This article is part of the Guardian’s Euro 2016 Experts’ Network, a cooperation between some of the best media organisations from the countries who have qualified for France. theguardian.com is running previews from three countries each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 10 June.
Gabor Kiraly looked into the camera and was trying to hold back the tears. It was 1998 and the then 22-year-old goalkeeper had just made his international debut in a win over Austria, saving a penalty with his first touch. “It was amazing that the supporters were chanting my name,” he said. “I have a feeling this is the beginning of us going upwards. We ask for patience but we are working on it.”
There were a couple of things he did not know back then. First, that it would take another 18 years for Hungary to qualify for a big tournament and second, that he would still be the first-choice goalkeeper. Kiraly is the only player from that game still active and is in line to become the oldest footballer to appear at a European Championship finals. This tournament may be a fitting end – though he has not indicated he wants to retire any time soon – to a long road that started in the western Hungarian city of Szombathely.
That is where Kiraly was born on April Fools’ Day 1976. His decision to become a footballer was not much of a surprise given his father was a striker for the local team, Haladas. Gabor began his professional career there, playing even when he was doing mandatory military service with the border guards.
Although his parents said he was not a problematic child, aged 19 he received a 10-match ban for throwing a ball at a referee after a defeat. That prompted him to work even harder and thanks to his talent and dedication, he immediately became the first choice again.
He did not last much longer at Haladas, however, as in 1997 Hertha Berlin came knocking. A few years later he led the German side to the Champions League second round, where he left a notable impression – especially against Milan at the San Siro. Soon some of the biggest clubs came after him, but he stayed in the German capital for seven years.
In 2004 Crystal Palace brought him to England. Loan spells at West Ham and Aston Villa followed, before he joined Burnley. After another period in Germany, with Bayer Leverkusen and 1860 Munich, came a season at Fulham and then, last year, a return home to Haladas.
“Fans came from Munich to Craven Cottage wearing grey jogging bottoms,” said Kiraly of his trademark attire. “My son was a goalkeeper for the under-11s at Fulham, José Mourinho’s son was also there playing in goal for the under-15s. We bumped into each other a couple of times and chatted as two parents. He is a really straightforward and nice guy.”
In more than two decades as a professional he has made some memorable saves and inevitably some mistakes. But it is the unusual moments – such as picking up a ball then doing a roly-poly, or looking left and throwing the ball to the right – that stand out.
One story regarding his time in Berlin is especially striking: the urban legend that he started an attack by deliberately bouncing the ball off the crossbar. Kiraly did it often in training with Hertha but the head coach told him he would be dropped if he tried it in a game.
Then came the last match of the Bundesliga season, against Hamburg. Hertha were guaranteed a third-place finish and the crowd was chanting “bounce the ball” after he had pretended to do it. When he claimed a cross the fans went quiet. The keeper flashed a cheeky smile in the bench’s direction but threw out the ball normally.
These antics may not be a part of his game any more but he is still wearing the jogging bottoms. Initially he wore black ones – he liked having tracksuit trousers on rough surfaces – until before one game Haladas did not have any clean pairs. So Kiraly put on grey ones, the team won, and they did not lose in the next eight games. Haladas stayed in the first division and the goalkeeper stuck with the colour. The original grey pair – used well over 100 times – is hanging in his wardrobe with plenty of tears and holes.
“Some of my clubs had to ask their manufacturer to make the grey bottoms for me because they did not have it in their collection but at 1860 Munich they were sold in the club shop as Kiraly’s jogging bottoms,” he said. “The most important thing is that they should be loose, preferably one size bigger.”
They are not his only lucky piece of clothing. Under his shirt Kiraly wears a black T-shirt with a tiger on it and a black basketball jersey with his lucky number, 13. He cleans his lucky clothes and if he flies he makes sure they are safe in his hand luggage. Not that there is a danger of Kiraly running short of jogging bottoms, given he recently launched his own line of the attire.
The superstitions do not end there. He has to be the first off the team bus and has to put on his left shin-pad first. Since 2000 he has listened to It’s My Life by Bon Jovi before every game. His car, a Mini, is spray painted with the band’s name.
He tells a brilliant story of meeting the singer, too. “The day before the last round of the 2012–2013 season Bon Jovi had a concert in Munich, but I couldn’t go. After the game our press officer told me instead of going to the mixed zone for interviews I should go back to the pitch in an hour, because Jon Bon Jovi will be there and I should not tell anyone. I was waiting for this for 20 years; I don’t think I was ever that nervous before.”
Kiraly says he has tried to change his habits but always felt uncomfortable and it seems the old ways worked for him through Hungary’s qualifiers. He played in 10 of the 12 games, including the play-off against Norway, and conceded three goals in his first seven matches before being beaten four times in the final – meaningless – group game, against Greece.
If further proof of his crucial role was needed, Uefa chose him as the outstanding performer of the play-offs. The return leg against Norway brought his 101st Hungary appearance, moving him level with Jozsef Bozsik, a member of the legendary golden team of the 1950s, as the most-capped player. He has since broken that record.
Minutes after Hungary had sealed a place at a European Championship for the first time in 44 years, Kiraly said: “I feel happiness and relief. Something ended tonight, but tomorrow is a new day. I want to send a message to my kids: tomorrow is school, we are going to get up early. I have a lot to do in the morning so from now on I’m concentrating on those things.”
Unlike 18 years ago against Austria he starts Euro 2016 as a seasoned veteran and armed with all his lucky clothing. In a recent interview he was asked what he would do if he forgot to bring any of them. The answer was quick and short: “That’s not going to happen.”
The secrets behind the other squad members
Adam Nagy
The well-spoken 20-year old midfielder is still living with his parents. He cried when his father was about to take him to his first training session but soon grew to love football. Aged 12 he was told he would probably not make it as a professional so considered giving up but was persuaded by two coaches to continue and four years later he went to the now defunct VSI academy in La Manga, Spain. The technical director, the former Derby and Leeds player Bobby Davison, rated him highly and after two years he ended up at Ferencvaros. Likely to be summer target for clubs across Europe.
Daniel Bode
As a youngster he collected bowling pins for pocket money in a pub to buy new football boots and played in different positions before becoming a striker at Ferencvaros. In one youth game he was even used in goal but after conceding three times in the first half he came out, scored once and then got sent off. The Hungarian league’s top scorer is a fan favourite because of his honesty, wit and memorable quotes. He once said of his ability: “I’m one of the best in the world if there is no ball and no opponent, but if they are on the pitch I’m not always successful.”
Attila Fiola
Decided against following in his father’s footsteps and becoming a fireman despite spending several nights with him at the station. He was not particularly keen on football either – until aged nine a close friend persuaded him to go to training and lent him boots four sizes too big. The friend died in a road accident before Fiola become an international. Prefers to operate at centre-half (if he plays as himself on a games console he puts himself there), but is Hungary’s first-choice right-back.
Zoltan Gera
He endured a rough childhood: from a young age he smoked, drank, dabbled with drugs and stole from his mother. He did not finish high school but then found religion, turned his life around and has become a role model. Although at 16 he was told he would never be a professional, the soft-spoken midfielder played more than 250 league games for West Bromwich Albion and Fulham before returning to Ferencvaros, where he has just won the league and cup double and been voted player of the season.
Adam Szalai
Gave a controversial press conference after Hungary’s 8-1 defeat by Holland in a World Cup qualifier in 2013 – despite not playing because of illness. Among his points were that fans were being fooled by unrealistic targets, that Hungarian club managers were backstabbing each other and that the country hadn’t produced a top talent for 20 years. Attila Pinter, then a manager with the club Gyor, criticised Szalai and when Pinter took over as Hungary’s coach a few months later Szalai said he would not play under him. Pinter was dismissed after Hungary lost to Northern Ireland in the first Euro 2016 qualifier and Szalai returned.
Mátyás Szeli writes for Nemzeti Sport.
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