Miklós Fehér

Miklós Fehér

Fehér representing Benfica
Personal information
Full name	Miklós Fehér
Date of birth	(1979-07-20)20 July 1979
Place of birth	Tatabánya, Hungary
Date of death	25 January 2004(2004-01-25) (aged 24)
Place of death	Guimarães, Portugal
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position	Striker
Youth career
	Győri ETO
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1995–1998	Győri ETO	62	(23)
1998–2002	Porto	10	(1)
2000–2002	Porto B	7	(2)
2000	→ Salgueiros (loan)	14	(5)
2000–2001	→ Braga (loan)	26	(14)
2002–2004	Benfica	29	(7)
Total		145	(51)
National team
1996–1997	Hungary U18	8	(3)
1996–2000	Hungary U21	5	(0)
1998–2004	Hungary	25	(7)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Miklós "Miki" Fehér (20 July 1979 – 25 January 2004) was a Hungarian footballer who played as a striker.

On 25 January 2004, he died of a cardiac arrest during a match between Vitória de Guimarães and his team Benfica in Guimarães.^[1]

Fehér spent most of his nine-year career in Portugal, representing three teams as a professional and amassing top division totals of 80 games and 27 goals.

Club career

Born in Tatabánya, Fehér started his playing career at Győri ETO FC, where he was spotted by F.C. Porto scouts. He was signed in 1998 but never really made a breakthrough onto the first team, being loaned to gain experience from ages 20–21 to another two northern sides, S.C. Salgueiros and Sporting de Braga.

At Braga Fehér had his best professional season, scoring 14 top division goals in 26 games in 2000–01. After Porto chairman Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa quarrelled with his agent José Veiga, the player refused to part with his agent and left, joining Lisbon side S.L. Benfica and going on to net eight official goals during two seasons.

Death

Miklós Fehér memorial

On 25 January 2004, while Benfica travelled to Guimarães to play against Vitória de Guimarães: the game was being broadcast live on television, and Benfica were leading 1–0. Fehér had just come on as a substitute and assisted another player brought from the bench, Fernando Aguiar, for the match's only goal, but received a yellow card in injury time and suddenly bent forward, seemingly in pain; he then fell backwards to the ground.

Members of both teams rushed immediately to aid Fehér before medical personnel arrived on the pitch. CPR was performed as match participants looked on in visible distress. An ambulance arrived on the pitch and Fehér was rushed to the hospital. His condition was covered by the Portuguese media throughout the day. However, before midnight, his death was confirmed, the cause of death being cardiac arrhythmia, brought on by hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.^[2] In his memory Benfica retired the number 29 shirt, which he wore during his time at the club; he was remembered by many and his death caused a profound shock in Portuguese sports. Among others, Porto director of football Reinaldo Teles and manager José Mourinho paid their respects at the Estádio da Luz, where the player's body remained before his burial in his native Hungary.

A club delegation, which included the entire squad, travelled to Hungary, presenting Fehér's parents with the 2004–05 league championship medal, in respect for the player and his time with the club.^[3] On 9 October 2009, the day before their 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Portugal in Lisbon, the Hungarian national team squad laid a wreath next to a metal bust of him at Benfica's homeground Estádio da Luz, in tribute to his memory.^[4]

International career

Fehér made his first international appearance for Hungary in October 1998 against Azerbaijan, and went on to score seven goals in 25 international matches.

On 11 October 2000 he netted a hat-trick in a 6–1 away thrashing of Lithuania, for the 2002 World Cup qualifiers.^[5]

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	10 October 1998	Baku, Azerbaijan	Azerbaijan	4–0	Win	Euro 2000 qualifying
2	11 October 2000	Kaunas, Lithuania	Lithuania	6–1	Win	2002 World Cup qualification
3	11 October 2000	Kaunas, Lithuania	Lithuania	6–1	Win	2002 World Cup qualification
4	11 October 2000	Kaunas, Lithuania	Lithuania	6–1	Win	2002 World Cup qualification
5	15 November 2000	Skopje, Macedonia	Macedonia	1–0	Win	Friendly
6	17 April 2002	Debrecen, Hungary	Belarus	2–5	Loss	Friendly
7	20 August 2003	Murska Sobota, Slovenia	Slovenia	1–2	Loss	Friendly

Club statistics

Honours

Team

Porto

• Portuguese League: 1998–99
• Portuguese Supercup: 1998, 1998
• Portuguese Cup: 1999–00

Benfica

• Portuguese Cup: 2003–04

Individual

• Young Hungarian Player of the Year: 1997
• Ferenc Puskás Award: 2001

See also

• List of footballers who died while playing

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Miklós Fehér.

• Stats and profile at Zerozero
• Stats at ForaDeJogo
• Miklós Fehér at National-Football-Teams.com