As a Hungarian, who is infatuated with the national team, growing up in the late naughties and early 2010’s, I was not exactly accustomed to seeing my beloved reds represent the country of roughly 10 million people, at a national tournament. Let alone three consecutive tournaments. As a matter of fact, none of us Hungarians, who were alive between 1986 and 2016, were used to seeing the “Mighty Magyars” on the TV, whenever the World Cup was on. In the aforementioned timeframe, the team failed to qualify for a single international tournament.
This meant, that, back then, if you were Hungarian, and an avid follower of football, like such a big chunk of this nation’s population happens to be, you had to settle for a different nation’s team, come the World Cup or the Euros. The nation’s failure to appear in any tournaments within those years may leave many people scratching their heads, given the nation’s significant success in the first half of the 20th century. The Hungarian national team of the 1950’s has become known all over the world, as the “Mighty Magyars”. They were renowned for their revolutionary type of football, spearheaded by masterclass coach, Gusztáv Sebes. Sebes’ form of football was cited as an influence by many, including none other than Johann Cruyf. The team’s star-studded line-up was brimming with future legends (players, who your hungarian friend is likely to never shut up about), such as Puskás, Grosics, Bozsik, Kubala and Czíbor. The Golden Team went unbeaten between 1950 and 1954, did the “double” over England, dismantling them 3-6 in London, and 7-1 in Budapest, and also won the 1952 Olympics. The team’s marching came to an end in the Final of the 1954 World Cup, where, despite leading 2-0 just ten minutes into the game, the team ended up losing 2-3 to Germany, in what would be known as the „Miracle Of Bern”. At the time of writing, and possibly for the foreseeable future, this has been the last time Hungary featured in a World Cup final. The Golden Team disbanded in 1956, due to the Hungarian Revolution. Many of its former players would achieve success in Europe, including Puskás, who would go on to play for Real Madrid, and Kocsis and Kubala, who would both feature for the blanco’s biggest rivals, FC Barcelona.
Fast forward to 2009, and the national team, which used to cause opponents to be overcome with fear all over the continent, may I say, the world, now instilled fear in pretty much nobody. If you were tasked to give a brief description of the state of hungarian football at the time, your answer would most likely include decrepit stadiums, low attendances, and a type of football that is unappealing, and frankly, incredibly hard to watch. Hungarian clubs appearing in European cup competitions were few and far apart, namely, Ferencváros in 2004, and Debreceni VSC, in 2009. And of course, the once treasured gem of the nation, A Nemzeti 11 (translating to “National eleven”, a nickname given to the national team) had failed to appear in any international competitions in the past 23 years.
The name formerly bestowed upon the team, “Magnificent Magyars” was all but a distant memory now, and it seemed like the dream of playing in a major tournament was getting more and more out of reach. Not qualifying for a tournament in over two decades is one thing, but seldom did the cherry and red band even come close to achieving a qualifying-spot. Amid the regular 3rd and 4th place finishes, that the national team had a tendency to achieve in the qualifying groups in the 1990’s, and 2000’s, there was one qualification-campaign, where the team was not (too) agonizing to watch. This came during the 2000 EURO-Qualifiers.
In 1999, the cherry reds looked poised to end their 12-year hiatus at a major tournament, after finishing second in their group, and being eligible for a play-off fixture. Their opponents were the Yugoslav national team, a country that was in literal tatters, and barely even existed anymore. Hungary were, of course, billed as the favorites for this game, and probably not a single soul could have predicted the outcome of the game. Yugoslavia went 0-3 up by the ‘10th minute, and thanks to a Mijatovic brace, the scoreboard showed 5 for the southern visitors. Things would only get worse for Hungary over the course of the tie, as the yugoslavs walked away with a 1- 7 win from Budapest. Anybody who thought Hungary had an ounce of chance for a comeback was made to look like a fool in the second leg, as the Belgrade crowd saw their team defeat Hungary 5-0. By this point, an entire generation had grown up, without seeing the one team that made their hearts beat collectively, qualify for a major tournament.
Pre-match chorus by the Carpathian Brigade, reading “To us, you guys are the aces!” The 2010 World Cup qualifiers offered little recluse, as the national team finished 4th in their group, and failed to qualify for the eighth consecutive time.
This qualifying process was the first to feature the national team’s newly formed supporters’ group, the Carpathian Brigade. It had been formed amid declining attendance numbers, and a palpable downturn in the atmosphere, both on the stands of the Ferenc Puskás Stadium, and in stadiums of the hungarian national football league. Their intention from the very start, was to (not too dissimilarly to their predecessors, “XII. Hadosztály” , translating to 12th Division, a supporters’ group that went defunct in 2008) unite Hungarian fans under one banner, regardless of which club they embrace and choose to spend all their weekends watching, many of them experiencing indescribable pain (especially if you support the great Diósgyőri VTK, such as myself). The animosity stemming from the over century-long rivalry between Ferencváros and Újpest greatly affected the unity (or rather, lack thereof) of the fans behind the goal (a section usually reserved for the most rabid, passionate and insane supporters) at the national team’s games. In the 90’s and early ‘00’s, violence and chaos was inescapable whenever The Derbi took place, with police often being rendered helpless, and unable to handle the task of containing the nation’s two most violent supporters’ groups at the time, Green Monsters, and Ultra Viola Bulldogs.
CB wanted people to look past the differences between certain clubs – for at least the duration of 90+ minutes – and to collectively put their efforts into cheering on the red, white and green.
The group’s first appearance was during a friendly game against Malta, in April of 2009. The game itself was nothing to write home about, as Hungary managed to take down the away side 3-0, but their presence in the stands would be the catalyst of the formation of the now infamous Brigade. They were officially formed on the 15th of May, 2009, a date that has been commemorated by members as their date of foundation, ever since. They chose a name which represents the central european mountain range, the Carpathian Basin, which is where the former borders of Hungary extended to. A group, that, although at the time unknown, would go on to establish itself as a mainstay on the terraces, for the Hungarian national team, and in the process, become the biggest supporters’ group in the country, with their chants serving as the theme music, and their delicately and diligently put together choreos as the background, for the Hungarian national team.
Their next appearance would be against a side, whom they would encounter a lot of times with over the coming years, and one that the idea of playing against would certainly galvanize Hungarians to show up in insane numbers to the game; Romania. In fact, Romania would be the very side, years down the line, against whom the bonds of Carpathian Brigade were strengthened, and it was in no small part, thanks to the CB ‘09’s “performance” against Romania away in October of 2014, and September of 2015, that would enable them to reach heights they had probably never thought they wood.
The reasons for the absolute loathing felt by hungarians and romanians towards one another are far too complex, and even politically insensitive to discuss here, but the rivalry goes way back to the first quarter of the 20th Century, when, as a result of the Treaty Of Versailles, Romania was awarded a large chunk of Hungary. This territory is known as “Transylvania”, and has been a source of major disputes between the two countries for decades. Their names will come up a lot in this article of sorts. Despite being a friendly game, the atmosphere within the stadium was anything but; from flares being set off, to the national anthems being drowned out by jeers and boos, and to the two sets of fans constantly trying to get under one another’s skin. None of this was anything new to a regular match attendee, but the unity of fans was. Under Carpathian Brigade, the enthusiasts of the national team united under one banner, and followed the instructions of the main capo. Gone were the days of people trying to start chants from every corner of the stadium, and the rambunctious and chaotic atmosphere which used to be the background noise of Ferenc Puskas Stadium, was replaced with something, that was very reminiscent (both in terms of its loudness, and its appearance) of what you would see in an Italian or Spanish stadium. The colorful red, white and green flags and choreos of the Carpathian Brigade would appear more and more frequently whenever, and more importantly, wherever the nation’s beloved reds took to the field. Although, improvements on the pitch were yet to be seen, as the team failed to reach yet another major tournament, for the eighth consecutive time. However, what could not be denied, was that the birth of the Carpathian Brigade did wonders to the atmosphere of the national team’s games. Although they were not yet the feared and oftentimes controversial group that you see in the headlines today, the changes around the atmosphere were palpable for all to see.
Over the coming years, and in no small part, thanks to the show they put up against Denmark, Portugal, Sweden, The Netherlands, and other prominent European sides, their numbers and presence would gradually increase.
In 2013, during an away trip to Romania, the group would earn a reputation for violence, as they would behave especially unruly in downtown Bucharest, and later clashed with the local police during the game. Due to their actions, later condemned by UEFA and foreign news outlets, the Hungarian headlines were dominated by the Brigade’s member’s misdemeanors, which painted a diminishing picture of the group. Practically overnight, the group went from being a group that was, outside of football-circles, insignificant and basically obscure, to being known in the entire country. All thanks to their outing in Romania.
The team had a lackluster performance against Romania, suffering a 0-3 loss, which put the dream of appearing at the 2014 World Cup, more and more out of reach. There was a general sense of feeling like we may possibly never see our nation qualify for a major tournament again. The performance against Romania was so bad, that the following game, against Estonia, in October, the group collectively refused to display any vocal support for the team for the entire game, meaning, they made little to no noise. Some CB members even hung up a banner, reading:”We will support the same way you guys played!”.
The team eventually failed to qualify, and head coach Sándor Egervári resigned after Hungary lost their last away qualifier 8-1 to the Netherlands. The less said about that game, the better. Egervári had been in charge since 2010, and had led the U-20 side to a bronze medal in the 2009 FIFA Youth World Cup.
For the 2016 EURO qualifiers, the team would play its home games in its new temporary home, The Groupama Arena, while the new Ferenc Puskás Stadium was under construction. The reds’ qualifying journey started off shakily, suffering a surprise 1-2 defeat at the hands of Northern Ireland. However, this was anything but a sign of things to come; the team achieved a precious draw against Romania (who else?), with a majestic free-kick goal from Balázs Dzsudzsák (who else?). Dzsudzsák’s strike was one of only two goals Romania conceded on home soil throughout the entire qualification campaign. Needless to say, Hungarian fanatics, including a lot of people affiliated with the Carpathian Brigade, turned up in big numbers, despite the cold October weather. The group even organized a private train to carry them from Budapest all the way to the Romanian capital. The game was tense both on and off the pitch, with flares and pyros being rampant. As it was expected, both sets of fan bases clashed with the police, with almost the entire ultra sector of the Romanian fans being emptied out by police, due to the misbehavior displayed by them. It was during this away trip to Bucharest, and the return game in the Hungarian capital 11 months later, where the group displayed an all stadium choreo, that the Carpathian Brigade, after years of tireless work, started resembling being the dominant force on the Hungarian terraces, that it is today.
On the trip, CB managed to raise 400,000 HUF, thanks to charitable donations, all of which was spent on the cost of medications of a severely ill child, named Levi, and Judit Lábas, the young coach of the youth volleyball team of Kaposvár, who was battling Leukaemia. It is truly incredible what we, humans, are capable of, when club rivalries are put aside. Unfortunately, Judit passed away 3 weeks later.
The team followed that up with victories over Finland, and the Faroe Islands, and ended up finishing third in their group, which meant the team would be featured in a play-off tie again, for the first time since 1998. Their opponents would be the fellow sleeping giants, Norway. The memory of that ominous ’98 tie against Yugoslavia, which as you may remember, ended 1-12 on aggregate to the Yugoslavs, did not do much to bolster the hopes of an already dubious nation, when it comes to football.
However, the boys in red would do a great job of turning doubters into believers, and managed to win the first leg in Oslo 0-1, thanks to a goal from debutant László Kleinheisler. The team started off the second game aggressively, and through Tamás Priskin, took the lead early in the first half. Towards the end of the second half, the team would find the net again, in what was officially ruled as an own goal. A goal, that surely, cast away any semblance of doubt, if there was even any left, that the reds are going to EURO 2016. Norway managed to pull one back, but this did nothing to spoil the joy and elation of a nation that had not seen their favourites in a major tournament for the last 30 years. The excruciating wait was now finally over. And after becoming well-known in the entire country (by those who follow football, at least), it was time for the whole continent to meet the “Brigade”.
Hungary were drawn into Group F, with Portugal, Austria and Iceland. Our opening game was against Austria, our long-time friends, who we used to share a country with until 1920. This former unity between the two nations gave inspiration to countless jokes and memes preceding the game, but despite the friendly past, the encounter was anything but. After a goalless first half, Hungary put two past Robert Almer, through Ádám Szalai, and Zoltán Stieber. The former’s goal was his first in over 40 matches, and the win was the nation’s first in a EURO tournament since 1972. After pulling off a shock victory over our former homies, next up was Iceland. In retrospect, we obviously know just how much of a cinderella-run Iceland would go on to have during the tournament, but not a whole lot of people would have had the guts to wager on the tiny nation doing so well, judging by their group stage performance. Hungary ended up drawing with the northern country, after a late own goal from Sævarsson. This game was preceded by the streets of Marseille being filled with several thousands of red and white fans marching to the Orange Velodrome stadium together, with a huge banner at the front that reads: Carpathian Brigade.
In the third group stage match, Hungary took on eventual champions Portugal, (who were yet to get their first win in the tournament), and after displaying an incredible desire for victory, the team managed a 3-3 draw. Zoltán Gera, Fulham’s cult-hero opened the scoring in the 17’th minute, with Balázs Dzsudzsák eventually finding his name on the scoresheet twice. Hungary topped their group, and football season was in full effect, as the streets of Budapest were brimming with red t-shirts, flags and banners, and fans took to the streets in masses. You had to pinch yourself, as a reminder, that this was not a dream, this was in fact, history being written right in front of your eyes.
All the elation and joy that the cherry reds’ performance in the group stages may have caused us, came all but crashing down in the Round of 16. Belgium, who, at the time many believed would end up as the eventual winners, moved past the Mighty Magyars with ease, with the scoreline being 4-0. Nevertheless, the team was given a heroes’ reception upon returning from the cup, with Heroes’ Square being filled with supporters of the red and whites. Throughout the tournament, the group really showcased to the whole of Europe just how passionately and fervently they are behind the team, with their never-ending support reverberating throughout the entirety of France. The group had really come a long way, from consisting of a mere dozen members, to practically ruling the stands of the country, it seemed like nobody was going to be able to stand in the way of the Carpathian Brigade.
After a forgettable 2018 World Cup qualification journey, which included a 1-0 loss against Andorra, the team headed into the Euro 2020 qualifiers with a new head coach, Marco Rossi. Rossi had won the national league with Honvéd the year prior to his appointment, thus breaking the over two decade-long title drought of the sleeping giants. Highlights of the qualification campaign include a 2-1 win over World Cup Silver medalists Croatia, and a 1-0 defeat of Wales. In the last round, Hungary had to beat Wales in Cardiff, in order to qualify without play-offs. This was never going to be an easy task, but the team’s underwhelming performance caught up with them, and Wales were through with an Aaron Ramsey brace. Bring on the play-offs again. Originally scheduled for an April date in 2020, Hungary’s opponents in the first round were fellow Eastern European side, Bulgaria. The winner would go on to play either Iceland or Romania, for a chance at the upcoming tournament. Due to Covid-restrictions, the match could not take place until November of the same year. Needless to say, the 5-month wait was both exhausting and nerve-wracking. Hungary cruised past Bulgaria without much difficulty, scoring three goals in Sofia, to which the home side could only respond with a late goal in the last minute.
Next up was a familiar foe, who we had played against in our previous Euro-campaign, Iceland. The game was held at the new Ferenc Puskás stadium, however, because of the raging virus, no fans could be present. This was a major blow for the nation’s loyal supporter group, Carpathian Brigade, who had been there for the team every step of the way, since their birth in 2009. The game did not start off well for us, and Iceland quickly took the lead just 11 minutes in, thanks to a flimsy move from our goalkeeper, Gulácsi. For all the one million Hungarians in front of the TV-screens, the most stressful 80 minutes of our lives awaited. Time was going by faster than it normally does, and when the clock hit the ’87 mark, the team was still losing. It seemed like the dream of two consecutive EURO appearances was in tatters, that was only something the big boys could achieve, and we would have to settle for sitting out yet another major tournament. But then, the unthinkable happened. Négo equalised for Hungary with two minutes to go. Two minutes later, a name that all of you have come to be familiar with by now, Dominik Szoboszlai found the back of the net, sending the entire nation into a frenzy. Within four years, the national team qualified for the same amount of EUROs, as they had done between 1964 and 2015. Incredible, but true.
What made the upcoming tournament different, however, was that it would be held on home soil, in the Ferenc Puskás stadium (or at least the national team’s matches), as this cup was hosted by 8 different cities, one of which had been chosen to be Budapest. Among the host nations, Hungary was the only one that allowed the games they were hosting, to be played in front of a sold-out crowd. It felt like what fate took away from us, namely, seeing our national team qualify for the tournament live, it gave it right back. The Hungarian national team would play EURO matches in the stadium named after the biggest Hungarian to have ever laced a pair of football boots. This was, without a doubt, the moment, that the Carpathian Brigade had been waiting for; their magnum opus.
Hungary were drawn into the group of death, with Portugal, France and Germany. The lucky ones who managed to get their hands on tickets, myself included, had the privilege of witnessing the Mighty Magyars take on Ronaldo, and Mbappe in Budapest. This created one hell of an atmosphere. You would be forgiven, for not giving the boys in red the slightest of chances, preceding the tournament. However, in spite of all the non-believers, and the doubters, the team put up an incredible fight, even without our talisman-player, Szoboszlai, who had to miss the tournament because of an unfortunate injury. The first game against Portugal featured the team being greeted by a giant tifo of Mathias Corvinus, holding a sceptre. Despite the lads’ holding off Cristiano’s band until the ‘84th minute, the game ended 0-3 to the Western visitors, two of which was a brace from CR7 himself. This meant that it was all to play for in our upcoming game, against France. Two years prior, we had managed to beat a World Cup finalist-side at home, so who was to say we could not do it again?
At the end of the first half, after an incredible solo run, Attila Fiola rolled the ball past Areola, to score his first ever goal for the national team. Talk about perfect timing. Having witnessed the goal first-hand, the roar of the crowd was insane. I could not believe it at the time, and sometimes to this day I have a hard time fathoming the fact that I saw what may very well be the only Hungarian EURO goal scored on home soil. I thought to myself, “no matter the outcome of this game, let alone the group stage, this can’t ever be taken away from us.”
France eventually equalised, and neither team could get the best of each other, the game ended 1-1. Our next destination was Munchen, Germany, to take on the Mannschaft. A win, however unlikely, could see the reds through to the knock-out stages. Ádám Szalai’s header gave Hungary the lead, and more importantly, gave him the privilege of becoming the first Hungarian player to score in consecutive EURO tournaments. The teams went to half-time with the 0-1 scoreline, and it seemed like an upset was brewing. Kai Havertz equalised for the home side in the ‘66th minute, but the Germans could not celebrate for long, as just two minutes later Hungary were in the lead again, with a goal from Schäfer. As the clock was ticking down, it seemed like that was it, despite all the odds being against us, we had done it. Group of death they said, yeah, right. But then, Goretzka’s goal with 6 minutes to go brought us all back down to earth. The 2-2 result meant that the journey was over for the cherry reds, but nobody can dispute that the team almost shocked the entire continent, once again. The Ferenc Puskás Stadium, brimming with red and white jerseyed fans during our first two group games, was something straight out of a dream, a sight that, none who bore witness to, will ever forget.
The 2022 World Cup qualification campaign did not offer such memorable moments, as the team yet again prolonged the country’s wait for an appearance at the biggest stage. Luckily, the complete opposite can be said about how the 2024 EURO-qualifiers went, as the team finished their group unbeaten, did the “double” over Serbia, and qualified without having to go through a play-off tie. Three consecutive EURO appearances, by now, it could not be denied that we were one of the big boys. Just a decade prior, the completion of this feat would have seemed not only outlandish, but downright impossible. But here we were. All that was left to do was following that up with a memorable EURO 2024 performance. The first game, against Switzerland did not exactly go to plan, as by the end of the first half, we had already conceded 2 goals. Although Barnabás Varga pulled one back shortly after the one-hour mark, a late goal from Embolo sealed the deal. In the next game, Hungary were taking on Germany, again. This time, no miracle goals were scored however, and the team lost 0-2, to a very dominant German side. This game featured the Carpathian Brigade’s biggest ever choreography, consisting of more than 10,000 hungarian flags, and a huge banner, with an excerpt from the hungarian national anthem written on it.
Losing both of our first two games, the knock-out stage dream was not only contingent on our result, but other teams’ as well. Going into the third game, both we, and our opponents, Scotland had to win in order to at least come close to making it out of the group. After a gruelling 100 minutes of football, which featured Barnabás Varga colliding with the Scottish goalkeeper in a petrifying injury, Kevin Csoboth scored his first international goal, giving Hungary their first victory in the EUROs since 2016.
The deed was now done, but unfortunately, our fate was not in our own hands, and since England failed to beat Slovenia, our performance was only enough for a 6th place finish among the third placed teams.
Although the team had to pack their bags early again, Csoboth’s goal will no doubt live on collectively in the memories of the red enthusiasts; A goal that is destined to be featured in innumerable last-minute goal compilations.
As for the Carpathian Brigade, over the past 15 years, they have transformed the atmosphere around the national team beyond recognition, have displayed a number of incredible choreographies, and have proven time and time again that they are here to stay. They have had to fend off accusations of being a politically extreme group, and have long fought against the tainting image of a far-right that the media have depicted them as. One thing is for sure, we do not know what direction Hungarian football is going to take in the wake of the EUROs, what we do know, is that the Carpathian Brigade will be here for it all.
