Zalaegerszegi TE

Zalaegerszeg
Zalaegerszeg logo
Full nameZalaegerszegi Torna Egylet Football Club
Nickname(s)Zete
Short nameZTE
Founded1920; 104 years ago (1920)
GroundZTE Arena
Capacity11,200
ChairmanGábor Végh
Head coachGábor Márton
LeagueNB I
2022–23NB I, 9th of 12
WebsiteClub website
Current season

Zalaegerszegi Torna Egylet Football Club ([ˈzɒlɒɛɡɛrsɛɡi ˈtornɒ ˈɛɟlɛt]), commonly known as Zalaegerszegi TE, Zalaegerszeg or ZTE, is a Hungarian professional football club based in Zalaegerszeg. Zalaegerszeg has won one Hungarian League title in 2002.

History

ZTE traces its roots back to 1912, at the time of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Its first match was a 4–2 defeat to a team from Vasvár. The team was first composed of members of a literary and debating society. ZTE flourished under coach József Vadász, but World War I halted its progress. In 1920, Zalaegerszegi TE, or "Gymanistics Club of Zalaegerszeg," was born. They were defeated in their debut match, losing 2–1 to AK Szombathely on August 21, 1920, but were motivated by a crowd of over 2,000 fans.

ZTE's league history began in 1924, when they joined the Hungarian second division. The club won the title a decade later and entered the top flight in 1934. However, the start of World War II under the regime of Admiral Miklós Horthy saw ZTE's field and equipment confiscated. After the war, in 1957, ZTE merged with two other local teams, signalling the rebirth of the club.

1990s

From then on to the 1990s, however, ZTE did not really challenge the Hungarian title much. The league was dominated by Budapest club Ferencvárosi TC. In 1994, ZTE managed to gain a solid foothold on the Hungarian first division.

2000s

Róbert Waltner scored 92 goals for Zalaegerszeg having become one of the most iconic and prolific figures of the club
Imre Gellei managing Zalaegerszeg between 1983 and 1986 and 2004–05

In the 2000s, the club reached their zenith by winning the Hungarian League for the first time in the club history. In the 2001–02 season, Zalaegrszeg finished second in the first stage of the championship gaining 61 points while Budapest rivals MTK Budapest FC 64 points. In the championship play-off Zalaegerszeg secured their first ever league title and finished on 71 points and Péter Bozsik's team overtook Budapest rivals Ferencváros and MTK Budapest along the way. Krisztián Kenesei and Gábor Egressy were the key figures of the title-winning team by scoring 37 goals. In the 2002–03 season, Zalaegerszeg finished in the bottom half of the table and competed in the relegation play-offs. In the following seasons, ZTE would consolidate in the lower half of the table, finishing in 9th, 6th and 11th place respectively.

In the 2002–03 UEFA Champions League qualifying phase Zalaegerszeg defeated Croatian champions NK Zagreb on away goals. The first match was played in Zalaegerszeg and the club won it by 1–0. The only goal was scored by Darko Ljubojević. In the second leg Zagreb was winning by 2–0 when in the 87th minute Zalaegerszeg was awarded a penalty which was scored by Flórián Urbán. ZTE beat Zagreb on away goals. In the third qualifying round Zalaegerszeg faced English giants Manchester United. In the first leg, ZTE provided a stunning shock by winning 1–0 with a last minute goal from Béla Koplárovics. However, in the return leg at Old Trafford, Man United won a convincing 5–0 victory. Ruud van Nistelrooy scored in the 5th minute and in the 75th minute then David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Ole Gunnar Solskjær scored. The English side progressed to the first group stage with a 5–1 aggregate victory. In the 2006–07 season after nine rounds Zalaegerszeg was on the top of the league table. At the end of the season the club finished third securing a place in the European competitions of the Intertoto Cup 2007. In the spring of 2009 János Csank was appointed as the coach of the club. The success coach has already won two Hungarian League titles. In 1994 with Vác and in 2001 with Ferencváros.

2010s

In the 2010–11 season Zalaegerszeg was competing for the Europa League position with Budapest rivals Ferencváros but ZTE finished fourth and could not secure a place for the qualifiers. In the 2011–12 season Zalaegerszeg started the season with five consecutive defeats which resulted the dismissal of János Csank. He was replaced by former Ferencváros coach László Prukner. The first half of the 2011–12 Hungarian League season was a nightmare for the club since they finished last gaining only 6 points without any victories. On April 21, 2012 Zalaegerszeg were relegated to the second division of the Hungarian League after the defeat against titleholders Videoton.

On 15 May 2014, former Zalaegerszeg player Gergely Kocsárdi was elected as director of the club. It was also announced that the company called Pharos '95 gained more than 50% of the shares of the club for about 16 million HUF.

By winning the 2018–19 Nemzeti Bajnokság II season, Zalaegerszeg were promoted to the 2019–20 Nemzeti Bajnokság I season. Zalaegerszeg could win 25 matches, drew seven times and lost only 6 matches in the season. The most prolific goal scorer of the season was Gergely Bobál by scoring 17 goals.

2020s

Before the 2020-21 Nemzeti Bajnokság I season it was rumoured that former PSV Eindhoven and Hungary national football team star Balázs Dzsudzsák would be signed by the club. However, Gábor Végh, the owner of the club, claimed that the club had not started any negotiations with Dzsudzsák.

In the 2021–22 Nemzeti Bajnokság I season, Zalaegerszeg finished 8th. One of the most spectacular victories of the season was when Zalaegerszeg beat Ferencváros 2-1 at the Groupama Aréna on 16 October 2021. However, on the negative side, Zalaegerszeg lost to Gyirmót 2-1 at home on 8 May 2022.

On 24 April 2023, Ricardo Moniz was sacked after losing to Debrecen. Moniz was replaced by Gábor Boér. The club also appointed István Sallói as the new sports director.

Zalaegerszeg at the Puskás Aréna

On 4 April Zalaegerszeg beat Puskás Akadémia 1-0 after extra time in the 2022–23 Magyar Kupa season and qualified for the Magyar Kupa final for the second time in the club's history.

On 3 May 2023, Zalaegerszeg beat Budafok in the 2023 Magyar Kupa final at the Puskás Aréna.

On 15 July 2023, Zalaegerszeg beat 1. FC Union Berlin 3-2 in a friendly match at home.

On 13 November 2023, Gábor Márton was appointed as the new coach of the club. Former Honvéd legend, István Pisont, was appointed as the assistant coach. In an interview with Nemzeti Sport, he said that he is optimistic, but he is not expecting an easy ride to keep the club in the first league. The debut ended with a 2-1 defeat against Debrecen on 25 November 2023.

Crest and colours

Former logo, used in the 1990s.

The colours of the club are blue and white.

Manufacturers and shirt sponsors

The following table shows in detail Zalaegerszegi TE kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors by year:

Period Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
−2002 adidas Zalahús
2002–2003 e·on
2003–2006 Joma
2006–2008 mass
2008–2010
2010–2012 St.Graal
2012–2013
2013–2017 Pharos '95 Kft.
2017–2019 Puma
2019– 2Rule

Stadiums and facilities

Zalaegerszeg play their matches in the ZTE Arena. The stadium is able to host 11200 people. Due to the increased attention Zalaegerszeg played their 2002–03 UEFA Champions League match against Manchester United at the Ferenc Puskás Stadium.

Arena Entry

Honours

Players

Current squad

As of 14 February 2024

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Hungary HUN Dávid Dombó
4 DF Croatia CRO Zoran Lesjak
5 DF Hungary HUN Bence Várkonyi (on loan from MTK Budapest)
6 MF Hungary HUN Gergely Mim (on loan from Puskás Akadémia)
7 DF Croatia CRO Josip Špoljarić
9 FW Hungary HUN Máté Sajbán
10 MF France FRA Yohan Croizet (on loan from Újpest)
11 MF Hungary HUN Norbert Szendrei
14 MF Hungary HUN Barnabás Kovács
18 MF Montenegro MNE Bojan Sanković
19 FW Croatia CRO Antonio Mance
21 DF Hungary HUN Dániel Csóka
23 MF Israel ISR Guy Hadida
26 DF Hungary HUN Péter Tullner
No. Pos. Nation Player
27 MF Hungary HUN Bence Bedi
29 FW Nigeria NGA Philip Baloteli
30 FW Hungary HUN Zsombor Gruber (on loan from Ferencváros)
32 DF Slovakia SVK Sinan Medgyes
33 DF Ukraine UKR Oleksandr Safronov
41 DF Greece GRE Stefanos Evangelou (on loan from Osijek)
49 MF Hungary HUN Bence Kiss
55 GK Hungary HUN Zsombor Senkó
70 FW Nigeria NGA Meshack Ubochioma
71 MF Hungary HUN Dominik Csóka
88 FW Hungary HUN Balázs Vogyicska
95 GK Hungary HUN Márton Gyurján
97 FW Hungary HUN Dániel Németh

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
GK Hungary HUN Ágoston Kiss (at Tiszakécske until 30 June 2024)
GK Hungary HUN Ervin Németh (at Slovenia Nafta 1903 until 30 June 2024)
DF Romania ROU Botond Gergely (at Romania Csíkszereda until 30 June 2024)
DF Hungary HUN András Huszti (at Újpest until 30 June 2024)
DF Hungary HUN László Papp (at Mosonmagyaróvári until 30 June 2024)
No. Pos. Nation Player
MF Hungary HUN Zsombor Boros (at Kazincbarcikai until 30 June 2024)
MF Hungary HUN Csongor Papp (at Vasas until 30 June 2024)
MF Hungary HUN István Soltész (at Budafok until 30 June 2024)
FW Hungary HUN Milán Klausz (at Szeged until 30 June 2024)
FW Hungary HUN Szabolcs Szalay (at Vasas until 30 June 2024)

Players with multiple nationalities

Non-playing staff

Head coach: Márton Gábor

Asszisztens edző: Szimodics Gergő

U-12 U17 coach: William Gallas

Seasons

European cup history

Season Competition Round Country Club Home Away Aggregate
1985 UEFA Intertoto Cup Group 7 Poland Górnik Zabrze 0–1 1–1
Group 7 Switzerland Young Boys 4–0 1–4
Group 7 Denmark Aarhus GF 1–0 4–4
2002–03 UEFA Champions League 2nd Qualifying Round Croatia Zagreb 1–0 1–2 2–2(a)
3rd Qualifying Round England Manchester United 1–0 0–5 1–5
2002–03 UEFA Cup 1st round Croatia Dinamo Zagreb 1–3 0–6 1–9
2007 UEFA Intertoto Cup 1st round Russia Rubin Kazan 0–3 0–2 0–5
2010–11 Europa League Q1 Albania Tirana 0–1 0–0 0–1
2023–24 Europa Conference League Q2 Croatia Osijek 1−2 0–1 1−3

European record

As of August 14, 2010
Competition App Pld Won Drn Lst GF GA
UEFA Champions League 1 4 2 0 2 3 7
UEFA Cup/Europa League 2 4 0 1 3 1 10
Intertoto Cup 1 2 0 0 2 0 5

Managers


This page was last updated at 2024-02-22 12:44 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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