The Nemzeti Bajnokság (Hungarian pronunciation:[ˈnɛmzɛtiˈbɒjnokʃaːɡ], lit.'national championship'), also known as NB I, is the top flight of Hungarian football league system. The league is officially named OTP Bank Liga after its title sponsor, OTP Bank.[1]
Twelve teams compete in the league, playing each other three times, once at home, once away, and the third match is played at the stadium that the last match was not played at. At the end of the season, the top team enters the qualification rounds for the UEFA Champions League, while the runner-up and the third place, together with the winner of the Magyar Kupa enter the UEFA Europa Conference League qualification rounds. The bottom two clubs are relegated to Nemzeti Bajnokság II, the second-level league, to be replaced by the winner and the runner up of the NB2.
History
The trophy of the Nemzeti Bajnokság
The first championship in 1901 was contested by BTC, MUE, FTC, Műegyetemi AFC, and Budapesti SC, with the latter winning the championship.[2] Although the two first championships were won by Budapesti TC, the other titles that decade were won by FTC and MTK, with the latter doing so undefeated in 1906 and 1908.[3]
In the 1910s and 1920s, the championship was dominated by Ferencváros and MTK.[4][5]
The green and whites won 7 leaguetitles between 1905 and 1913, while MTK won 9 consecutive national championships, a recording standing to this day.
In 1929 MTK claimed their 13th leaguetitle, expanding the gap between their trophy cabinet and that of Ferencváros. With 13 championships at the time, MTK were the record champions.
In the 1930s, the rivalry between Ferencváros and MTK Budapest expanded with another club, Újpest FC (at that time not part of Budapest).[6]
Újpest became the first club to break the duopoly of Ferencváros and MTK in the league in 26 years, as they won the 1930 Hungarian 1st Division, for the first time in the club's history. Újpest would defend their title the following season, eventually closing out the decade with 5 titles.
In 1932 Ferencváros won the league with a 100% win rate, winning all 20 of their games.
One of the most iconic figures of the 1930s Hungarian football was Újpest's Zsengellér who managed to top goalscorer three times in a row in the 1930s.[7] Ferencváros's Sárosi[8] and MTK Budapest's Cseh[9] and Újpest's Zsengellér were the embodiment of the rivalry of the three clubs from Budapest, named Budapest derby.[10]
In 1941 Ferencváros won their 16th national championship, to overtake MTK as the record champions.
In the 1940s, Csepel could win its first title which was followed by two other titles in 1942 and 1943.[11] During the World War II, there were no interruptions in the Hungarian league. Due to the expansion of the territories of the country, new clubs, from the new cities Hungary had, could re-join the league such as Nagyvárad[12] and Kolozsvár, which are both nowadays in Romania.[13] The second half of the 1940s was dominated by Újpest by winning the championship in 1945, 1946, and 1947.[14] The 1940s also saw Nagyvárad winning the league, marking the only time the Hungarian league was won by a team that nowadays is not from a city located in Hungary (Nagyvárad, also known as Oradea is nowadays located in Romania.).
In the 1950s, the dominance of Ferencváros and MTK were weakened by the emergence of Honvéd with players such as Puskás,[15]Bozsik,[16]Czibor,[17] and Budai.[18] Later these players played in the final of the 1954 FIFA World Cup. In the 1950s, Honvéd managed to win the championship five times. During the early 1950s, Honvéd players formed the backbone of the legendary Mighty Magyars. In 1956, the Hungarian league was suspended due to the Hungarian Revolution. The league was led by Honvéd after 21 rounds but the championship was never been finished.[19]
In 1957 Vasas won their first ever national title.
In 1963 Győr became the first non-Budapest club of the post-war era to win the national championship. The western hungarian side were champions due to their superior goal difference, as they finished equal on points with both Ferencváros and Honvéd.
During the 1966 season Vasas laid claim to the championship undefeated, becoming the first team since FTC 34 years prior to do so. [20]
In 1967 Ferencváros became the first club to win 20 national championships, as the 9th districtian side finished 8 points above arch-rivals Újpest.
Újpest dominated the 1970s under former legendary headcoach of the national team, Lajos Baróti , winning seven consecutive titles, between 1969 and 1975. Under the guidance of Péter Várhidi, Újpest won the 1978 season, and successfully defended their championship in 1979, closing out the decade with 9 leaguetitles overall.[21]
In 1982, Győr won the championship becoming the first non-Budapest team who could win the Hungarian league numerous times. Győr managed to add another title to their tally, as they went on to repeat the triumph in the following year in 1983. However, the 1980s was dominated by Honvéd who celebrated its second heyday during the 1980s. In 1980 Honvéd ended their 25-year wait for a leaguetitle under headcoach, and former player legend, Lajos Tichy. Between 1984 and 1986, the side from the 19th district completed a three-peat under coach István Komora, also winning the 1988 and 1989 editions of the tournament under Bertalan Bicskei and József Both, respectively. [22]
In 1987 MTK won their first league-title in 29 years, the longest championship-drought in the club's history.
Due to the collapse of communism, Hungarian football clubs lost the support of the state. Therefore, many clubs were faced with financial problems the effects of which are still present in Hungarian football. However, the 1990s were still dominated by the 'traditional' clubs of the championships such as Ferencváros, MTK and Újpest. Ferencváros finished in the top three for every season of the decade, except for the 1993–94 season, when they finished 4th. The green and whites added 3 championships to their tally throughout the '90's decade.
In 1994 Vác FC won their first and only leaguetitle in club history, finishing 3 points clear off of Honvéd under coach János Csank.
MTK suffered their first ever relegation in 1994, after finishing 16th during the 1993/94 season, however, the white and blues quickly bounced back, and won their 20th national championship in 1997, and their 21st in 1999. During both seasons, MTK achieved the first and second highest ever point tallies (87 and 85, respectively) in the history of the Hungarian League.
Újpest started off the 1990's decade by winning the league under headcoach Péter Várhidi, after a dramatic titlerace against MTK, which saw both clubs finish on equal points on the last day of the season. The club from the North of Pest saw little success in the ensuing 4 years, finishing as low as 14th in 1993, narrowly avoiding relegation. Off of the back of a bronze-medal, and two runner-up finishes, in 1998 Újpest won their 20th national championship, defeating Budapest Honvéd 2-0 on the last day of the season.
The financial problems affected the performance of the clubs outside the Hungarian League as well. Hungarian clubs could not compete with their European counterparts. Moreover, the Bosman ruling also had a deep impact on the Hungarian League. Since big European clubs could invest loads of money into football, clubs from the Eastern Bloc were restricted to employing only home nationals.[23]
In the 2000s, new clubs became champions, mainly from rural Hungary. In 2002, Bozsik's Zalaegerszeg won the championship for the first time in the club's history.
[24][25]
Debreceni VSC, a team that spent over 5 decades in the 2nd division, and had never won a national championship prior to the 21st century, remarkably won the Hungarian league in 2005,[26]2006,[27][28]2007,[29][30]2009,[31] and 2010, becoming the first non-Budapest dynasty in the history of the league . In 2009 they also qualified for the Champions League. [32].
In 2008 MTK managed to win their 23rd leaguetitle with headcoach József Garami .[33]
The dominance of the rural clubs continued in the 2010s. In 2011[34] and 2015,[35]Székesfehérvár's Videoton won the championship for the first time in the club's history. In 2012Debreceni VSC won the league under Elemér Kondás undefeated, while spending every single gameweek atop the table.
In 2013,[36]Győr won their fourth championship overall, and their first one since 1983, under Attila Pintér.
In 2014,[37] Debreceni VSC won their seventh Hungarian League title.
In 2016 Ferencváros claimed their first league trophy in 12 years, winning the league with 6 games left.
In 2017 it was another team from the capital, Budapest-Honvéd, who ended an over decade-long title-drought, as they snatched the trophy on the last day of the season from Videoton, defeating the Fejér-county side 1-0.
The following year Videoton won their third leaguetitle, ironically confirming their championship after beating defending champions Honvéd 2-0 on the 27th of May, 2018.
In 2019 Ferencváros won their 30th national title, finishing 13 points ahead of Mol Vidi FC. The green and whites have won every single leaguetitle ever since, being champions throughout six successive seasons, a club record.
Current clubs
As of the 2024–25 season, there are twelve clubs in the division, who play each other three times for a total of 33 games each. The bottom two clubs are relegated.[38]
1914–15: Cancelled due to war but from 1916 to 1918–19 war championships operated and are recognized by the FA.
1926: The professional league was introduced with 10 participants also from other cities than Budapest, like Szombathely, Szeged etc.
1935: The first national championship was held. (Nemzeti Bajnokság, NB) 14 teams.
1940: Hungária (MTK) was banned by the fascist government. During the war, teams from the neighboring countries participated, since the territories were adjoined to Hungary, which is how Nagyvarad became champions that year.[citation needed]
One of the most notable players of the Hungarian League was Ferenc Puskás who played for Honvéd. He played for Honvéd from 1943 to 1955 and then for Real Madrid. He made his first senior appearance for Kispest in November 1943 in a match against Nagyváradi AC.[42]
The following data indicates Hungarian coefficient rankings between European football leagues.[43]
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
The record for highest average home attendance for a club was set by Budapest Kinizsi in 1955 (49,077 over 13 home matches). 27 March 1955 saw the record for highest attendance at a match, with 100,500 in the game between Honvéd and Budapest Kinizsi at Ferenc Puskás Stadium. The highest ever average attendance for NB I as a whole was set in 1955 with 17,151.[47]
In the 2019–20 season 198 games were played, but only 160 were played without COVID-19 limitations.
554,741 tickets were sold for 160 games without crowd limitations – season's average 3,467 per game.
599,676 tickets were sold for all 198 games – season's average 3,029 per game, not including 8 games behind close doors, 190 games – season's average 3,156 per game.
^Glanville, Brian (17 November 2006). "Obituary: Ferenc Puskas". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 8 April 2008. Retrieved 27 November 2006.
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