Returning national football team hailed despite defeat
Wednesday, June 29th, 2016Pundits try to untangle why Hungarians rejoice after the national squad was crushed by Belgium on Sunday. READ MORE
Hungary beats Austria
Thursday, June 16th, 2016Hungary’s victory against the favourite in the first match the Hungarian side has played in an important international football championship for 44 years fills the cover pages of Wednesday’s dailies. Commentators ponder the political implications. READ MORE
EURO 16 battlefield
Tuesday, June 14th, 2016Commentators are baffled by the spectacle of violence surrounding the first days of the European Football Championship.
Hungary in Europe 2016
Monday, June 13th, 2016Hungarian pundits are overwhelmed by football fever, as Hungary makes it into the European Championships for the first time in 44 years. READ MORE
Controversies over investments in the PM’s birthplace
Monday, May 9th, 2016The poor performance this season of Puskás Akadémia FC is burdened with heavy political undertones. This prompts several Hungarian weeklies to add their pennyworth to the debate. READ MORE
New football stadium, PM whistled
Wednesday, August 13th, 2014A conservative writes that those who whistled during the Prime Minister’s speech at the opening ceremony of the new Ferencváros stadium can only make news for a few days, while the stadium is a long term investment. READ MORE
The PM’s son withdraws, tired of media attention
Saturday, July 19th, 2014The stepdaughter of a former Socialist Prime Minister lambasts journalists for “ruining a young man’s dream”, as the media buzzes with comments on the younger Orbán’s presence at his father’s side in the VIP box of the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, watching the World Cup final. READ MORE
Germany’s World Cup victory – the lessons
Wednesday, July 16th, 2014Political commentators think there is a lesson to be learnt from the way Germany goes about football. They agree in finding the German approach something more than just a game. It is also long term planning, tact, business and political marketing. READ MORE
Felcsút stadium under the microscope
Monday, April 28th, 2014The Prime Minister is mocked and criticised by left-liberal pundits for having a football stadium built in his native Felcsút. The project is also criticised by a moderate right-wing commentator. READ MORE
Football’s role in politics
Monday, October 21st, 2013A liberal writer describes Viktor Orbán’s interest in and support for Hungarian football as symbolic elements of a mafia-style leadership, while a libertarian commentator thinks the Premier sincerely believes that his favourite game is an essential part of nation-building which was destroyed by the Communists. A conservative columnist writes that liberal commentators try to discredit Orbán’s government with various references to history, instead of trying to understand its nature. READ MORE