Sunday 19 June 2016 20:04, UK
Hungary marked their long-awaited return to major tournament action with a shock win over much-fancied Austria in Bordeaux on Tuesday. Adam Bate was there to witness a cathartic moment in Hungarian football history...
Worth the wait? Perhaps not quite. But after a 30-year tournament absence, Hungary's 2-0 win over old rivals Austria was certainly a cause for wild celebrations - not least because it was so unexpected. Their coach Bernd Storck even said on the eve of the game that a win would be "a miracle", and there were elements of this triumph that seemed to suggest as much.
Firstly, there was the sight of David Alaba being denied the fastest-ever European Championship goal by the width of a post. Then came the rather more unlikely spectacle of an Adam Szalai strike, the forward stabbing home after a skilful exchange with Laszlo Kleinheisler to score his first goal for either club or country since 2014.
So much for dark horses Austria. This wasn't supposed to happen. But even the most pessimistic Hungary fans, weighed down by decades of disappointment, had to believe when Zoltan Stieber doubled the lead late on. By that point, Austria had been reduced to 10 men following Aleksandar Dragovic's sending off and the party could soon start in earnest.
Stieber was among the Hungary players who hurdled barriers to celebrate with supporters upon full time. The whole team stuck around to drink in the crowd's chants. "Everyone was dreaming of a match like this," said Stieber. "We are so happy." The gravity of the moment was not lost on his manager either, with Storck quick to put the win in its historical context.
Once again we can see in football that anything is possible. When you all believe in something, you can achieve it. It's a historic victory.
"We have not played them for 44 years and now we beat them in the first match of a tournament like this," he said. "We saw the reaction of the supporters, it's a dream come true and we really hoped for it. Once again, we can see in football that anything is possible. When you all believe in something, you can achieve it. It's a historic victory."
If that feels like an overstatement, consider the context. Hungary's only previous win at a European Championships had come in 1964 in a third-place play-off against Denmark. A decade ago, a qualifier was lost to Malta, still the island's only win in the competition in the past 34 years. The magnificence of those 1950s Magyars had become a lament.
If Uruguay defines itself by football triumphs, what of a country still haunted by defeat in the 1954 World Cup final? Hungary were on the wrong end of a miracle that day - the Miracle of Bern. "It's as though Hungarian football is frozen at that moment," former striker Tibor Nyilasi told Jonathan Wilson in his book Beyond the Curtain. "As though we've never quite moved on."
Taking in the sea of Hungary supporters assembled on the route to the stadium on Tuesday, it seems the point still stands. Ferenc Puskas shirts peppered the crowd, making for an uneasy juxtaposition alongside the names of current players. Now it's lower-division players carrying the nation's hopes and 37-year-old Zoltan Gera wearing Hungary's No 10 jersey.
As a result, it's easy to understand why excitement at being at this tournament wasn't necessarily matched by excitement in the team. Hungary had, after all, finished third in their group behind Northern Ireland and Romania. Storck has no Bayern Munich star to call upon. "If you look at the teams these Austrians play for, it's clear who was the favourite," he said.
But while opposite number Marcel Koller was left to bemoan the inexplicable "nervousness" of Alaba and the rest, Storck was able to revel in the sight of his team "playing out of their skin" on the big occasion. For one night, he could even claim that 40-year-old Gabor Kiraly remains "one of the best goalkeepers in the world" without fear of contradiction.
In Kleinheisler, the 22-year-old red-head nicknamed 'Scholes' for obvious reasons, Hungary also boasted the game's outstanding player. But even his tale emphasises the achievement. A bit-part player at Werder Bremen, he admitted that the press conference for his man of the match award was his first. "I'm very happy to be invited," he announced cheerfully.
Happy to be invited. Until Tuesday, that summed up Hungary's attitude to this Euros party. Now they don't want to go home. "Maybe we'll be able to win the second game too?" wondered Krisztian Nemeth. His coach daren't look past that Iceland game. "We'll just take it step by step," Storck added. "If it continues like this, I'll be very happy." He won't be alone.
