It should have been a clear victory for Ferencváros and the first step on the way to the Champions League group stage. Instead, however, the Hungarian champion lost to Slovan Bratislava at home and got a hard time from their fans.
The heated battle between the age-old rivals already had a dramatic prelude. A 30-year-old supporter of the home team attacked Slovan’s club bus with a stone thrown after pre-match training on Tuesday. The court in Budapest has already managed to sentence the man.
The hot-blooded man faces 150 hours of community service and a fine. The fan will pay a fine of 150,000 forints (ie about 9,000 crowns). After seeing the “Belasích” bus, he hid in the bushes, from where he threw a rock into the rear window. Fortunately, it did not break through the double glazing and the players escaped without injury.
While Slovan Bratislava was the number one target of hatred for most home fans before the match, after the visitors’ sensational 2-1 win, insults are mainly aimed at the Ferencváros players.
The fans on social networks are mainly irritated by the fact that the team relies a lot on players from abroad.
Two Norwegians, two Bosnians, an American, a Moroccan, a Nigerian, a Tunisian, citizens of Mali or Ivory Coast. Goalkeeper Dénes Dibusz was the only player with a Hungarian passport in Budapest’s starting line-up. The coach is the Russian expert Stanislav Čerčesov.
“It’s nothing more than foreigners in green jerseys. It’s a shame what’s happening to Ferencváros these days,” one fan criticized the international composition of the modern team.
“This is no longer the Fradi I loved 50 years ago. It’s a shame, but this Hungarian club is sinking. It’s a dead end that does nothing for Hungarian football. An ordinary business company that goes after profit with a bunch of soulless mercenaries. They come and go and in a few seconds they will be forgotten,” he fumed.
It is foreign players with coach Čerčesov who are the main target of criticism. At the same time, the team with a similar composition was able to smoothly win the Hungarian league and play in the group stage of the Europa League. A season earlier, he even made it to the Champions League’s basic group.
“You need to tell yourself what it means to play football for Ferencváros. Someone should explain it to Čerčesov as well. You have to fight on the pitch and even die for victory. You can’t do it without soul and heart,” criticized the home team’s efforts, another of fans.
The home team was a clear odds favorite, the odds for Slovan’s victory ranged between 8:1 and 9:1. Budapest took the lead in the 70th minute, but in the final ten minutes the visitors turned the tables. It should be noted that thanks to the goal of the Georgian Guram Kashii and the Armenian Tigram Berseghan.
The fight between Ferencváros and Slovan had a charge also due to the influence of the mutual match 30 years ago, when there were violent clashes in Bratislava.
The Ultras even played footage of that 1992 duel to the team in the booth. According to the fans, it “didn’t do anything” to the players.
“After the two-minute video, many legionnaires did not feel what this match means to Ferencváros fans. They do not understand the songs or the lyrics, they miss Fradi’s heart. Instead of him, they only have money. Unfortunately,” fan Dia Göbová wrote.
Another supporter also recalled the dimension of Hungarian-Slovak enmity. “Foreign footballers humiliated Ferencváros and the Hungarian nation in front of Slovaks. We should have fought for our flag,” he commented.
Last year, Ferencváros knocked out Slavia Prague in the Champions League qualifiers and finally played in the basic group of the Europa League. The capital of Hungary also has players with experience in the Czech league.
Eldar Čivič, who came there from Sparta, has been kicking for Ferencváros for three years. Last winter, Budapest also lured the comet of the autumn part of Fortuna: League of Fortune Bassey. Čivič played against Slovan in the base, Bassey came on the pitch in the 72nd minute as a substitute player.
