Nyíregyháza Spartacus

Full name	Nyíregyháza Spartacus Football Club
Nickname(s)	Szpari
Founded	1959
Ground	Városi Stadion, Nyíregyháza (Capacity: 13,501)
Manager	Lázár Szentes
League	Soproni Liga
2008-09	13th
Home colours Away colours

Nyíregyháza Spartacus is a football club from Nyíregyháza, Hungary. Formed in 1959, they've had brief stints in the NB I., though they currently play in the second division, NB II. The team is locally referred to by their nickname, Szpari. They play in Városi Stadion, in the city sport complex just north of the downtown.

[edit] History

[edit] 1960s

The team was founded in 1959 by the fusion of the clubs Spartacus and Építők. In the early 1960s the team entered the second division of Hungarian football and then the now non-existent NB I./B, a sub-division of the first division. These were the years of the so-called "golden team" featuring players such Bakos, Pilcsuk, Kovacsis, Páll Cini, Papp Szuszka, Szokol, Kaskötő, Ignéczi, Nagy Zoli, Harcsa, Groholy, and Csemiczky. The team, however, fell from the NB I./B in 1968, ending the golden age.

[edit] 1980s

In 1980 the team finally ascended to the NB I. Their first match in the first division was played against Diósgyőri VTK, soon-to-be rivals from nearby Miskolc. The first goal was scored by Kozma "Kicsi" and Szpari won the match 2-0. The team finished the season in 7th place. However, the team was never able to improve from that season and they were relegated at the end of the 1983-1984 season.

[edit] 1998-2005

The team finally returned to the NB I. in 1998-1999 and ended that season in 13th place. They finished 9th in 1999-2000, but the league shrank in the 2000-2001 season, ultimately only allowing 12 teams to compete and Szpari again exited the first division.

In the 2004-2005 season the league expanded to again allow 16 teams and Nyíregyháza again found themselves in the first division. Though there were a few highlights including a masterful win over a declining Ferencváros to a home crowd in the second half of the season, the team ended in 15th place and were relegated yet again to NB II.

[edit] NB II Championship

The team had an unsuccessful first campaign upon returning to the NB II, finishing in sixth place overall at the end of the 2005-2006 season. Next season they made a stronger case for themselves, spending most of the season challenging Ferencváros at the top of the NB II table. On the occasions they faced each other the perennial Hungarian league favorites could only draw, 0-0 in Nyíregyháza and 1-1 to a crowd of over 13,000 in Budapest. With two matches left in the season the two teams were tied in the standings, but Nyíregyháza ended triumphant, winning the 2006-2007 NB II Eastern division outright.

[edit] 2007-2008

The team transitioned fairly well to the NB I. and finished in tenth place.

[edit] 2008-2009

The team finished in 13th place with a great autumn(5th place) and a bum spring.

[edit] Colours and Badge

[edit] Stadium

[edit] Supporters

The team has several fan groups. The Keleti Front (Eastern Front) began in 1992, The Mastiffs began in 1995, and most recently Elit began in 2007.

[edit] Current squad

No. Position Player 1 GK Drasko Vojinovic 3 DF Claudiu Cornaci 4 DF Balázs Nánási 5 MF Attila Zabos 7 MF István Lakatos 8 MF Zsolt Müller 9 MF Dávid Pákolicz (on loan from Győr) 12 MF László Miskolczi 14 DF Árpád Ambrusz 16 MF Bence Bakos 18 MF Mboussi Yves Simplice 19 MF Zoltán Böőr 20 MF Tibor Minczér 24 DF Szabolcs Perenyi 26 DF Dávid Oláh

No. Position Player 28 FW Sindou Dosso 29 DF Cosmin Goia 37 DF Krisztián Varga 39 FW Márton Farkas 40 MF János Markos 41 MF Roland Matejkó 42 DF József Csáki 45 FW Kazuo Homma 66 GK Tibor Sánta 83 GK Zsolt Dénes 88 MF Ádám Fekete 90 GK Ferenc Gazsi 92 FW Balázs Pócsi Batizi 99 FW Péter Andorka

[edit] Out on loan

No. Position Player 25 DF Norbert Szilágyi (at Bőcs KSC)

[edit] Out on loan

• László Lakatos to Kemecse SE
• Norbert Tóth to Baktalórántháza VSE
• Gergely Simon to Nagyecsed RSE

[edit] NB I. Results

The team has seen limited success in Hungary's top league, finishing only one season with more goals counting for them than against them. The highest they've ever finished is 7th place and they've been relegated to lower divisions three times.

* The 2000-2001 featured a new format involving 2 groups of 8 who played each other twice for 14 games. The top 6 teams in each group went on to form a new group of 12, whereas the bottom 4 teams were relegated.

[edit] Honours

• Hungarian NB II, Eastern Division Champions: 2006-2007

[edit] Notable former players

• Miklós Kiss, holds team record for goals scored (19)
• Károly Czeczeli, 2nd most goals scored (17)
• Miklós Moldván, holds team record for matches played (122)
• Krisztián Timár

[edit] External links

• Official Website of the Club