Szabolcs Huszti announces decision to end his playing career

Szabolcs Huszti was born on the 18th April 1983, in Miskolc, but he did not grow up there, but in Gógafa, Veszprém County. He began his career among the youth teams of Bauxit in Tapolca. He was only 14 years old when he was signed by Ferencváros, where he made his way through the various youth teams and then before his 19th birthday, he was able to make his debut for their first team in February 2002 - he played against Mladost Apatin in a training camp in Cyprus. He still had to wait for his debut in the NB I, which came under József Garami in the autumn of 2003, and then he went out on loan to Sopron in the middle of the 2003/2004 season.

2004 was a great success for Huszti, as he scored 6 goals in 14 matches in their NB I team for Matáv Sopron, and Lothar Matthaus also invited the young winger to the national team. In his first match against Japan, he immediately scored a goal, but he was not the only young footballer to make his debut in that game - the other youngster was Roland Juhász, who also finished his professional career this week.

Szabolcs returned back to Ferencvaros after his loan spell with Sopron. He was counted on as a key player for them and went on to play in 23 league game, scoring 3 goals and a further 8 appearances in European games, which produced a further 2 goals. He then signed for French first division side FC Metz after helping FTC to a league title and a runners-up place. 

In the city near the German border, he scored one goal in 21 games and a year later was bought by Hannover in the Bundesliga. Huszti did well in Germany, scoring four goals and provided seven assists in 31 championship games in his first season. He scored twice against Borussia Dortmund, and once versus Bayern Munich and the following season played in 31 games scoring 10 times and providing 7 assists. He spent another half year in Hanover (17 league, 3 goals, 6 assists) and was then signed by Zenit St. Petersburg in February 2009.

Zenit then had a very strong squad as they defended their success in the UEFA Cup (the predecessor of the Europa League). That team included two Serbian national team strikers, Mateja Kezman and Danko Lazovic. The left sided winger scored 12 goals and gave 12 assists in the 82 matches he featured in during his three and a half years, returning to Hannover in 2012 as a two-time Russian champion and Russian cup winner. The ended his period with the national team after representing his country between 2004 and 2010 in 51 games and scoring 7 times.

Szabolcs Huszti's second Hanover period was perhaps even more successful than the first, scoring 19 goals and 18 assists in 51 league matches over two years, but he also scored five times for Hannover in 10 Europa League games. In the summer of 2014, he was bought by China’s first-division side Changchun Yataj, with 9 goals and 10 assists in 39 matches in the far east in a year and a half, and was then contracted by Budesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt in early 2015. He was a regular in Frankfurt, having played 17 times and scoring once to help keep the team in the division - by then he had been counted on in games in the centre of midfield. In the first half of the 2016/2017 season, he played in 15 champions games and scored 2 goals (perhaps not to mention he was again successful against Bayern and Dortmund) and then again chose the Changchun Yataj team, where 16 championships brought four goals and five assists to his name.

He joined Vidi in January 2018 and helped the club to the league title and the Hungarian Cup in the last two and a half years with our team, as well as reaching the EL group stage. Our retiring midfielder took part in a total of 67 matches for Vidi (43 league, 9 Hungarian Cup, and 15 in European matches), in which he also scored 14 goals and provided many assists.

"I owe a lot to football, it’s hard to put into words how important this is to me. But it is no longer the most important. The most important thing is to be able to see my children grow up healthy. I feel honestly, and even today that I have the strength to continue, I started training, but my body signalled to me that it’s time to finish. Thank you all at Vidi for trusting me in January 2018. I will remember the championship title, the celebrations in the main square, the cup victory, the Europa League group stage that are all an experience I will never forget. Of course, I want to continue my life in the world of football, I trust that I will have the opportunity to pass on my experience in some form to future generations. I had a wonderful career, everything happened the way it had to happen” - commented Szabolcs Huszti.

"The whole Hungarian football community was happy when Szabolcs Huszti returned home two and a half years ago, as one of the players who had been one of the most serious successful abroad from the last twenty years. We were all proud that he chose Vidi. Our results since then also prove that it was a great decision. A league Championship title, cup victory, EL group stage- Szabi also played his part in each with his playing skills and character. We knew it that his leg was not the same after the surgery, but it was also a big surprise when he told me his decision in my office on Thursday afternoon - which we of course respect. Whatever role he takes in life, he will surely succeed in it with his mentality and human qualities. Personally, I would also like to thank him in particular for working together!” - commented Zoltan Kovacs - Director of Football.

We thank Szabolcs Huszti for his efforts for Vidi, good health and good luck for the future!