| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 16 March 1976 | ||
| Place of birth | Pécs, Hungary | ||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Pécsi Munkás | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1991–1995 | Pécsi Munkás | 68 | (11) |
| 1996 | BVSC | 22 | (3) |
| 1997–2011 | Hertha BSC | 297 | (17) |
| National team | |||
| 1998–2010 | Hungary | 61 | (5) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
|||
Pál Dárdai (born 16 March 1976) is a retired Hungarian footballer who played mainly a defensive midfielder.
In a 20-year professional career, he played for over a decade in the same team, Hertha BSC in Germany. With 286 Bundesliga appearances, he is the club's most capped player.
Contents |
Born in Pécs, Dárdai started his professional career with local Pécsi Mecsek FC, moving in January 1996 to BVSC Budapest. He helped his new club finish second in both the league and cup.
In the same month of the following year, he signed with German second division side Hertha BSC, appearing in 10 games before the end of the season, with the club being promoted. In 1998–99, he contributed with 21 games (only six starts however) as the team finished in third position, only trailing vice-champions Bayer 04 Leverkusen by one point.
From then onwards, Dárdai became an essential first-team member for Hertha, as it qualified several times for the UEFA Cup. After appearing sparingly from 2004–06 (33 matches combined), he again featured heavily in the following years. From 2009, his appearances became less and less frequent: after only one game in the 2010–11 season - with The Old Lady eventually returning to the top level - and also being demoted to the reserve team, the 35-year old retired from football, having appeared in 297 league games, more than any other player in the club's history.
Dárdai began playing for Hungary with the U21s, in 1996. He made his senior debut in a friendly against Slovenia on 19 August 1998, and scored his first international goal on 10 October, in an UEFA Euro 2000 qualifier against Azerbaijan, in the 58th minute of a 4–0 triumph.
Often cast as starting central midfielder alongside Krisztián Lisztes, under managers Bertalan Bicskei and Imre Gellei, Dárdai captained the national side seven times during 2006, netting twice. On 15 November 2006, he was not included in Péter Várhidi's provisional 25-man squad for Euro 2008 qualifiers, but featured in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying stages, as Hungary was now managed by Erwin Koeman.[1]
| Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 October 1998 | Baku | Azerbaijan | 1–0 | 4–0 | Euro 2000 qualifying |
| 2 | 7 September 2002 | Reykjavík | Iceland | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 3 | 20 November 2002 | Budapest | Moldova | 1–1 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 4 | 30 May 2006 | Manchester | England | 1–2 | 1–3 | Friendly |
| 5 | 24 May 2007 | Zenica | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 3–0 | 3–1 | Euro 2008 qualifying |
| Season | Club | Country | Competition | Matches | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991–92 | Pécsi Munkás | Hungary | NBI | 4 | 0 |
| 1992–93 | Pécsi Munkás | Hungary | NBI | 10 | 1 |
| 1993–94 | Pécsi Munkás | Hungary | NBI | 10 | 1 |
| 1994–95 | Pécsi Munkás | Hungary | NBI | 30 | 4 |
| 1995–96 | Pécsi Munkás | Hungary | NBI | 14 | 5 |
| 1995–96 | BVSC Budapest | Hungary | NBI | 7 | 0 |
| 1996–97 | BVSC Budapest | Hungary | NBI | 15 | 3 |
| 1996–97 | Hertha BSC | Germany | 2. Bundesliga | 10 | 0 |
| 1997–98 | Hertha BSC | Germany | Bundesliga | 14 | 0 |
| 1998–99 | Hertha BSC | Germany | Bundesliga | 21 | 1 |
| 1999–00 | Hertha BSC | Germany | Bundesliga | 15 | 1 |
| 2000–01 | Hertha BSC | Germany | Bundesliga | 24 | 2 |
| 2001–02 | Hertha BSC | Germany | Bundesliga | 27 | 3 |
| 2002–03 | Hertha BSC | Germany | Bundesliga | 29 | 4 |
| 2003–04 | Hertha BSC | Germany | Bundesliga | 29 | 0 |
| 2004–05 | Hertha BSC | Germany | Bundesliga | 17 | 0 |
| 2005–06 | Hertha BSC | Germany | Bundesliga | 16 | 2 |
| 2006–07 | Hertha BSC | Germany | Bundesliga | 28 | 3 |
| 2007–08 | Hertha BSC | Germany | Bundesliga | 23 | 0 |
| 2008–09 | Hertha BSC | Germany | Bundesliga | 26 | 1 |
| 2009–10 | Hertha BSC | Germany | Bundesliga | 17 | 0 |
| 2010–11 | Hertha BSC | Germany | 2. Bundesliga | 1 | 0 |
Dárdai is married and has three sons: Pál, Márton and Bence. His brother, Balázs, also a footballer, died during a friendly match in 20 July 2002. He was only 23 years old.
Dárdai's father, also named Pál Dardái, was also a footballer.[3]