József Kiprich

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József Kiprich
Personal information
Full name József Kiprich
Date of birth 6 September 1963
Place of birth    Tatabánya, Hungary
Nickname The Wizard of Tatabánya
The Hungarian anti hero
Puf Puf Kiprich
Playing position forward
Club information
Current club retired
Youth clubs
Tatabányai Bányász
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1980-1989
1989-1995
1995-1997
1998
1998-2001
Tatabányai Bányász
Feyenoord Rotterdam
APOEL FC
FC Den Bosch
Lombard FC Tatabánya
180 (75)
128 (53)
45 (29)
9 (5)
60 (28)   
National team2
1984-1995 Hungary 70 (28)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 15 November 2006.
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of 15 November 2006.
* Appearances (Goals)

József Kiprich (born 6 September 1963) is a retired Hungarian football forward and currently a football manager and scout.[1] He made his debut for the Hungarian national team in 1984, and got 70 caps and 28 goals until 1995.[2] He was a participant at the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, where Hungary failed to progress from the group stage. During his career he won two national championships, five national cups, two super cups and he became top goalscorer in a league twice.

Contents

[edit] Playing career

Jószef Kiprich started his professional career at the age of 17 in the 1980/81 season at Tatabányai Bányász which played in the highest Hungarian League in football. During the years Kiprich became a first team regular and a key player for the team. He became known as a goalscorer and made his debut in the national team of Hungary in 1984, while he became top goalscorer in the Hungarian League in 1985, scoring 18 goals in 26 matches. In total he played nine seasons at Tatabánya before making his move to the Netherlands.

He had just played his first match in his 10th season at Tatabánya when Feyenoord Rotterdam got interested in signing him. Kiprich didn't hesitate and signed a contract and left Tatabánya for Rotterdam. Kiprich joined Feyenoord in which is known as the worst period in the club's history. Feyenoord, one of the clubs that never had been relegated before were underperforming and were close to the relegation zone of the Eredivisie when Kiprich joined the club. Kiprich made his debut on 20 August 1989 in Feyenoord's home match versus Fortuna Sittard. The match ended in another disappointing results for the fans as Fortuna Sittard won 0-2. The furious fans entered the pitch and chased the players and referees which were running towards the changing rooms. With Kiprich the team was performing slightly better and eventually ended the season in 11th position, securing their place in the Eredivisie, but missing out on European football for the first time in many years.

Unless the team's performances Kiprich was loved and adored by the fans for his working rate, his occasionally technical skills, while not being a technical footballer, his goalscoring abilities and his humour in the press. In no time he became one of the heroes of the team together with Ed de Goeij and John de Wolf. However things went better in the 1990/91 season Feyenoord was still struggling and was only able to finish in eighth position that season. Managers Pim Verbeek and Gunder Bengtsson were replaced by Wim Jansen and Feyenoord reached the KNVB Cup final, where BVV Den Bosch was beaten 1-0. Kiprich won his first trophy and things went better in Rotterdam.

In 1991/92 Feyenoord finally was back among Ajax and PSV to form the traditional top-3 in Dutch football. The Dutch supercup was introduced and Feyenoord became the first winner of the event. In the Eredivisie Kiprich and his team mates were fighting for the Championship but finished the season in third position behind PSV which finished first and Ajax. The Feyenoord squad in that period turned out to be cup fighters and reached the final of the KNVB Cup again. This time Roda JC was beaten 3-0 in the final, Kiprich scored the third goal in this match. In the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1991-92 Feyenoord reached the semi finals by beating KF Partizani Tirana, FC Sion and Tottenham Hotspur before falling to AS Monaco 3-3 on aggregate due to the away goals rule.

From the worst period in Feyenoord's history the club was becoming stronger every year, with József Kiprich as one of their key players. In 1992/93 Feyenoord did not win the KNVB Cup, but did perform well again in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1992-93. Hapoel Petah Tikva and FC Lucerne were beaten while FC Spartak Moscow were the stronger side in the quarter finals. Kiprich and Feyenoord were still able to win a trophy as they managed to win the Eredivisie Championship for the first time since 1984. Feyenoord's decisive match was played away to FC Groningen, with their stadium De Kuip being packed with fans who watched the match live on a huge screen, which was unique in that time. Feyenoord won the match 0-5, and Kiprich scored the first goal.

Feyenoord was able to catch up in the 1993/94 season, but eventually finished in second position in the league, three points behind winners Ajax. As being the Dutch Champions Feyenoord played in the UEFA Champions League 1993-94 but was unable to reach the group stage after being beaten by FC Porto due to a 90th minute strike by Domingos. Unless that Kiprich was still able to retain his average of winning one prize a season at Feyenoord as the KNVB Cup was won for the third time in four seasons, when NEC was beaten 2-1.

1994/95 was Kiprich's last season at Feyenoord. In this season he played one of his most memorable matches at Feyenoord although he only came in as a substitute late in the match. Feyenoord were playing versus PSV and were trailing 1-2 when Feyenoord was awarded a penalty. Kiprich who did not even do a warm-up came on the pitch and stepped up to take the penalty and scored the equaliser. He later managed to score the winning goal as well to finish the match in 3-2. Feyenoord finished fourth in the league that season, but managed to win another KNVB Cup. Feyenoord beat FC Volendam 2-1 in the final, which was Kiprich's last match at the club. After the celebrations and the cup was awarded the players took Kiprich on their shoulders and walked him all around the stadium under loud applaus. Kiprich came back to Feyenoord opening day at the start of the next season and the fans were begging him to return with chants, but he told them his skills were no longer good enough to play for Feyenoord.

Kiprich left for Cyprus to play at APOEL FC and won the double in his first season, winning the championship and the cup. His 24 goals in 25 matches made him also top goalscorer of the league. In 1997 APOEL won another title, the Cup, but Kiprich only played in 17 matches during that season. He was not used in APOEL's 1997/98 campaign and he left Cyprus to go to Eerste Divisie side FC Den Bosch in the Netherlands where he played the last couple of matches of the season and scored 5 times in 9 games.

He then moved back to Hungary to play at his former team in Tatabánya that now was named Lombard FC Tatabánya. They were playing in the Raab-Karcher NB2, the second level of Hungarian football and won promotion to the highest level. Kiprich was appointed as the team's player manager and played another 36 matches in two seasons where he scored 11 goals.

[edit] Manager career

While still a player at Lombard FC Tatabánya Kiprich was appointed as a player/manager in July 1999. In his first season he finished on the fourth position of the Raab-Karcher NB1. The following season a new format was introduced, called the Professzionális Nemzeti Bajnokság. The competition was split in two groups and Kiprich finished with his team in the first position in his group, claiming six bonus points into the second stage of the Championship. Things went worse and Tatabánya was falling down in the rankings and Kiprich was sacked in March 2001. A few months later in July 2001 he was appointed as the manager of Vasas SC, where he was not able to lift the team to high performances and only won 15 points out of 22 matches and was fired in December 2001 as a result. In April 2002 he was appointed as the manager of second league club Kecskeméti FC which he successfully helped avoiding from relegation to the third level of Hungarian football.

In July 2003 Kiprich moved to Romania to manage Divizia B team Olimpia Satu Mare. Kiprich and his team did well, winning 15 points in six matches, but when Győri ETO FC in his home country was in need of a manager he switched back to Hungary. Kiprich won seven points at Györi in his first three matches at te team, before losing 1-0 versus Pécsi Munkás FC. As a result in the next seven matches only five points were won and he was sacked. He returned to Olimpia Satu Mare and finished the season at the club this time, finishing in third position, but not clinching promotion. At the start of the 2004/05 season he started at Diósgyőri-Balaton FC in Hungary. Only three points out of the first seven matches of the season were won and Kiprich was fired again.

During 2005, Kiprich went back to his old love Feyenoord to become a scout for them in combination with a new job as the under-19 coach at Újpest FC.

[edit] Statistics

Season Club Competition Apps Goals
1980/81 Tatabányai Bányász Flag of Hungary Nemzeti Bajnokság 1 2 0
1981/82 Tatabányai Bányász Flag of Hungary Nemzeti Bajnokság 1 19 2
1982/83 Tatabányai Bányász Flag of Hungary Nemzeti Bajnokság 1 17 0
1983/84 Tatabányai Bányász Flag of Hungary Nemzeti Bajnokság 1 24 8
1984/85 Tatabányai Bányász Flag of Hungary Nemzeti Bajnokság 1 26 18
1985/86 Tatabányai Bányász Flag of Hungary Nemzeti Bajnokság 1 27 13
1986/87 Tatabányai Bányász Flag of Hungary Nemzeti Bajnokság 1 18 10
1987/88 Tatabányai Bányász Flag of Hungary Nemzeti Bajnokság 1 24 14
1988/89 Tatabányai Bányász Flag of Hungary Nemzeti Bajnokság 1 22 10
1989/90 Tatabányai Bányász Flag of Hungary Nemzeti Bajnokság 1 1 0
1989/90 Feyenoord Rotterdam Flag of Netherlands Eredivisie 23 5
1990/91 Feyenoord Rotterdam Flag of Netherlands Eredivisie 25 7
1991/92 Feyenoord Rotterdam Flag of Netherlands Eredivisie 23 9
1992/93 Feyenoord Rotterdam Flag of Netherlands Eredivisie 25 18
1993/94 Feyenoord Rotterdam Flag of Netherlands Eredivisie 10 3
1994/95 Feyenoord Rotterdam Flag of Netherlands Eredivisie 22 11
1995/96 APOEL FC Flag of Cyprus Cypriot First Division 24 25
1996/97 APOEL FC Flag of Cyprus Cypriot First Division 17 4
1997/98 APOEL FC Flag of Cyprus Cypriot First Division 0 0
1997/98 FC Den Bosch Flag of Netherlands Eerste Divisie 9 5
1998/99 Lombard FC Tatabánya Flag of Hungary Raab-Karcher NB2 24 17
1999/00 Lombard FC Tatabánya Flag of Hungary Raab-Karcher NB1 24 5
2000/01 Lombard FC Tatabánya Flag of Hungary Professzionális Nemzeti Bajnokság 12 6
Total 422 196

[edit] Honours

József Kiprich Trophy logo
József Kiprich Trophy logo
  • Top goalscorer of the Nemzeti Bajnokság at Tatabányai Bányász in 1985
  • Dutch Eredivisie winner at Feyenoord in 1993
  • Dutch KNVB Cup winner at Feyenoord in 1991, 1992, 1994 and 1995
  • Johan Cruijff-schaal at Feyenoord in 1991
  • Cypriot First Division winner at APOEL FC in 1996
  • Cypriot Cup winner at APOEL FC in 1996
  • Cyprus FA Shield winner at APOEL FC in 1996
  • Top goalscorer of the Cypriot First Division at APOEL FC in 1996
  • A Hattrick trophy is named after him: József Kiprich Trophy

[edit] References

Flag of Hungary Hungary squad - 1986 FIFA World Cup Flag of Hungary

1 P. Disztl | 2 Sallai | 3 Róth | 4 Varga | 5 Kardos | 6 Garaba | 7 Kiprich | 8 A. Nagy | 9 Dajka | 10 Détári | 11 Esterházy | 12 Csuhay | 13 L. Disztl | 14 Péter | 15 Hannich | 16 J. Nagy | 17 Burcsa | 18 Szendrei | 19 Bognár | 20 Kovács | 21 Hajszán | 22 Andrusch | Coach: Mezey

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