Maccabi Tel Aviv’s Europa League campaign will open up on Thursday (20:00 Israel time) when they face Ferencvárosi Torna Club, Ferencvaros as they visit the city of Budapest for first leg of first round qualifying action. Fradi as they are also known was established in 1899 by Ferenc Springer and is undoubtedly the most popular club in Hungary today.
Journalist Tomasz Mortimer of HungarianFootball.com gave us a rundown on what to expect from Ferencvaros from their style of play to their key players as the Yellow & Blue ready for another European adventure.
“The Fradi lost their star Ghanian midfielder Joseph Paintsil who left for Genk so now their key players are the midfield duo of Stefan Spirovski from Macedonia and Fernando Gorriarán who hails from Uruguay. On the defensive side, Nigerian born-Hungarian National team player Kenneth Otigba and Slovenian Miha Blažič are very strong and will be force for Ferencvaros.”
דול (צילום: fradi.hu) ()
“On the attack,” Mortimer continued, “Captain Dániel Böde who has made 178 appearances while scoring 82 goals since 2012, will almost certainly start along with Italian Davide Lanzafame while Icelander Kjartan Finnbogason has been brought in as 3rd choice striker.”
German Head Coach Thomas Doll has been at the club since 2013 and has guided the squad to one Nemzeti Bajnokság I Hungarian League Championship (2015/16) and three Hungarian Cups (2014/15, 2015/16, 2016/17). Doll has also played in Italy for Lazio and Bari and featured in Germany for Hamburger SV, Eintract Frankfurt and Berliner FC Dynamo while also representing his country over 60 times.
“Doll is a very lively man. He gets very aggressive with his own team and with the referee but he’s also very well liked by the players and has a soft side. They like to keep the ball on the floor, but they’ll play at a fast pace and attempt to get the ball as wide as soon as possible to create one on one opportunities. It’s a very direct philosophy while it’s not playing the long ball.”
With the first leg being played in the ultra modern Groupama Stadium, it’s interesting to note that Ferencvaros welcomed former Maccabi Tel Aviv Champions League foe Chelsea in 2014 for the first official match at the new stadium where Fradi legend Zoltán Gera who also played for West Bromwich Albion and Fulham scored the first goal in the club’s new home. As for the fans, Mortimer explains that they are very active, “The supporters are very loud and at their best they are amongst the best in Europe. There should be 15,000 supporters at the match.”
Mortimer has mixed feelings about Ferencvaros’ chances against Maccabi, “On one hand if they play to their best they could quite easily win. It’s a very, very talented side. But on the other hand Ferencvaros’ history in Europe under Doll has not been good and I don’t see why that would change this time.”
Interesting Facts
- The nickname Fradi is shortened from the German Franzstadt Ferencváros being the 9th district of Budapest. The team is also frequently called the Green Eagles as their colors are Green and White.
- There will be a familiar face in the lineup for Ferencvaros in one Marcel Heister as the left back spent the last two seasons in Israel with Maccabi Tel Aviv.
- Ferencváros is best known internationally for winning the 1964/65 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup after defeating Juventus 1:0 in Turin and for reaching the final of the 1974/75 European Cup Winners’ Cup falling to Dynamo Kyiv 3:0.
- Ferencvaros was the first Hungarian club to reach the UEFA Champions League (1995/96) where they played Ajax, Real Madrid and Grasshopper.
- Maccabi faced a Hungarian club once before in Europe when they played Gyori in 2013/14 Champions League qualification.
