Nemzeti Bajnokság I

Nemzeti Bajnokság I

Country	Hungary
Confederation	UEFA
Founded	1901
Number of teams	12
Level on pyramid	1
Relegation to	Nemzeti Bajnokság II
Domestic cup(s)	Magyar Kupa Szuperkupa
League cup(s)	Ligakupa
International cup(s)	UEFA Champions League UEFA Europa League
Current champions	Videoton (2 titles) (2014–15)
Most championships	Ferencváros (28 titles)
TV partners	M4 Duna TV Duna World
Website	Magyar Labdarúgó Szövetség
2015–16 Nemzeti Bajnokság I

The Nemzeti Bajnokság (Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈnɛmzɛti ˈbɒjnokʃaːɡ], "National Championship") is the 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 29th in Europe.^[2]

Twelve 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 Nemzeti Bajnokság II, the second-level league, to be replaced by the winner and the runner up of the NB2.

History

On 19 January 1901, the Hungarian Football Federation was founded. The first match was played between Budapesti TC and Budapesti SC in the first season of the Hungarian League in 1901. The first championship included five teams such as Budapesti TC, Magyar Úszó Egylet, Ferencváros, Műegyetemi AFC (was withdrawn after four matches), and Budapesti SC, all from the capital city Budapest. The first championship was won by Budapesti TC.^[3] Although the two first championships were won by Budapesti TC, the 1900s was the beginning of the rivalry between Ferencváros and MTK Budapest.^[4]

In the 1910s and 1920s the championship was dominated by Ferencváros and MTK.^[5][6]

In the 1930s, the rivalry between Ferencváros and MTK Budapest expanded with another club, Újpest FC (at that time not part of Budapest). One of the most iconic figure of the 1930s Hungarian football was Újpest's Zsengellér who managed to top goalscorer three times in a row in the 1930s. Ferencváros's Sárosi and MTK Budapest's Cseh and Újpest's Zsengellér were the embodiment of the rivalry of the three clubs from Budapest, named Budapest derby.^[7]

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. The second half of the 1940s was dominated by Újpest by winning the championship in 1945, 1946 and 1947.^[8]

Ferenc Puskás scored 352 goals in 341 matches for Budapest Honvéd

In the 1950s, the dominance of Ferencváros and MTK weakened by the emergence of Honvéd with players such as Puskás, Bozsik, Czibor and 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 led by Honvéd after 21 rounds but the championship has never been finished.^[9] In the first season (1955-56) of the European Cup, MTK Budapest reached the quarter-finals while in the 1957-58 season Vasas Budapest played in the semi-finals of the European Cup.

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 was led by Albert who became top goal scorer in 1965 and also was named European Footballer of the Year in 1967. The 1960s can be considered as the most successful period of the Hungarian clubs on international turf. 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. In addition, Albert was named European Footballer of the Year in 1967. He is the most successful Ferencváros since the formation of the club, scoring 255 goals in 351 matches from 1958–74.^[10]

Ferencváros legend Albert with Vasas legend Mészöly in the 1970s

The 1970s is associated with Baróti's Újpest since the club could win seven titles. 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, Bene, Dunai II, Zámbó. 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. Törőcsik and Fekete joined Újpest after Göröcs, Bene and Dunai left the team. In 1978 and 1979 they won the Hungarian title again with former player 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.^[11]

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.^[12]

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. Frencváros finished always in the top three, except for the 1993–94 season, when they finished 4th. The financial problems 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.^[13]

In the 2000s new clubs became champions, mainly from rural Hungary. In 2002 Bozsik's Zalaegerszeg won the championship.^[14][15] Debrecen won the Hungarian league in 2005,^[16] 2006,^[17][18] 2007,^[19][20] 2009,^[21] 2010.^[22] In 2008 MTK could win.^[23]

The dominance of the rural clubs continued in the 2010s. In 2011 ^[24] and 2015 ^[25] Székesfehérvár's Videoton won the championship. In 2013 ^[26] Győr and in 2014 ^[27] Debrecen could win the Hungarian League title.

Format

The number of teams in the Hungarian First Division has changed a number of times. 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 12 teams in the first division.

Name changes and sponsorship

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

Champions

Performances

Performances by club

• Fourteen clubs have been champions among which Nagyvárad have no longer been member of the Hungarian League since the end of the World War II.

Club	Winners	Runners-up	Winning Years
Ferencváros	28	35	1903, 1905, 1907, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1932, 1934, 1938, 1940, 1941, 1949, 1963, 1964, 1967, 1968, 1976, 1981, 1992, 1995, 1996, 2001, 2004
MTK Budapest	23	20	1904, 1908, 1914, 1917, 1918, 1919, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1929, 1936, 1937, 1951, 1953, 1958, 1987, 1997, 1999, 2003, 2008
Újpest *	20	21	1930, 1931, 1933, 1935, 1939, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1960, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1990, 1998
Budapest Honvéd	13	12	1950 (I), 1950 (II), 1952, 1954, 1955, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993
Debrecen	7	1	2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014
Vasas Budapest	6	2	1957, 1961, 1962, 1965, 1966, 1977
Győr	4	3	1963, 1982, 1983, 2013
Csepel *	4	–	1942, 1943, 1948, 1959
VideotonTH	2	4	2011, 2015
Budapesti Torna Club	2	1	1901, 1902
Vác	1	2	1994
Nagyvárad ‡	1	1	1944
Dunaújváros †	1	1	2000
Zalaegerszeg	1	–	2002
Magyar Atlétikai Club	–	2	–
Tatabánya	–	2	–
Magyar Úszó Egylet	–	1	–
Postás	–	1	–
Törekvés	–	1	–
Pécs	–	1	–
Budapesti Vasutas	–	1	–
Paks	–	1	–

Notes:

• † Teams dissolved.
• ‡ After 1946 played in the Romanian Liga I, but was dissolved in 1963.
• * Újpest and Csepel became a district of Budapest on 1 January 1950.
• The Bold teams are currently playing in the 2015–16 season of the Hungarian League.

Clubs

The following clubs, 102 in total, have participated in the Hungarian League since its inception in 1901.^{[29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37]}

Notes

• The teams in bold are competing in the 2015–16 season of the Hungarian League.

Rivalries

The rivalry between Ferencváros and MTK Budapest, also known as Örökrangadó, has the longest history in Hungarian football. The two clubs have been competing for the Nemzeti Bajnokság title since the inception of the Hungarian League. From the 1930s, the rivalry between Ferencváros and Újpest started. Their rivalry rooted in the town-village contrast, Ferencváros representing the city-dwellers while Újpest the villagers. However, from the 1950s this distinction was not present due to the fact that Újpest became part of Budapest.

Records

Top scorers

As listed at RSSSF in July 2000.^[38]

Leading top scorers

Correct as of 2014–15.^[39]

Note: Active footballers are in bold.

Stadia

Players

All-time appearances

#	Player	Appearances
1.	Zoltán Végh	570
2.	Attila Kuttor	560
3.	Béla Illés	540
4.	György Szabó	510
5.	Ferenc Szusza	463
6.	Gergely Kocsárdi	458
7.	István Gass	456
	József Tóth	456
9.	Sándor Biró	450
10.	József Bozsik	447
(Italics denotes players still playing professional football) Bold denotes players still playing in the Hungarian League).

Ferenc Puskás

One of the most notable players of the Hungarian League was Ferenc Puskás who played for Budapest Honvéd. He played for Honvéd from 1943 to 1955 and then for Real Madrid. He made his first senior appearance for Kispest in November 1943 in a match against Nagyváradi AC.^[40] 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 Budapest. He became top goalscorer seven times (1909, 1910, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1914, and 1917) and European top-scorer four times (1911, 1912, 1913, and 1914). From 1927 to 1928 he played for Budai 33.

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.

Between 1945−46 László Kubala (later becoming a legend of FC Barcelona) played for Ferencváros scoring 27 goals in 49 matches.

Between 2000-04 Zoltán Gera played for Ferencváros scoring 34 goals in 123 matches.^[41] Later he became a permanent player of the Premier League playing for West Bromwich Albion F.C.^[42] and Fulham F.C.).

Foreign players

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 EU countries such as Slovakia, Romania and Slovenia, and non-EU neighbouring countries such as Ukraine, Serbia, and Croatia. There are many players from Africa, mainly from countries such as Mali, Senegal, and Côte d'Ivoire. In the 2010s there is a growth in the number of Western European players. During the ownership of Kevin McCabe at Ferencváros numerous footballers participated from the England in the Nemzeti Bajnokság. The arrival of the Portuguese Paulo Sousa to Videoton triggered the signing of numerous Portuguese and Spanish players to the Nemzeti Bajnokság.

Among the most well-known foreign players is the three-time Serie A top goal scorer Giuseppe Signori who played for FC Sopron scoring three goals in 10 matches in the 2005−06 season. He retired from the Western-Hungarian club in 2006.^[43]

Managers

In European competitions

Ranking

The national league rankings for the 2015/16 season of UEFA competitions is based upon results in UEFA competitions from the 2010/11 through 2014/14 seasons.^[44]

Rank 2015	Rank 2014	Mvmt.	Member association (L: League, C: Cup, LC: League cup1)	2010–11	2011–12	2012–13	2013–14	2014–15	Coeff.	Teams	CL places	EL places	Total
30	28	–2	Slovenia (L, C)	2.250	3.250	2.625	4.000	1.000	13.125	0/4
31	30	–1	Slovakia (L, C)	2.375	1.500	1.625	2.750	3.750	12.000	0/4
32	38	+6	Liechtenstein (C2)	2.000	0.000	1.000	2.500	5.000	10.500	0/1	0	1	1
33	31	–2	Hungary (L, C)	2.250	3.000	0.875	2.125	1.625	9.875	0/4	1	3	4
34	33	–1	Moldova (L, C)	0.500	2.250	3.375	1.750	1.250	9.125	0/4
35	36	+1	Iceland (L, C)	1.375	1.250	2.500	2.500	1.125	8.750	0/4
36	34	–2	Georgia (L, C)	2.875	1.500	1.875	1.250	0.625	8.125	0/4

See also

• List of Nemzeti Bajnokság I stadiums

References

External links

• Hungarian football league (Hungarian)
• League at UEFA
• NB I current season results and table at Soccerway
• Actual teams, with detailed data
• Live Scores and Updates
• Hungarian Football Page - English