Budapest's football history

Madrid, London, Rome, Lisbon: proud European capitals all boasting a rich football pedigree. But when it comes to domestic dominance, each of them must bow down to Budapest.

A hotbed of the game since the late 19th century, the Hungarian capital is in a class of its own as a powerhouse city throwing its weight around on the national stage. Between them, seven different clubs from Budapest have won more than 100 league titles; it's a long history of success that Budapest's continental counterparts can only envy.

The city straddling the Danube has puts its stamp on the Hungarian top flight since the start. The competition was launched in 1901 and the winners of the first two editions were the now defunct Budapesti TC, who played their matches at the Millenáris Sporttelep (a stone's throw from the Puskás Aréna). Another local club, Csepel, picked up three titles in the 1940s and a fourth the following decade. But football in Budapest is largely the story of the traditional big five: Ferencváros, MTK, Újpest, Honvéd and Vasas.

Collectively they have hoovered up a remarkable 97 titles, from a total of 121. And each campaign can serve up as many as 30 derbies, providing all five are present in the top flight; that's no small matter given the fierce local pride that drives their ambition. Indeed, all five clubs have long been based in their own districts, each with a distinct history and vibe.

Since they were founded in 1899, reigning champions Ferencváros have played in the city's ninth district – also known as Ferencváros, once dubbed the 'stomach of Budapest' due to the importance of its food industry. Bolstered by the country's largest fanbase and a record 34 league titles, the Zöld Sasok (Green Eagles) are Hungary's most successful club. That also makes them the team everyone wants to beat, a status they have held since before the First World War.

It's the same story in the women's game: Ferencváros are Hungary's prime female force, having edged ahead of capital rivals MTK Hungária in recent years. And Ferencváros Stadion was the scene of a piece of female football history in 2019, when nearly 20,000 watched the first rebranded Women's Champions League final. Fittingly, the opening goal was scored by Budapest-born Dzsenifer Marozsán of Lyon.

Dzsenifer Marozsán lifts the 2019 Women's Champions League trophyGetty Images

In the men's game, Ferencváros's first major rivals were MTK, and the Örökrangadó (Eternal Derby) between the sides was the original biggie. MTK remain Hungary's second most successful team, their tally of 23 league crowns underpinned by a record sequence of ten in a row from 1914, though they have toiled in vain for the trophy since 2008. Based in Budapest's eighth district, the name of their Hidegkuti Nándor Stadion home nonetheless evokes their storied past, Nándor Hidegkuti having played as a forward for Hungary's legendary Mighty Magyars team of the 1950s.

Nowadays 'the derby' means one thing: Ferencváros versus Újpest. Among the most keenly fought fixtures in the European calendar, the atmosphere seldom disappoints. It is a rivalry that began bubbling away in the 1930s when the Lilák (Lilacs) first broke up the Ferencváros-MTK duopoly, claiming the first five of their 20 league titles. Back then, Újpest was a separate town to the north, only becoming Budapest's fourth district in 1950. The team itself then snaffled up seven consecutive titles from 1969, when their rivalry with Ferencváros was at its most intense.

The 1960s and 1970s were also the heyday for Hungarian clubs in Europe, when the nation's finest regularly held their own on the continent's grandest stages. Vasas blazed a trail by reaching the European Cup semi-finals in 1957/58, but MTK improved on that by gracing the European Cup Winners' Cup final in 1964 – and Ferencváros repeated the feat 11 years later, having seen off Liverpool along the way. As for Újpest, they strolled through to the semis of the Cup Winners' Cup in 1961/62 and the European Cup in 1973/74, campaigns that featured wins against Ajax and Benfica.

Back on home soil, most of the big Budapest derbies of that era were played as back-to-back double-headers at the Népstadion – the site of today's Puskás Aréna. Attendances were often huge, including the record league attendance of 98,000 for Kinizsi (Ferencváros's name at the time) against Honvéd in 1955.

To foreigners, Puskás means the Ferenc Puskás of Hungary, the Galloping Major of Real Madrid. For Hungarians, Puskás means Honvéd. And for Honvéd fans, Honvéd means Kispest: Budapest's 19th district, where Puskás himself grew up. Such is the strength of fans' affection for their neighbourhood, they view themselves as 'csak a Kispest': just Kispest. And their heroes have certainly given them much to celebrate. The Vörös-feketék (Red and Blacks) primarily excelled in the 1950s and 1980s, though the most recent of their 14 titles came under current Hungary coach Marco Rossi in 2017.

Ferenc Puskás leads Hungary out at Wembley in 1953Getty Images

To the south of Újpest is Budapest's 13th district, the home of the city's fifth traditional force. Vasas – the Ironworkers from Angel Land – are based in Angyalföld, which was once a centre of heavy industry. Nicknamed the Piros-kékek (Red and Blues), their list of honours includes six league titles, though all date back to the Communist era.

Fans of Vasas and MTK leave a less visible mark on the capital these days, but supporter processions and stadium tifos are de rigueur for the biggest matches of their rival clubs. The Ferencváros faithful offered up both for their Europa League round of 16 decider against Leverkusen in March, while Honvéd fans even serenaded former title-winning coach Rossi as he stood on the balcony of his apartment in 2019, as they made their way to the Hungarian Cup final.

On matchdays the city's longest avenue, Üllői út, takes on a green tinge whenever Ferencváros are playing at home, with masses of Fradista congregating around the Népliget metro stop. Over in Kispest, red, white and black are the colours that dominate the streets from Határ út and past the Honvéd club museum to the Bozsik Aréna. And expect plenty of lilac in Újpest, where the Kék Duna Borozó (Blue Danube Wine Bar) is crammed full of memorabilia celebrating the local side.

Fans looking for a less tribal destination should make a beeline for 6:3 Borozó on Lonyay utca in the ninth district. Opened to mark Hungary's famous 6-3 victory over England at Wembley in 1953, the bar was once owned by Hidegkuti himself and continues to honour that fabulous team – a team of talents largely drawn from the fertile pool of Budapest's prestigious clubs. That dazzling era may be gone, but this is a city that still sways to the rhythms of the game.

Emperor Albert

The Mighty Magyars revolutionised football in the 1950s but only one Hungarian has ever won the Ballon d'Or: Flórián Albert. He's widely considered the country's sole player since those glory days who could have slotted into the Golden Team.

A prolific forward, Albert received his landmark award while playing for Ferencváros in 1967. It was a fitting coronation for a player nicknamed the Emperor, remembered today for his trademark pose of hands on hips, the relaxed stance of a ruler surveying his domain. Albert was equally regal in motion too, regularly slicing through opposition defences with grace and elegance.

Born in Hercegszántó, close to the Serbian border, Albert moved to Budapest as a child. It was there that he spent his entire playing career, a one-club man who made his Ferencváros debut aged 17 in 1958 and eventually retired in 1974. In between he rattled in 256 goals in 351 league games and helped the team win four league titles, a Hungarian Cup and the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1964/65. Twice named Hungarian Player of the Year, he also hit 31 goals in 75 outings for his country and finished joint-top scorer at the 1962 World Cup in Chile.

What makes those feats even more impressive is that Albert achieved almost everything by the age of 27, when he suffered knee ligament damage in a World Cup qualifier against Denmark. He returned to action almost a year later but rarely scaled the same heights.

Albert later worked for Ferencváros in several capacities and, right up until his death in 2011, held an office in the club stadium, which was named after him in 2007. He now has a street named in his honour just south of the new Ferencváros Stadion, where visitors can find a statue of the man himself – hands on hips, of course.