Report: How Hungarian heritage helped shape Liverpool’s new identity

There was a telling moment in Budapest recently when Hungary faced Portugal in a crucial World Cup qualifier. The atmosphere was divided into two vibrant groups: the intimidating Carpathian Brigade, clad in black, and a more family-friendly sea of red shirts, many emblazoned with the name of Liverpool’s Dominik Szoboszlai. What struck observers most was not the 3-2 defeat, but the overwhelming affection for Hungary’s captain, who has become both his nation’s brightest hope and a key figure at Anfield.

Gregg Evans of The Athletic captured this duality superbly, noting how Szoboszlai is being celebrated at home and abroad. “At the recent Hungarian player association (HLSZ) awards night, Szoboszlai was named the best Hungarian playing abroad with his new Liverpool team-mate, Milos Kerkez, finishing as runner-up. Armin Pecsi, the 20-year-old goalkeeper who moved to Anfield from Hungarian top-flight club Puskas Akademia this summer, also won the best goalkeeper award.” For Hungary, this sudden presence in England’s most successful club is nothing short of a footballing revolution.

Szoboszlai is the obvious poster boy — captain of his country at 22, a £60 million signing in 2023, and a Premier League champion by 2024. His thunderous free-kick against Arsenal lit up Merseyside, but for Hungarian fans it meant even more: a symbol that their best could thrive at football’s highest level.

Joining him is Milos Kerkez, a left-back with enormous potential, and Armin Pecsi, a goalkeeper whose move from Puskas Akademia to Liverpool’s U21s has been framed as proof that Hungary’s youth production line might finally be delivering. Pecsi is viewed as a “perfect case study” for Viktor Orban’s state-backed football revolution, though it remains to be seen if he can climb into Liverpool’s first team.

As Evans details, Hungary’s Liverpool connection has fuelled a remarkable boom in fandom. In Budapest’s The Grund bar, some 500 people gathered to celebrate Szoboszlai’s free-kick against Arsenal, chanting his name as if the match were in the Puskas Arena itself. Supporters’ groups like the Red Lads talk of living through a dream. “People say you never forget your first time, and that’s absolutely true because the signing of ‘Szobo’ in 2023 was a major shock,” said Mate Toth. “Now we have Kerkez and Pecsi… it’s a proud time to be a Hungarian Red.”

To understand why this moment matters, you need only look at history. “The first Hungarian to represent a Premier League club was Istvan Kozma, a midfielder signed by Liverpool manager Graeme Souness in 1992.” As Evans reminds us, Kozma never made the grade and was back home within two seasons.

There were other flickers — Zoltan Gera’s cult status at West Brom, Adam Bogdan’s spells as a dependable goalkeeper, Krisztian Nemeth’s promise before injuries struck. Yet, on the whole, Hungarians have been peripheral figures in England. This is a country that once produced Ferenc Puskas and Sándor Kocsis, yet in the Premier League era its contribution has been sporadic and underwhelming.

That is what makes Liverpool’s current trio so significant. It is not just about individuals; it feels like a collective breakthrough, an overdue connection between Hungary’s football culture and England’s top flight.

Of course, no discussion about Hungarian football can ignore politics. Orban’s government has poured billions into infrastructure, most visibly the Pancho Arena in Felcsut, a stadium of 4,000 built in a village of 2,000. New rules now encourage top-flight sides to field Hungarian players, yet ironically, Szoboszlai and Kerkez bypassed this system, honing their craft in Austria, Germany, and Serbia.

This tension raises a question: is Hungary’s football progress the result of Orban’s investments, or despite them? For Liverpool, the answer hardly matters. What matters is that their scouting network identified the right players at the right time. Kerkez was brought in thanks to Richard Hughes’ previous admiration at Bournemouth, while Pecsi’s arrival shows how deeply Liverpool track emerging talents.

If even one of these signings blossoms fully, Hungary’s bond with Anfield could become a template for how smaller football nations integrate into the Premier League era.

Above all, Szoboszlai stands at the centre of this story. A player as comfortable thundering a 25-yard strike as he is filling in at right-back, he embodies Liverpool’s new flexibility under Arne Slot. Marco Rossi, Hungary’s manager, insists he will only use him as a midfielder, but his adaptability is a mark of his footballing intelligence.

Gregg Evans relays the words of Szoboszlai’s father, Zsolt: “Leadership has always been part of his personality… The ability to deal with pressure is one of the reasons why he became captain.” That leadership is now visible every week in the Premier League, whether through decisive goals or the sheer intensity of his pressing.

For Hungarian football, this moment feels historic. For Liverpool, it feels like another smart evolution. As one Hungarian supporter put it: “We used to pray for times like this.” Those prayers have been answered.