Hungary’s head coach since the summer of 2015, Bernd Storck, has left his post with immediate effect after a roller-coaster two years in charge of the national football team, the website of the Hungarian Football Association (MLSZ) reported. Storck has also been sacked as director of football at MLSZ.
MLSZ lost faith with the team’s progress under Storck (left), says Hungarian football chief Sándor Csányi (right) – photo: Tibor Illyés – MTI
Bernd Storck’s assistant, fellow German coach Andreas Möller leaves with him but his other countrymen in the national-team set-up will remain in their positions. The MLSZ executive committee is now seeking a new coach with suitable international experience. Due to the lack of time involved, it is not inconceivable that a caretaker coach may be asked to take the reins Hungary’s next matches against Luxembourg on 10th November and against Costa Rica four days later.
MLSZ’s decision-makers met on Tuesday to discuss the situation and came to the conclusion with Bernd Storck that it was in the best interests of both parties to part ways. At the same meeting, the executive committee requested of President Sándor Csányi that they begin the search for a successor immediately. Csányi said that MLSZ lost faith with the team’s progress under Storck and the German coach agreed his time was up. “Firstly, I am grateful and honoured to have had a chance to work for a country with great traditions like Hungary. The board and I felt the same, I had to leave,’ Bernd Storck said commenting on his departure.
Storck was appointed sports director of MLSZ in March 2015 and national coach four months later. Under his guidance, Hungary’s national eleven qualified for the European Championships after a 44-year interval and made it to the round of 16 in the Euro 2016 tournament. In the recent World Cup qualifiers, however, it fared worse, finishing only third behind Portugal and Switzerland. During Storck’s term, the team won eight matches, drew seven and lost ten, including a humiliating defeat at the hands of Andorra.
DANKE!!!!!!!!
Posted by Szalai Ádám on Tuesday, 17 October 2017
Bernd Storck’s sacking has triggered mixed reactions in Hungary. While most of the fans are extremely frustrated with the recent poor performances by the national team – the players were even get booed against the Faeroe Islands – many others remember Storck as the main figure behind Hungary’s Euro 2016 success run. Star players such as Balázs Dzsudzsák and Ádám Szalai said ‘thank you’ to the German coach in social media. Even Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has expressed his gratitude for Storck’s contribution to the Hungarian football.
“Today it is more important for MLSZ to find a director of football with a strong vision for the future than to find a head coach for the nation team”, said renowned Transylvanian-born football coach László Bölöni in an interview with Hungarian sports daily Nemzeti Sport, adding that “the Hungarian football’s fate does not depend on the person of the head coach.” According to Bölöni, who is also known as the coach who introduced the young Cristiano Ronaldo into the Sporting Lisboa’s starting lineup, the Hungarian football “lacks humility”, therefore “we need to get back to the basics.”
via mlsz.hu, MTI and nso.hu