2012 June

Our team started preparing for the 2012/2013 season at the end of June and played three friendly matches already this month. Two confident victories (6-0 against NK Tisina, 2-1 against NK Mura) and one draw (1-1 against Arsenal Kyiv) showed that our players did a good job.

2012 July

We tuned up for the Super Cup final with a 2-2 draw against Partizan Belgrade at the Sóstói Stadion, against 2011/2012 champions Debrecen. It was a good indication of how much the fans are looking forward to the new season that 5,000 people turned out for the prestige match. Ádám Bódi's goal in the 2nd minute was equalised by István Kovács in the 72nd minute, and after the score remained 1-1 in normal time, the cup was decided by penalties (without extra time). In the penalty shoot-outs, Ádám Bódi made a mistake in the fourth kick and it was Caneira's turn to be the last penalty taker to end the contest. The experienced defender made no mistake and the Super Cup was ours. This match was the last before the Europa League series that started on 19th July, and we could not have prepared better for the away clash against Slovan Bratislava - but no one could have guessed then that there would be a very important 11-man duel at the Sóstói Stadium that summer..

On the road to Europe - first stop Bratislava

Slovan - Vidi kicked off in Bratislava in front of 6000 spectators, our fans almost filled the section allocated for them. The home side took the lead in the 26th minute through Sebo, but 3 minutes later Oliveira scored a fantastic goal into the top left corner to tie the score again. There were chances for both teams, but no goals were scored, leaving high hopes for the return match in Fehervar a week later.

On 26 July, 8000 fans were waiting for the teams in Sósto, and thanks to RBD, the whole stadium was covered in red, white and green before the starting whistle. In a fantastic atmosphere it was impossible to play badly, we didn't let Slovan get going and by the time they woke up there was very little left of the game, so after a 0-0 score, we went through on the away goal rule.

On the road to Europe - next stop Ghent

August started and ended with the Europa League, although we had no idea about the latter at the beginning of the month. As the draw had it, we played Gent in Belgium in the third qualifying round, the first match taking place at home. The 6,200 spectators were treated to another taste of what has become one of our team's trademarks, a highly organised defensive counter-attack and a ruthless approach to positional play. Gent were no match for us, and just when they might have accepted that they would return home from Székesfehérvár with a draw, Nikolic came on and we had the lead, which we held, and we could travel to Belgium a week later with a draw to take us through..

In Gent, the fans in blue and white watched in dismay as their team missed all the chances in the first 15 minutes, then Oliveira gave Vidi the lead, and in the second half a Nikolic double knocked out the Belgian side, who were previously considered the much better favourites. Of course, some 200 people accompanied our team here, and they had an unforgettable experience, and Vidi qualified for the play-offs!

On the road to Europe - Turkey is the gateway to Europe, and we have crossed it

The draw wasn't too kind, we had to go through Trabzonspor to reach the group stage, which didn't look like an easy task considering that the Turkish team's players were worth more than the entire Hungarian NB I. In Trabzon, the otherwise very friendly local fans agreed before the match that our team would lose by at least three goals, but in comparison, in front of 25,000 fanatical Turkish fans, we managed to come away with a score of 0-0 with a very disciplined game and gave ourselves the chance to challenge for a place in the group stage at the Sóstói Stadium.

30 August 2012 An unforgettable evening at the Sóstói Stadium

There were huge expectations leading up to the second leg, after the 0-0 draw in Turkey, everyone believed in Vidi and that the Fehevrar side would be able to do it twice in a row against Trabzonspor.

In beautiful summer evening weather, the second leg of the Europa League play-offs kicked off in front of a crowd that had not been seen for a very long time. Once again, thanks to RBD, we started the match with fantastic choreography.

It was a very similar start compared to a week ago, with the Turks having more possession and trying to find gaps in our defence, which they didn't really manage to do. But the first chance came to us, Sándor turned well towards goal on the left, but his shot was blocked by a foot. In the 17th minute Öztekin went wide on the left, but his cross was no good for anyone. Three minutes later it was our turn again, Brachi's free kick rebounded, Mitrovic had a chance to take aim and this shot was saved for a corner. In the 24th minute, the biggest chance of the game was missed, Brachi fired a free kick into the middle, Caneira poked the ball in and it missed the bottom right corner by inches. The next 10 minutes went by without much chance, and in the 34th minute Henrique's shot was saved with great save by Bozsovics. Towards the end of the half, the Turks turned on the heat, first Aydogdu Soner and then Alanzinho, neither of whom were dangerous. So the half ended in a draw, but the first 45 minutes were crowned by a 42nd minute celebration in which the whole stadium cheered Paulo Sousa, who celebrated his 42nd birthday on the day of the match.

There were no substitutions on either side at the break. The second half started with quick chances on both sides. First Caneira stepped up to meet Alanzinho's shot, then Walter Lee dribbled in from the right and fired a left-footed shot that went over. In the 52nd minute, Sándor was on the ball, everyone expected him to pass to Walter Lee on the right, but he dribbled inside and volleyed the ball at goal, Kivrak hit the ball into the corner. The corner kick was given to Oliveira in the middle, the goalkeeper came out well again, the ball was cleared and Balázs Tóth shot the ball wide of the goal. In the 59th minute, Öztekin went wide on the left, crossed flat to the centre, Bozsovics saved and a few seconds later Henrique headed wide in the biggest Turkish chance so far. A period without much chances followed. Altintop also came on for Trabzon and tried his best, but failed to create any serious chances. In the 84th minute, Bozsovic saved Henrique's close-range shot and Gyurcso was tackled at the other end at the last minute. Before the end of normal time, Gyurcsó was again in position, he received a great ball on the right and his low shot was deflected by Onur Kivrak.

We went to extra time, the first half of which brought no chances for either team, but in the second half we had several free kicks close to the Turkish goal, but the balls kept hitting the defensive wall. The extra time did not produce a goal either, so the teams had to decide the game by penalties to see who would qualify for the Europa League group stage.

Bozsovic was first on the line, with Sapara behind the ball and scoring the first try. For our part, Caneira came on and was also very confident, 1-1. Vittek and then Brachi also scored accurately, but in the third kicks Bozsovics caught Aydogdu Soner's shot, and Gyurcsó scored his own and we had the lead, 3-2. Moreover, in the fourth round Zokora also missed, the ball bounced off the post to Bozsovics, then up and finally back to our goalkeeper. Mitrovic arrived and shot the ball right into the bottom right corner, sending Vidi into the EL group stage.

The Sóstó Stadium exploded and nobody wanted to move for long minutes. The players went to the dressing room in a huge celebration, because Székesfehérvár had been waiting for such a success for almost 30 years. 

It was a wonderful evening for all the fans of Fehérvár! Ten years later, we can look forward to an equally wonderful evening at the MOL Arena in Sósto, but Vidi's players will have to perform even better than Trabzonspor against 1. FC Köln, a team even stronger than Trabzonspor in the Bundesliga..