Dr. György Mezey passes away

Former manager Dr. György Mezey passed away at the age of 84. He was the head coach of Videoton's first championship team, an honorary citizen of Székesfehérvár, and former manager of the Hungarian national team, leading Hungary in 35 matches and qualifying for the 1986 World Cup.

The Hungarian Football Association recalls that György Mezey was born on September 7, 1941, in Topolya, Vojvodina, less than six months after the Hungarian army recaptured the area during World War II. Led by his father, a postmaster, the family soon moved to Mezőberény and then to Rákoskeresztúr. However, he attended elementary school in Rákosliget, where his classmates included József Gregor, an opera singer and Kossuth Prize winner, after whom the school is now named. He began his career at Rákosligeti AC in 1954, then played for TFSE, Budafoki MTE, Keszthelyi Haladás, MTK (1968–1969), and finally Bp. Spartacus until 1971.

He began his coaching career at Bp. Spartacus while still a player. From 1971, he worked with the BVSC age-group teams with great success. One of his favorite players, whom he discovered, was András Törőcsik. In 1977, at the age of only 36, he made his debut at the helm of MTK-VM in the top flight, winning the bronze medal in the championship with a team of players all under the age of 30. This was MTK(-VM)'s best league finish since 1963. He managed the blue and whites until 1980, then became Kálmán Mészöly's assistant with the national team as an employee of the association. Between 1982 and 1984, he was responsible for the Olympic team. In 1982, he received master coach recognition at the age of only 41. In 1983, he took over the national team, which he elevated to one of the best teams in Europe. He successfully navigated the qualifiers for the World Cup in Mexico and won friendly matches against West Germany in Hamburg, Wales in Cardiff, and Brazil at the People's Stadium. At the end of 1985, no other national team coach was ahead of him in the World Soccer Coach of the Year poll in London..

After the World Cup in Mexico, he went abroad and worked in Kuwait for two years. He returned home in the summer of 1988 and was reappointed as national team coach, but after the match-fixing scandal broke, he resigned because he did not see any guarantee that he would be able to continue his professional work as he had envisaged. He worked in Finland, then in 1990, after the tragic death of Gábor Kaszás, he became the coach of Videoton for six months. Between 1990 and 1992, he managed Kispest-Honvéd, winning the league title in his first season. After leaving Kispest, he worked in Kuwait again for a short time, then, after a brief hiatus, he managed BVSC. Later, he managed Vasas (2000–2001) and, for a short time, Újpest (2003–2004).

Meanwhile, he led Hungarian coach training and regularly worked at major tournaments at the request of FIFA and UEFA as a valued member of the technical analysis team. He wrote and published specialist books.

He became our club's sporting director at the end of 2007, then took over as head coach in the summer of 2009. In his first year, our team finished second in the league, then under his leadership we won our first league title in the 2010/2011 season. We came close to winning the double, with our team being runners-up in the Hungarian Cup. He finished third in the HLSZ Coach of the Year vote in both 2010 and 2011. He was the oldest head coach ever to sit on our club's bench.

We will cherish his memory with respect. Rest in peace!

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