and the town has its story of the summer.

Market

Balazs Kleinheisler comes home

The shirt still fits. Balazs Kleinheisler is back at Honved, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.

Market

Andras Szoboszlai is a Honved player again

He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.

Market

Peter Dibusz is a Honved player again

He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for Oliver Pettersson

Defensive actions: 22. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Dominik Kocsis

Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Noah Ek signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Noah Ek and Honved agree another 4 years.

In brief

156 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

23 Jul 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Zé Henrique asks to leave Honved

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Market

Honved turn down MTK Budapest for Benedek Simon

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Squad

István Márk Pekár stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” István Márk Pekár and Honved agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

Tempers go at Honved

Dominik Kocsis was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

Zé Henrique gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Market

The Kevin Kállai question follows Honved around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Kevin Kállai’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

In brief

155 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

16 Jul 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Kolen Onder puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Honved, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Dominik Kocsis in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Honved this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Miguel Medina

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

In brief

154 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

9 Jul 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

$2.1M — a new record at Honved

No footballer has ever cost this club more, and the number will be read out every time he misplaces a pass for the next two years.

Boardroom

The silence upstairs is getting loud at Honved

Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.

Market

Dominik Kocsis hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Honved can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Zé Henrique has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Honved they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Ádám Gyurcsó signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ádám Gyurcsó and Honved agree another 2 years.

Squad

Tempers go at Honved

Dominik Kocsis was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

In brief

153 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

2 Jul 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

Honved put Krisztian Botka on notice

The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.

Market

Benedek Simon puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Honved, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Ádám Gyurcsó signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ádám Gyurcsó and Honved agree another 2 years.

Squad

Miguel Medina in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Honved this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

Benedek Simon attracts admirers

The name of Benedek Simon has come up in conversations Honved were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.

Market

Nobody at Honved has picked up the phone to Marin Brigić

12 months to run and not a word offered. A club that lets the calendar negotiate for it usually ends up losing to the calendar.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Máté Kohut

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Boardroom

$2.5M taken back off the Honved table

What was available in the summer has quietly gone. Upstairs nobody will call it a change of ambition; downstairs nobody will call it anything else.

Squad

Barna Kesztyűs asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

In brief

  • Boardroom $219.1K a year onto the Honved books
  • Market Kolen Onder placed on the list
  • Boardroom Honved answer back
152 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

25 Jun 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Barna Kesztyűs asks to leave Honved

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Market

Bálint Szabó has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Honved they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Tempers go at Honved

Gonzalo Gamarra was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Market

The Kevin Kállai question follows Honved around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Kevin Kállai’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

Squad

Kolen Onder knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Honved, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Squad

A season on the outside for Marin Brigić

He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Honved has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.

In brief

  • Market The shop window has Testinha in it
  • Squad Questions about Kolen Onder on the training pitch
151 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

18 Jun 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Zé Henrique asks to leave Honved

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Squad

Honved count the cost of losing Júlio Romão

15 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

Market

Dominik Csontos moves on

Puskas Akademia pay $1.6M, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.

Squad

Gonzalo Gamarra in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Honved this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

Honved sell Márk Szelényi for $250.0K

Márk Szelényi has left for MTK Budapest in a $250.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.

Market

Honved sell Hazaa Ammar for $64.0K

Hazaa Ammar has left for Paksi in a $64.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.

In brief

150 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

11 Jun 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

The scrutiny sharpens at Honved

Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Honved is running low.

Market

Dominik Kocsis asks to leave Honved

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Market

MTK Budapest come back empty-handed

The bid was some way short and Honved did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.

Market

Only the photograph left for Zé Henrique

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Zé Henrique will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Honved the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Market

The MTK Budapest deal is off

Everything was agreed until it was not, and Márk Szelényi reports back to Honved with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.

Squad

Tempers go at Honved

Dominik Kocsis was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

In brief

149 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

4 Jun 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

Honved spell it out for Krisztian Botka

The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Krisztian Botka has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.

Market

Bálint Szabó puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Honved, and it is not being withdrawn.

Market

Puskas Akademia join the queue for Dominik Csontos

Add another name to the list: Puskas Akademia have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Dominik Csontos. The answer from Honved has not changed — yet.

Squad

Dominik Kocsis in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Honved this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Testinha signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Testinha commits to Honved for another 2 years.

Market

Barna Kesztyűs told to find a new club

“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Barna Kesztyűs has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Honved.

In brief

148 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

28 May 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Benedek Simon asks to leave Honved

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Squad

Dominik Kocsis in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Honved this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

Honved bring in an old head

Vinko Međimorec is 33 and has run out of things to prove. What he has left is where to stand, when to slow it down and what to say at half-time, and none of that is on a fitness chart.

Market

Andrés Schetino brings the grey hairs Honved lacked

At 35, he has seen every situation this season can produce, twice. The legs will be managed; the head is the purchase.

Squad

A season on the outside for Vinko Međimorec

He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Honved has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.

Squad

Somebody is after Júlio Romão’s shirt

A new face in his position, and Júlio Romão suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Honved have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.

In brief

147 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

21 May 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Zé Henrique puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Honved, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Tempers go at Honved

Dominik Kocsis was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Market

The shop window has Kolen Onder in it

Honved have let the market know Kolen Onder can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.

In brief

146 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

14 May 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

Pressure builds in the Honved boardroom

The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.

Market

Bertalan Kapornai asks to leave Honved

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Squad

Honved lose Szilveszter Hangya

18 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

Market

Only the photograph left for Márk Szelényi

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Márk Szelényi will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Honved the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Dominik Kocsis in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Honved this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Bertalan Kapornai signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Bertalan Kapornai commits to Honved for another 3 years.

In brief

145 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

7 May 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

Krisztian Botka has until the next board meeting

What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Honved can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.

Market

Bálint Szabó puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Honved, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Tempers go at Honved

Dominik Kocsis was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

Ákos Baki signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ákos Baki and Honved agree another 2 years.

Squad

Szilveszter Hangya is not saying it is over

“Ask me in the summer. I will know before anybody else does.” He is 35 with 47 appearances behind him, and Honved have to plan for both answers.

Boardroom

Honved pull $2.5M back off the table

The money that was there in the summer is not there now. Nobody upstairs calls this a change of ambition, and everybody downstairs reads it as one.

In brief

144 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

30 Apr 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Kolen Onder hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Honved can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Bence Varga is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Honved is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Dominik Kocsis in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Honved this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

In brief

143 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

23 Apr 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Dominik Csontos hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Honved can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Tempers go at Honved

Dominik Kocsis was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

Szilveszter Hangya knocks on the manager’s door

“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Szilveszter Hangya trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

In brief

142 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

16 Apr 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

The silence upstairs is getting loud at Honved

Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.

Market

Zé Henrique puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Honved, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Honved lose Szilveszter Hangya

52 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

Market

Only the photograph left for Márk Szelényi

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Márk Szelényi will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Honved the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Dominik Kocsis in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Honved this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Honved count the cost of losing Zé Henrique

20 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

In brief

141 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

9 Apr 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Miguel Medina asks to leave Honved

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Squad

Tempers go at Honved

Dominik Kocsis was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

Alexandre Tam signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Alexandre Tam and Honved agree another 3 years.

Squad

Hazaa Ammar wants to go home

“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Honved know it.

Squad

Barna Kesztyűs knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Honved, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Market

Kevin Kállai linked with a move away

The name of Kevin Kállai keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Honved say nothing, which says plenty.

In brief

140 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

2 Apr 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

Honved put Krisztian Botka on notice

The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.

Market

Bálint Szabó hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Honved can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Only the photograph left for Bence Varga

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Bence Varga will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Honved the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Dominik Kocsis in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Honved this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Honved lose Kevin Kántor

18 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

Market

Still no ink between Honved and Barna Kesztyűs

“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Honved, another week without a signature from Barna Kesztyűs.

In brief

139 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

26 Mar 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Hazaa Ammar puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Honved, and it is not being withdrawn.

Market

Alexandre Tam has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Honved they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Tempers go at Honved

Dominik Kocsis was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

In brief

138 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

19 Mar 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

Pressure builds in the Honved boardroom

The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.

Market

Szilveszter Hangya hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Honved can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Szilveszter Hangya out for 82 days

The medical room confirms 82 days on the sidelines for Szilveszter Hangya, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Market

Only the photograph left for Márk Szelényi

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Márk Szelényi will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Honved the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Dominik Kocsis in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Honved this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Honved lose Zé Henrique

51 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

In brief

137 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

12 Mar 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Miguel Medina puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Honved, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Tempers go at Honved

Dominik Kocsis was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

Home is on Zé Henrique's mind

“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Honved are dealing with a man who wants a different country.

In brief

136 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

5 Mar 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

Honved put Krisztian Botka on notice

The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.

Market

Zé Henrique hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Honved can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Bence Varga is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Honved is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Dominik Kocsis in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Honved this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Kevin Kántor signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Kevin Kántor commits to Honved for another 4 years.

Squad

Szilveszter Hangya asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

In brief

  • Boardroom $2.5M taken back off the Honved table
  • Squad Ákos Zuigeber has seen what the next man earns
  • Boardroom The Honved dressing room answers
135 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

26 Feb 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Bálint Szabó puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Honved, and it is not being withdrawn.

Market

Alexandre Tam is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Honved is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Tempers go at Honved

Dominik Kocsis was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

In brief

134 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

19 Feb 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

Pressure builds in the Honved boardroom

The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.

Market

Szilveszter Hangya puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Honved, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Honved lose Szilveszter Hangya

112 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

Market

Márk Szelényi has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Honved they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Miguel Medina wants to go home

“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Honved know it.

Squad

Dominik Kocsis in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Honved this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

In brief

133 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

12 Feb 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Miguel Medina hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Honved can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Tempers go at Honved

Dominik Kocsis was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

No hiding place for Kevin Varga

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Kevin Varga, and the manager let it.

Market

Kevin Kállai linked with a move away

The name of Kevin Kállai keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Honved say nothing, which says plenty.

Squad

Donát Pálfi knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Honved, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Market

Balázs Óvári placed on the list

Honved have made Balázs Óvári available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.

In brief

132 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

5 Feb 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

Honved put Krisztian Botka on notice

The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.

Market

Emanuel Díaz asks to leave Honved

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Market

Bence Varga has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Honved they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Miguel Medina in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Honved this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Home is on Hazaa Ammar's mind

“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Honved are dealing with a man who wants a different country.

Market

The Márk Szelényi conversation is coming

Everyone has stopped pretending: MTK Budapest will make the call about Márk Szelényi this week. Honved have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.

Squad

Miguel Medina asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

Boardroom

$2.5M taken back off the Honved table

What was available in the summer has quietly gone. Upstairs nobody will call it a change of ambition; downstairs nobody will call it anything else.

Squad

“I want to play”: Alexandre Tam speaks

“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.

In brief

131 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

29 Jan 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Dominik Csontos puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Honved, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Kevin Varga keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Honved may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Market

Alexandre Tam has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Honved they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Tempers go at Honved

Dominik Kocsis was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

Miguel Medina knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Honved, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Market

Mads Nielsen placed on the list

Honved have made Mads Nielsen available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.

In brief

130 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

22 Jan 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

The scrutiny sharpens at Honved

Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Honved is running low.

Market

Szilveszter Hangya asks to leave Honved

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Squad

Csanád Fehér: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Honved have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Market

Only the photograph left for Márk Szelényi

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Márk Szelényi will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Honved the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Dominik Kocsis in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Honved this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Máté Wébel signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Máté Wébel commits to Honved for another 5 years.

In brief

129 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

15 Jan 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Miguel Medina puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Honved, and it is not being withdrawn.

Market

Honved say no — this time

The offer from Debrecen for Bence Varga was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.

Squad

Tempers go at Honved

Dominik Kocsis was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

Bálint Szabó signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Bálint Szabó and Honved agree another 3 years.

Market

Debrecen expected to open talks for Alexandre Tam

Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Honved will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Bertalan Kapornai

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

In brief

128 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

8 Jan 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

Krisztian Botka has until the next board meeting

What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Honved can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.

Market

Emanuel Díaz hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Honved can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Honved turn down Puskas Akademia for Dominik Csontos

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Squad

Dominik Kocsis in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Honved this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

Alexandre Tam attracts admirers

The name of Alexandre Tam has come up in conversations Honved were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.

Squad

Dominik Földi stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Dominik Földi and Honved agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Barna Kesztyűs

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Squad

Zé Henrique wants to go home

“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Honved know it.

Market

MTK Budapest are about to pick up the phone

A conversation is coming this week. Honved will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.

In brief

  • Boardroom $2.5M taken back off the Honved table
  • Boardroom Honved were not finished after all
127 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

1 Jan 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Bertalan Kapornai says Honved went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Market

Hazaa Ammar hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Honved can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Only the photograph left for Bence Varga

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Bence Varga will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Honved the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Tempers go at Honved

Dominik Kocsis was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

No hiding place for Mads Nielsen

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mads Nielsen, and the manager let it.

Squad

Emanuel Díaz knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Honved, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

126 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

25 Dec 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

The scrutiny sharpens at Honved

Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Honved is running low.

Market

Szilveszter Hangya puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Honved, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Dominik Kocsis in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Honved this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Honved find a way past Diosgyor

Diosgyor made Honved work for it, but the scoreboard read 4‑3 at the end and the table does not ask how.

Squad

No hiding place for Szilveszter Hangya

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Szilveszter Hangya, and the manager let it.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Kolen Onder

Marked 8.61 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Dominik Földi

Successful dribbles: 13. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Emanuel Díaz is off the mark for Honved

The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.

Squad

Getting past Danila Bokov has become the hardest job in the division

6 clean sheets and counting. Forwards used to back themselves here; now they shoot early, shoot wide, and look for somebody to blame.

In brief

  • Boardroom Honved keep producing them
  • The terraces The press cannot get enough of Kolen Onder
  • The terraces Kolen Onder has his own song now
125 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

18 Dec 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

13 matches without a win for Honved

The run now stands at 13, and the questions being asked around Honved are no longer polite ones.

Market

Miguel Medina puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Honved, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Tempers go at Honved

Dominik Kocsis was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Player ratings

Miguel Medina runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Match

Honved come up short against Puskas Akademia

Puskas Akademia left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Player ratings

A masterclass from István Márk Pekár

Marked 8.69 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.

Squad

No hiding place for Dominik Csontos

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Dominik Csontos, and the manager let it.

Squad

The team sheet said everything about Kevin Kántor

Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Kevin Kántor.

Squad

Miguel Medina knocks on the manager’s door

“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Miguel Medina trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

In brief

124 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

11 Dec 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

No end in sight to Honved's wait for a win

12 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Honved has to find a result from somewhere.

Squad

Danila Bokov keeps Honved in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 10 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Market

Emanuel Díaz hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Honved can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Dominik Kocsis in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Honved this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Ákos Zuigeber’s goal not enough for Honved

Ákos Zuigeber scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑3 to Ferencvaros, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.

Squad

Dominik Kocsis gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Player ratings

One of those days for Ákos Zuigeber

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.32, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Squad

Ákos Zuigeber is carrying Honved

7 goals and a season average of 7.21. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.

Player ratings

A day to forget for Kevin Kántor

Marked 5.62, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.

In brief

123 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

4 Dec 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

11 matches without a win for Honved

The run now stands at 11, and the questions being asked around Honved are no longer polite ones.

Boardroom

Honved spell it out for Krisztian Botka

The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Krisztian Botka has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.

Player ratings

Ákos Zuigeber runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 26. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Market

Zé Henrique puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Honved, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Ádám Gyurcsó signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Ádám Gyurcsó commits to Honved for another 2 years.

Market

Bence Varga has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Honved they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Tempers go at Honved

Dominik Kocsis was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Miguel Medina

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Squad

Hazaa Ammar wants to go home

“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Honved know it.

In brief

122 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

27 Nov 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

No end in sight to Honved's wait for a win

10 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Honved has to find a result from somewhere.

Boardroom

The scrutiny sharpens at Honved

Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Honved is running low.

Market

Szilveszter Hangya asks to leave Honved

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Squad

Szilveszter Hangya says Honved went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Squad

Dominik Kocsis in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Honved this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

A bad afternoon for Honved against Fehervar

0‑2 to Fehervar, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Squad

Danila Bokov gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Player ratings

Dominik Kocsis runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Player ratings

The one thing Ákos Zuigeber could not do

Shots: 8, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.

In brief

121 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

20 Nov 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

9 matches without a win for Honved

The run now stands at 9, and the questions being asked around Honved are no longer polite ones.

Market

Miguel Medina puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Honved, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Barna Kesztyűs: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Honved have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Danila Bokov keeps Honved in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for Gergő Bodnár

Defensive actions: 25. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

Squad

Tempers go at Honved

Dominik Kocsis was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Player ratings

Júlio Romão shuts the door

Defensive actions: 22, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

Squad

The team sheet said everything about Emanuel Díaz

Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Emanuel Díaz.

Player ratings

Oliver Pettersson stands above it all

Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.69 on the card, and the Honved support went home talking about one name.

In brief

120 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

13 Nov 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Danila Bokov

There were 13 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.

Market

Emanuel Díaz hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Honved can pretend not to have heard.

Match

No end in sight to Honved's wait for a win

8 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Honved has to find a result from somewhere.

Market

Jumpei Hayakawa has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Honved they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Dominik Kocsis in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Honved this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Ákos Zuigeber

Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Player ratings

One of those days for Ádám Gyurcsó

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.74, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Match

Honved and Paksi take a point apiece

It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.

Squad

No hiding place for Bertalan Kapornai

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Bertalan Kapornai, and the manager let it.

In brief

119 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

6 Nov 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

Honved put Krisztian Botka on notice

The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.

Match

No end in sight to Honved's wait for a win

7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Honved has to find a result from somewhere.

Market

Hazaa Ammar puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Honved, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Donát Pálfi keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Honved may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Tempers go at Honved

Dominik Kocsis was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Match

A bad afternoon for Honved against Debrecen

0‑1 to Debrecen, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Barna Kesztyűs

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Squad

Home is on Zé Henrique's mind

“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Honved are dealing with a man who wants a different country.

Player ratings

Ákos Zuigeber runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

In brief

  • Boardroom Honved pull $2.5M back off the table
  • Boardroom Honved were not finished after all
  • Boardroom The Honved production line keeps running
118 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

30 Oct 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Szilveszter Hangya hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Honved can pretend not to have heard.

Boardroom

The scrutiny sharpens at Honved

Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Honved is running low.

Match

The wait goes on for Honved

6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.

Squad

Dominik Kocsis in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Honved this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Honved come up short against Haladas

Haladas left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Szilveszter Hangya

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Player ratings

One of those days for István Márk Pekár

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.66, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Dominik Kocsis

Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Costly mistake from Danila Bokov

An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Danila Bokov knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.

In brief

117 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

23 Oct 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

11 unbeaten for Honved

Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 11 matches without defeat is a foundation Honved did not have in the autumn.

Market

Zé Henrique asks to leave Honved

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Match

5 matches without a win for Honved

The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Honved are no longer polite ones.

Squad

Tempers go at Honved

Miguel Medina was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Emanuel Díaz

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Player ratings

One of those days for Ákos Zuigeber

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.66, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Match

Honours even between Honved and MTK Budapest

2‑2, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.

Squad

Máté Kohut knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Honved, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Ádám Gyurcsó

Successful dribbles: 13. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

In brief

116 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

16 Oct 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Emanuel Díaz hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Honved can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Emanuel Díaz: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Honved have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Match

Still nobody has beaten Honved

The unbeaten run reaches 10. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Danila Bokov

There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.

Market

Jumpei Hayakawa has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Honved they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Match

No end in sight to Honved's wait for a win

4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Honved has to find a result from somewhere.

Squad

Dominik Kocsis in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Honved this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

One of those days for Ákos Zuigeber

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.58, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Squad

No hiding place for Dominik Csontos

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Dominik Csontos, and the manager let it.

In brief

115 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

9 Oct 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Jumpei Hayakawa hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Honved can pretend not to have heard.

Match

Whatever happens, Honved do not lose

9 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.

Squad

Tempers go at Honved

Dominik Kocsis was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

Ákos Baki stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Ákos Baki and Honved agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

No hiding place for Miguel Medina

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Miguel Medina, and the manager let it.

Player ratings

One of those days for Dominik Kocsis

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.65, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Player ratings

Ádám Gyurcsó in the eights

A performance of 8.40 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Squad

Hazaa Ammar wants to go home

“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Honved know it.

Match

Honved and Diosgyor take a point apiece

It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.

In brief

114 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

2 Oct 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Danila Bokov

There were 8 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.

Boardroom

The silence upstairs is getting loud at Honved

Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.

Match

Whatever happens, Honved do not lose

8 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.

Squad

Dominik Kocsis in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Honved this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Ákos Baki stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Ákos Baki and Honved agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Player ratings

One of those days for Júlio Romão

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.90, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Kevin Kállai

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Ákos Zuigeber

Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Match

Honours even between Honved and Puskas Akademia

2‑2, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.

In brief

  • Boardroom $2.5M taken back off the Honved table
  • The terraces The press have found their man in Júlio Romão
  • Boardroom Honved keep producing them
113 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

25 Sep 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Danila Bokov

There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.

Market

Hazaa Ammar puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Honved, and it is not being withdrawn.

Match

Still nobody has beaten Honved

The unbeaten run reaches 7. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.

Squad

Tempers go at Honved

Dominik Kocsis was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

No hiding place for Szilveszter Hangya

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Szilveszter Hangya, and the manager let it.

Player ratings

A masterclass from István Márk Pekár

Marked 8.62 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.

Player ratings

Dominik Kocsis runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Player ratings

One of those days for Ákos Zuigeber

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.07, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Match

Honours even between Honved and Ferencvaros

2‑2, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.

In brief

112 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

18 Sep 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Ákos Zuigeber leads the rout of Bekescsaba

4‑0, and Ákos Zuigeber took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Honved tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.

Market

Emanuel Díaz hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Honved can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Danila Bokov keeps Honved in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Squad

Mads Nielsen: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Honved have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Market

Jumpei Hayakawa has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Honved they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Júlio Romão signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Júlio Romão commits to Honved for another 3 years.

Squad

Dominik Kocsis in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Honved this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Oliver Pettersson shuts the door

Defensive actions: 22, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

Match

Still nobody has beaten Honved

The unbeaten run reaches 6. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.

In brief

111 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

11 Sep 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Player ratings

Nothing got past Júlio Romão

Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 37 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.

Market

Zé Henrique asks to leave Honved

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Market

So close: Márk Szelényi’s move dies late

The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Diosgyor moved on, Márk Szelényi reports back to Honved, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.

Squad

Miguel Medina in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Honved this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Ádám Gyurcsó

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Player ratings

The afternoon belonged to Kevin Kállai

A mark of 7.74, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.

Player ratings

Ákos Zuigeber runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for Oliver Pettersson

Defensive actions: 13. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

Match

Point won or two lost for Honved?

Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Fehervar? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.

In brief

110 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

4 Sep 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Honved bow out of the cup

Diosgyor go through and Honved go home, 0‑0 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.

Market

Jumpei Hayakawa asks to leave Honved

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for Gyrðir Hrafn Guðbrandsson

Defensive actions: 27. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

Market

Metalurh Zaporizhzhia come back empty-handed

The bid was some way short and Honved did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.

Squad

Tempers go at Honved

Dominik Kocsis was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

Barna Kesztyűs signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Barna Kesztyűs and Honved agree another 2 years.

Match

Ákos Zuigeber the difference as Honved beat Vasas

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Ákos Zuigeber. 3‑1 against Vasas, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

Player ratings

A masterclass from István Márk Pekár

Marked 8.92 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Ákos Zuigeber

Marked 8.82 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.

In brief

109 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

28 Aug 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

The wait goes on for Honved

10 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.

Squad

Danila Bokov keeps Honved in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Squad

Bálint Szabó: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Honved have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Market

Márk Szelényi hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Honved can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Dominik Kocsis in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Honved this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

István Márk Pekár in the eights

A performance of 8.71 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Squad

Gergő Bodnár gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Match

Honved share the spoils with Paksi

A 1‑1 draw with Paksi leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.

Player ratings

Dominik Kocsis runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 11. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

In brief

  • The terraces The press cannot get enough of Danila Bokov
  • Boardroom Honved keep producing them
108 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

21 Aug 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

9 matches without a win for Honved

The run now stands at 9, and the questions being asked around Honved are no longer polite ones.

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for Júlio Romão

Defensive actions: 27. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

Market

Hazaa Ammar asks to leave Honved

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Market

Jumpei Hayakawa is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Honved is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for István Márk Pekár

Defensive actions: 23. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

Squad

Tempers go at Honved

Dominik Kocsis was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Player ratings

Dominik Kocsis runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Szilveszter Hangya gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Player ratings

Ákos Zuigeber keeps on missing

Shots: 7, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.

In brief

107 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

14 Aug 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

No end in sight to Honved's wait for a win

8 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Honved has to find a result from somewhere.

Squad

Máté Kohut says Honved went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Danila Bokov

There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.

Market

Zé Henrique asks to leave Honved

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Squad

István Márk Pekár stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” István Márk Pekár and Honved agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

Dominik Kocsis in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Honved this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

In brief

106 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

7 Aug 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

The wait goes on for Honved

7 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.

Player ratings

Júlio Romão shuts the door

Defensive actions: 30, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Danila Bokov

There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.

Market

Jumpei Hayakawa puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Honved, and it is not being withdrawn.

Market

Kolen Onder is a Honved player

The fee is $480.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. MTK Budapest drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.

Squad

Gergő Bodnár stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Gergő Bodnár and Honved agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

Tempers go at Honved

Dominik Kocsis was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Player ratings

Gergő Bodnár shuts the door

Defensive actions: 22, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

Player ratings

Nothing got past István Márk Pekár

Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 20 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.

In brief

105 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

31 Jul 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

Pressure builds in the Honved boardroom

The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.

Match

6 matches without a win for Honved

The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Honved are no longer polite ones.

Squad

Zé Henrique: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Honved have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Dominik Kocsis in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Honved this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

Gabor Lang is a Honved player again

He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.

Market

As if he never left: Adam Lisztes returns

Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Adam Lisztes is a Honved player again, and the town has its story of the summer.

Market

As if he never left: Gabor Botka returns

Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Gabor Botka is a Honved player again, and the town has its story of the summer.

Market

Gabor Gazdag is a Honved player again

He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.

Match

A bad afternoon for Honved against Ujpest

1‑2 to Ujpest, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

In brief

104 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

24 Jul 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Tempers go at Honved

Dominik Kocsis was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Dominik Csontos

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Market

Kevin Kállai linked with a move away

The name of Kevin Kállai keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Honved say nothing, which says plenty.

In brief

103 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

17 Jul 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Every point is an argument now for Honved

Position 11 and 14 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.

Market

Hazaa Ammar puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Honved, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Hazaa Ammar keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Honved may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

In brief

102 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

10 Jul 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Zé Henrique hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Honved can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Máté Kohut is a Honved player

The fee is $820.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Debrecen drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.

Squad

Tempers go at Honved

Miguel Medina was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

In brief

101 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

3 Jul 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

Pressure builds in the Honved boardroom

The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.

Market

Jumpei Hayakawa asks to leave Honved

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Squad

Ákos Zuigeber signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ákos Zuigeber and Honved agree another 3 years.

Squad

Dominik Kocsis in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Honved this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Emanuel Díaz

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Squad

Péter Milicz out for 18 days

The medical room confirms 18 days on the sidelines for Péter Milicz, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

In brief

100 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

26 Jun 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Dominik Csontos asks to leave Honved

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Market

Honved get their man

The chase for Donát Pálfi ended with $420.0K changing hands and Debrecen out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.

Squad

Tempers go at Honved

Miguel Medina was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

Mads Nielsen gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Market

Kevin Kállai linked with a move away

The name of Kevin Kállai keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Honved say nothing, which says plenty.

Squad

Danila Bokov still has not settled

A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Honved would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.

In brief

99 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

19 Jun 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Honved sink to position 11

14 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.

Squad

Mads Nielsen says Honved went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Squad

Miguel Medina in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Honved this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

Honved put Dominik Csontos up for sale

The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Dominik Csontos may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.

Squad

Emanuel Díaz still has not settled

A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Honved would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.

Squad

Somebody is after Júlio Romão’s shirt

A new face in his position, and Júlio Romão suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Honved have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.

In brief

98 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

12 Jun 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

$3.7M — a new record at Honved

No footballer has ever cost this club more, and the number will be read out every time he misplaces a pass for the next two years.

Market

Honved sell Alex Szabó for $1.4M

Alex Szabó has left for Puskas Akademia in a $1.4M deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.

Market

Business is business: Gellért Dúzs goes

MTK Budapest paid $1.3M and Honved took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.

Market

Honved sell Ádám Somogyi for $790.0K

Ádám Somogyi has left for Paksi in a $790.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.

Squad

Tempers go at Honved

Miguel Medina was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Squad

Gyrðir Hrafn Guðbrandsson signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Gyrðir Hrafn Guðbrandsson commits to Honved for another 3 years.

In brief

97 Edition

The Honved Sentinel

5 Jun 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

Pressure builds in the Honved boardroom

The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.

Boardroom

Krisztian Botka has until the next board meeting

What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Honved can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.

Market

Hazaa Ammar asks to leave Honved

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Squad

Miguel Medina in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Honved this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Gyrðir Hrafn Guðbrandsson signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Gyrðir Hrafn Guðbrandsson and Honved agree another 3 years.

Squad

Júlio Romão gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Market

The Gellért Dúzs conversation is coming

Everyone has stopped pretending: MTK Budapest will make the call about Gellért Dúzs this week. Honved have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.

Squad

Honved lose Péter Milicz

49 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

Market

Dominik Csontos is free to find somewhere else

“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Honved has been clear about where Dominik Csontos stands, which is more than many ever get.

In brief