Nemzeti Bajnokság I

The Nemzeti Bajnokság is a Hungarian professional league for association football clubs. The league is currently known as the OTP Bank Liga for sponsorship reasons,^[1] and it is the highest level of professional league since its inception in 1901. UEFA currently ranks the league 35th in Europe.^[2]

Sixteen teams compete in the league, playing each other twice, once at home and once away. At the end of the season, the top team enters the qualification for the UEFA Champions League, while the runner-up and the third placed, together with the winner of the Hungarian Cup enters the UEFA Europa League qualification round. The bottom two clubs are relegated to NB2, the second-level league, to be replaced by the winners of NB2-Nyugati csoport (West) and NB2-Keleti csoport (East).

History

The 1900s - The foundation and the early years

On 19 January 1901, the Hungarian Football Federation was founded. The first match was played between Budapest TC and Budapest SC in the first Hungarian League in 1901. The first championship included five teams such as Budapesti TC, Magyar Úszóegylet, Ferencvárosi TC, MAFC (was withdrawn after four matches), and Budapesti SC and the championship was won by Budapesti TC. Budapesti TC won the championships by winning eight out of eight matches and scoring 37 goals and with only 5 goals against. Interestingly, only teams from the capital city were competing in the first championship. Although the two first championships were won by Budapesti TC, the 1900s was the beginning of the rivalry between Ferencvárosi TC and MTK Budapest FC. Ferencváros won the championship in 1903, 1905, 1907 and 1909. MTK won the championship in 1904, 1908.

The 1910s - Ferencváros and MTK rivalry

In the 1910s the rivalry between Ferencvárosi and MTK continued. Ferencváros won the championship in 1910, 1911, 1912, 1913. The season 1914-15 and 1915-16 were suspended due to the World War I. MTK dominated the second half of the 1910s by winning the championship in 1914, 1917, 1918 and 1919. During the 1910s Imre Schlosser became top goal scorer seven times who played for both Ferencváros and MTK. Schlosser still holds the record as the highest goalscorer in the history of the Hungarian League.

The 1920s - Ferencváros and MTK rivalry 2

The 1920s were also dominated by Ferencváros and MTK. MTK ruled the early 1920s by winning the championship in 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925 and 1929. The second half of the 1920s was ruled by Ferencváros by winning the championship in 1926, 1927, and 1928. Ferencváros's József Takács became top goalscorer four times during the 1920s becoming the second icon for the club. MTK was lead by György Orth who became top goalscorer three times in the 1920s.

The 1930s - Újpest's era

In the 1930s the rivalry between Ferencváros and MTK expanded with another club from Budapest, Újpest FC. Újpest won its first title in 1930, which was followed by four titles in 1931, 1933, 1935 and 1939. Ferencváros also could win four titles in the 1930s by winning the championship in 1932, 1934, 1938 and 1940. MTK won the championship in 1936 and 1937. One of the most iconic figure of the 1930s Hungarian football was Újpest's Gyula Zsengellér who managed to top goalscorer three times in a row in the 1930s. Ferencváros's György Sárosi and MTK's László Cseh and Újpest's Gyula Zsengellér were the embodiment of the rivalry of the three clubs from Budapest.

The 1940s

In the 1940s Csepel could win its first title which was followed by two other titles in 1942 and 1943. During the World War II there were no interruptions in the Hungarian league. Due to the expansion of the territories of the country new clubs could re-join the league such as Nagyvárad and Kolozsvár. Consequently, Nagyvárad could win the championship and becoming the first champion of the Hungarian League which is not based in Hungary at the moment. The second half of the 1940s was dominated by Újpest by winning the championship in 1945, 1946 and 1947. Ferencváros also could win two trophies during the 1940s one in 1941 and 1949.

The 1950s - Ferenc Puskás and Honvéd

In the 1950s the dominance of Ferencváros and MTK weakened by the emergence of Honvéd with players such as Ferenc Puskás, József Bozsik, Zoltán Czibor and László Budai. Later these players played in the final of the 1954 FIFA World Cup. In the 1950s Honvéd could win the championship five times. During the early 1950s Honvéd players formed the backbone of the legendary Mighty Magyars. In 1956 the Hungarian league was suspended due to the Hungarian Revolution. The league was lead by Honvéd after 21 rounds but the championship has never been finished.

The 1960s

In the 1960s the rivalry between the clubs from Budapest expanded with Vasas. Vasas could win four titles in the 1960s (1961, 1962, 1965 and 1966). Ferencváros also could win four titles during the 1960s (1963, 1964, 1967, and 1968). Ferencváros was lead by Flórián Albert who became top goal scorer in 1965 and also was named European Footballer of the Year in 1967. Ferencváros in 1965 Ferencváros became the most successful team of the Hungarian League in the European competitions having won the 1964-65 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. Ferencváros beat Spartak Brno, Wiener Sport-Club, Roma, Athletic Bilbao and Manchester United. In the one-leg final Ferencváros beat Juventus 1-0 in Turin, Italy. In the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 1968-69 Újpest reached the final by beating US Luxembourg, Aris Thessaloniki, Legia Warsaw, Leeds United and Göztepe. However, they lost to Newcastle United in the finals.

The 1970s - Újpest's second reign

The 1970s is associated with Lajos Baróti's Újpest since the club could win seven titles (in 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1978 and 1979). In the 1973-74 European Cup season Újpest reached the semi-finals where Bayern Munich stopped their campaign. The key of the Magic Újpest was famous forward formation of Fazekas, Göröcs, BeneDunai II Zámbó. Ferenc Bene became the leader of Újpest and also top goalscorer three times in the 1970s. He also led the Hungarian national football team to win the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. Újpest set new post-war records by scoring 500 goals in the seven seasons or losing only 4 home matches in 10 seasons. András Törőcsik and László Fekete joined Újpest after Göröcs, Bene and Dunai left the team. In 1978 and 1979 they won the Hungarian title again with former player Pál Várhidi as the head coach. The Újpest fans called Törökcsik (or Törö) as the 'magician' since he was able to make unbelieveble dribbles, unexpected assists to teammates. László Fekete won the European Silver shoe.

The 1980s - Honvéd's second golden age

In 1982 Győr won the championship becoming the first non-Budapest team who could win the Hungarian league (except Nagyvárad during the World War II). Győr could repeat the triumph in the following year in 1983. However, the 1980s was dominated by Honvéd who celebrated its second heyday during the 1980s. The former legend Lajos Tichy's Honvéd could win the championship five times in the 1980s (1984, 1985, 1986, 1988 and 1989). Honvéd's second golden team included players such as Lajos Détári, Kálmán Kovács, Béla Illés and Gábor Halmai. However, in the European Cup Honvéd could not perform well. In the 1980-81, 1985-86, 1989-90 seasons they were eliminated in the second round, while in the 1984-85, 1986-87, 1988-89, 1989-90 seasons in the first round. The only success was delivered by Újpest in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in the 1983-84 season. Újpest were eliminated by Aberdeen in the quarter-finals of the tournament. Although the clubs did not perform well in the international cups, the 1980s was last decade when Hungarian football was still considered good. The Hungarian national team with players like Tibor Nyilasi, Lázár Szentes, Lajos Détári, József Kiprich and Kálmán Kovács qualified for the FIFA World Cup 1982 and FIFA World Cup 1986. Since then the national team has not been able to qulaify for any international tournaments.

The 1990s

Due to the collapse of the Communist era the Hungarian football clubs lost the support of the state. Therefore, many clubs faced with financial problems which effects are still present in the Hungarian football. However, the 1990s were still dominated by the 'traditional' clubs of the championships such Ferencváros, MTK, Újpest. The financial problmes affected the performance of the clubs outside the Hungarian League as well. Hungarian clubs could not compete with the European counterparts. Moreover, the Bosman ruling also had a deep impact on the Hungarian League. Since big European clubs could invest loads of money into football, clubs from the Eastern Bloc were restricted to employ only home nationals.
Honvéd could win two titles (1991 and 1993). Ferencváros won three titles in the 1990s (1992, 1995, 1996). During the 1990s the other giant club from Budapest, Újpest could win only one title in 1998. Surprisingly, the 1993-94 season was won by a provincial town Vác lead by János Csank. The biggest international success of the 1990s was delivered by Dezső Novák's Ferencváros whoe qualified for the UEFA Champions League 1995-96 season after beating the Belgian champion Anderlecht in the play-offs of the Champions League. The spectators of the Albert Stadion could see the Spanish giant Real Madrid who drew with Ferencváros at home, the Dutch Ajax Amsterdam and the Swiss Grasshoppers. Ferencváros won only one match of the six beating the Swiss team 3-0 away. The backbone of this Ferencváros team was formed by players like Krisztián Lisztes, Tibor Simon, János Hrutka and Ottó Vincze.

The 2000s - The fall of Budapest

The 2000s resulted a new era in the history of Hungarian Football. The dominance of the Budapest clubs was over and new teams emerged. In the 2000s six titles were won by non-Budapest based clubs, while only four titles were won by Budapest. In 2000 Sándor Egervári's Dunaújváros, while in 2002 Péter Bozsik's Zalaegerszeg won the championship. The second half of the 2000s was dominated by clun from Hajdú County, called Debrecen. They won the Hungarian title in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009,^[3] and 2010.^[4][5] Furthermore, Debrecen was the only club who proved to be successful outside the Hungarian League. Debrecen qualified for the group stages of the Champions League 2009–10 season by beating Kalmar, Levadia, and Levski in the play-offs.^[6] Consequently, the whole country was in excitement to see Champions League matches including teams like Liverpool, Lyonnais, and Fiorentina. Given the fact that the Stadion Oláh Gábor Út did not meet UEFA requirement, all of the Champions League matches had to be played at the Puskás Ferenc Stadium in Budapest. In the following year Debrecen qualified for the group stages of the Europa League 2010-11 season after being eliminated from the third round of the UEFA Champions League 2010-11 qualification and being able to beat Litex Lovech in the play-offs of the Europa League. As far as the Budapest clubs are concerned, both MTK and Ferencváros won two titles each during the 2000s. MTK won in (2003 and 2008), while Ferencváros in 2001 and 2004.

The 2010s

On 6 July 2010 Sándor Csányi was elected as the Hungarian FA president.^[7] The 2010-11 season was won by the Székesfehérvár based club Videoton.^[8][9] The biggest surprise was Paks's second place in the 2010-11 season.

The Golden Star

In the Hungarian League three teams include two stars as part of their crest appearing on their shirt to represent the trophies won by the club. After ten Hungarian League titles the club can include one star on their crest. There are four clubs who are entitled to wear one or two stars on their crest. MTK was the first club who celebrated its 10th title in 1922, but at that time the clubs did not put stars on their badge. It was also MTK who was first entitled to wear the second star in 1997. Now there are three clubs (MTK, Ferencváros and Újpest) with two stars and one club (Honvéd) with one star.

Name changes and sponsorship

The league went through various name changes depending on the sponsor for the given season(s):

Hungarian National Championship I members 2011-12

Previous winners

Previous winners and top goalscorers

Clubs of the Nemzeti Bajnokság

Since 1901 98 clubs have partecipated in the Hungarian League. Below the list of Hungarian League clubs who have partecipated in the first division. The club with the most appearances are the 28-time champions Ferencváros, however the club spent two years in the Hungarian Second Division between 2006 and 2008. The only clubs who have never been relegated are Újpest and Budapest Honvéd.

The bolded teams compete in the Hungarian League 2011-12 season currently.

Performances

Clubs

Fourteen clubs have been champions.

Regions

The following table lists the Hungarian football champions by regions of Hungary.

Cities

The location of the Hungarian league winner teams is very Budapest centered. There were seven clubs from Budapest who could win the Hungarian league. These were Ferencváros, MTK, Újpest, Honvéd, Vasas, Csepel and Budapesti TC. In the 2000s Debrecen became the newest and second most successful town in Hungary due to the five titles won by Debrecen. The winner of the 1943-44 season Nagyvárad is not included in the tables since Nagyvárad has belonged to Romania since the World War II.

Players

One of the most notable player of the Hungarian League was Ferenc Puskás who played for Honvéd. He played for Honvéd from 1943 to 1955 then Real Madrid signed him. He played 341 matches and scored 352 goals in the Hungarian league.
In the early years of the Hungarian league Imre Schlosser was the most well-known football player. He played for both Ferencváros and MTK. He became top goalscorer seven times.

In the 1960s Ferencváros's Flórián Albert became top goalscorer of the Hungarian League three times. He received the Ballon d'Or (the Golden Ball) as the European Footballer of the Year in 1967. He has been the only Hungarian football player to receive this honour. He has been described as one of the most elegant footballers of all time. Albert became an icon for Ferencváros since he spent his career only with the gree-whites. The stadium of the Ferencváros (Albert Stadion) was named after him .

In the Hungarian League the players are mainly from Hungary, but since the accession to the European Union the number of foreign players doubled. The players are mainly from the neighbouring countires such as Slovakia, Serbia, Romania but there are many players from Africa.

Format

As we can see from the chart the number of teams in the Hungarian First Division changed a lot and continuously. The league started in 1901 with five teams and with the formation of teams the league expanded continuously. In the 1919-20 season there were 15 teams competing for the title. Currently, there are 16 teams in the first division.

UEFA Ranking

The national league rankings for the 2012/13 season of UEFA competitions is based upon results in UEFA competitions from the 2007/08 through 2011/12 seasons.

Current Nemzeti Bajnokság ranking (2012)

• 26 (26) Norwegian Tippeligaen
• 27 (27) Serbian SuperLiga
• 28 (21) Bulgarian A Professional Football Group
• 29 (32) Hungarian Nemzeti Bajnokság I
• 30 (30) Finnish Veikkausliiga
• 31 (36) Georgian Umaglesi Liga
• 32 (29) Bosnian Premier League
• Full List

Hungarian clubs in the European Competitions

Referees

The Hungarian League has had two internationally well-known referees. Sándor Puhl, who refereed the final of the FIFA World Cup 1994, was an active referee of the Hungarian League between 1984 and 2000. Currently the most well-knwon referee of the Hungarian League is Viktor Kassai who refereed the 2011 UEFA Champions League Final.

See also

• Nemzeti Bajnokság II
• Nemzeti Bajnokság III
• Derby of Budapest
• Ferencváros TC and Újpest FC rivalry

References

External links

• Hungarian football league
• League at UEFA
• Actual teams, with detailed data