Nyíregyháza Spartacus FC

Nyíregyháza Spartacus

Full name	Nyíregyháza Spartacus Football Club
Nickname(s)	Szpari
Founded	1959
Ground	Városi Stadion, Nyíregyháza (Capacity: 13,501)
Manager	János Brekk
League	Nemzeti Bajnokság II
2010-11	3rd
Home colours Away colours
Current season

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.

History

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.

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.

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.

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.

2007–2008

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

2008–2009

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

Colours and Badge

Stadium

Main article: Városi Stadion (Nyíregyháza)

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.

Current squad

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

No. Position Player 1 GK Drasko Vojinovic 5 DF Dávid Radványi 6 DF Márk Mészáros 7 MF László Miskolczi 8 FW Ovidiu-Nicolae Popa 9 FW Dejan Vukadinovic 10 MF Milan Davidov 11 FW Bertalan Haburcsák 13 DF Márton Farkas 15 MF Donát Reznek 17 FW Gergő Ráti

No. Position Player 18 MF Kristóf Murányi 19 MF Máté Orosz 20 FW Ádám Kovács 22 MF Ionut Suci 23 DF Balázs Nánasi 25 MF István Makai 26 GK László Gendúr 40 FW Eugène Salami 66 GK Tibor Sánta 92 MF Márton Borsi

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.

Year	MP	W	D	L	GF-GA	Dif.	Pts	Result
2007–2008	30	11	7	12	34–37	−3	40	10th
2004–2005	30	5	11	14	38–63	−25	26	15th: Relegated to NB II.
2000–2001*	14	3	0	11	10–24	−14	9	8th (Group A): Relegated
1999–2000	32	12	8	12	32–42	−10	44	9th
1998–1999	34	10	9	15	46–52	−6	39	13th
1983–1984	30	7	8	15	28–47	−19	22	15th: Relegated
1982–1983	30	9	8	13	29–37	−8	26	10th
1981–1982	34	8	12	14	35–51	−16	28	15th
1980–1981	34	11	16	7	30–25	+5	38	7th
TOTALS	268	76	79	113	282–378	-96	272

* 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.

Honours

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

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)

External links

• Official Website of the Club