Zalaegerszegi TE


Zalaegerszegi Torna Egylet Football Club, commonly known as Zalaegerszegi TE, Zalaegerszeg or ZTE, is a Hungarian professional football club based in Zalaegerszeg. Zalaegerszeg has won one Hungarian League title in 2002 and one Magyar Kupa title in 2023.

History

ZTE traces its roots back to 1912, at the time of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Its first match was a 4–2 defeat to a team from Vasvár. The team was first composed of members of a literary and debating society. ZTE flourished under coach József Vadász, but World War I halted its progress. In 1920, Zalaegerszegi TE, or "Gymanistics Club of Zalaegerszeg," was born. They were defeated in their debut match, losing 2–1 to AK Szombathely on August 21, 1920, but were motivated by a crowd of over 2,000 fans.
ZTE's league history began in 1924, when they joined the Hungarian second division. The club won the title a decade later and entered the top flight in 1934. However, the start of World War II under the regime of Admiral Miklós Horthy saw ZTE's field and equipment confiscated. After the war, in 1957, ZTE merged with two other local teams, signalling the rebirth of the club.

1990s

From then on to the 1990s, however, ZTE did not really challenge the Hungarian title much. The league was dominated by Budapest club Ferencvárosi TC. In 1994, ZTE managed to gain a solid foothold on the Hungarian first division.

2000s

In the 2000s, the club reached their zenith by winning the Hungarian League for the first time in the club history. In the 2001–02 season, Zalaegrszeg finished second in the first stage of the championship gaining 61 points while Budapest rivals MTK Budapest FC 64 points. In the championship play-off Zalaegerszeg secured their first ever league title and finished on 71 points and Péter Bozsik's team overtook Budapest rivals Ferencváros and MTK Budapest along the way. Krisztián Kenesei and Gábor Egressy were the key figures of the title-winning team by scoring 37 goals. In the 2002–03 season, Zalaegerszeg finished in the bottom half of the table and competed in the relegation play-offs. In the following seasons, ZTE would consolidate in the lower half of the table, finishing in 9th, 6th and 11th place respectively.
In the 2002–03 UEFA Champions League qualifying phase Zalaegerszeg faced Croatian champions NK Zagreb. The first match was played in Zalaegerszeg and the club won it 1–0. The only goal was scored by Darko Ljubojević. In the second leg Zagreb was winning by 2–0 when in the 87th minute Zalaegerszeg was awarded a penalty which was converted by Flórián Urbán. ZTE beat Zagreb on away goals. In the third qualifying round Zalaegerszeg faced English giants Manchester United. In the first leg, ZTE provided a stunning shock by winning 1–0 with a last minute goal from Béla Koplárovics. However, in the return leg at Old Trafford, Man United secured a convincing 5–0 victory. Ruud van Nistelrooy scored in the 5th and 75th minute then David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Ole Gunnar Solskjær scored. The English side progressed to the first group stage with a 5–1 aggregate victory. They dropped down to the UEFA Cup where they were crushed 9-1 on aggregate in the first round by Dinamo Zagreb, with a 3-1 loss at home and 6-0 loss away.
In the 2006–07 season after nine rounds Zalaegerszeg was on the top of the league table. At the end of the season the club finished third securing a place in the European competitions of the Intertoto Cup 2007. In the spring of 2009 János Csank was appointed as the coach of the club. The success coach has already won two Hungarian League titles. In 1994 with Vác and in 2001 with Ferencváros.

2010s

In the 2010–11 season Zalaegerszeg was competing for the Europa League position with Budapest rivals Ferencváros but ZTE finished fourth and could not secure a place for the qualifiers. In the 2011–12 season Zalaegerszeg started the season with five consecutive defeats which resulted the dismissal of János Csank. He was replaced by former Ferencváros coach László Prukner. The first half of the 2011–12 Hungarian League season was a nightmare for the club since they finished last gaining only 6 points without any victories. On April 21, 2012, Zalaegerszeg were relegated to the second division of the Hungarian League after the defeat against titleholders Videoton.
On 15 May 2014, former Zalaegerszeg player Gergely Kocsárdi was elected as director of the club. It was also announced that the company called Pharos '95 gained more than 50% of the shares of the club for about 16 million HUF.
By winning the 2018–19 Nemzeti Bajnokság II season, Zalaegerszeg were promoted to the 2019–20 Nemzeti Bajnokság I season. Zalaegerszeg could win 25 matches, drew seven times and lost only 6 matches in the season. The most prolific goal scorer of the season was Gergely Bobál by scoring 17 goals.

2020s

Before the 2020-21 Nemzeti Bajnokság I season it was rumoured that former PSV Eindhoven and Hungary national football team star Balázs Dzsudzsák would be signed by the club. However, Gábor Végh, the owner of the club, claimed that the club had not started any negotiations with Dzsudzsák.
In the 2021–22 Nemzeti Bajnokság I season, Zalaegerszeg finished 8th. One of the most spectacular victories of the season was when Zalaegerszeg beat Ferencváros 2–1 at the Groupama Aréna on 16 October 2021. However, on the negative side, Zalaegerszeg lost to Gyirmót 2–1 at home on 8 May 2022.
On 24 April 2023, Ricardo Moniz was sacked after losing to Debrecen. Moniz was replaced by Gábor Boér. The club also appointed István Sallói as the new sports director.
Zalaegerzseg entered the 2022–23 Magyar Kupa season on 17 September 2022 in a 2–0 away victory against Kaposvári Rákóczi FC at the Rákóczi Stadion. On 19 October 2022, Zalaegerszeg beat Kazincbarcikai SC 2–0 at the Kolorcity Aréna in the round of 32 of the Magyar Kupa. On 8 February 2023, Zalaegerszeg beat Békéscsaba 1912 Előre 2–0 at the Kórház utcai Stadion in the round of 16 of the Magyar Kupa. Zalaegerszeg beat Mezőkövesdi SE 4–1 in the quarter finals of the Magyar Kupa at the Mezőkövesdi Városi Stadion on 28 February 2023. On 4 April Zalaegerszeg beat Puskás Akadémia 1–0 after extra time in the 2022–23 Magyar Kupa season and qualified for the Magyar Kupa final for the second time in the club's history. On 3 May 2023, Zalaegerszeg beat Budafok in the 2023 Magyar Kupa final at the Puskás Aréna.
On 15 July 2023, Zalaegerszeg beat 1. FC Union Berlin 3–2 in a friendly match at home.
Since Zalaegerszeg won the Magyar Kupa they were eligible to enter the second qualifying round of the 2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League season. On 27 July 2023, Zalaegerszeg lost 1–0 to NK Osijek at the Opus Arena. The only goal was scored by Ramón Miérez in the 91st minute. In the second tie, Osijek also beat Zalaegerszeg 2–1 at the ZTE Aréna on 3 August 2023. The only Hungarian goal was scored by Eduvie Ikoba in the 82nd minute.
On 13 November 2023, Gábor Márton was appointed as the new coach of the club. Former Honvéd legend, István Pisont, was appointed as the assistant coach. In an interview with Nemzeti Sport, he said that he is optimistic, but he is not expecting an easy ride to keep the club in the first league. The debut ended with a 2–1 defeat against Debrecen on 25 November 2023.
On 23 April 2025, Gábor Márton was sacked after losing to Paksi FC in the 2024–25 Magyar Kupa semi-final at the Fehérvári úti Stadion in Paks. Márton was replaced by István Mihalecz.
On 20 June 2025, the Andrés Jornet and Damián Pedrosa were appointed as the directors of the club. A couple of days later, Nuno Campos was appointed as the manager of the club.
On 19 July 2025, Zalaegerszeg played their last pre-season friendly match against the Premier League club Leicester City F.C.. The match ended with a 1-0 victory for the English side, thanks to Jordan Ayew's goal in the 70th minute.

Crest and colours

The colours of the club are blue and white.

Manufacturers and shirt sponsors

The following table shows in detail Zalaegerszegi TE kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors by year:
PeriodKit manufacturerShirt sponsor
−2002adidasZalahús
2002–2003adidase·on
2003–2006Jomae·on
2006–2008masse·on
2008–2010mass–
2010–2012massSt.Graal
2012–2013mass–
2013–2017massPharos '95 Kft.
2017–2019PumaPharos '95 Kft.
2019–2RulePharos '95 Kft.

Stadiums and facilities

Zalaegerszeg play their matches in the ZTE Arena. The stadium is able to host 11200 people. Due to the increased attention Zalaegerszeg played their 2002–03 UEFA Champions League match against Manchester United at the Ferenc Puskás Stadium.
Image:ZTE Arena Entry.JPG|thumb|right|200px|Arena Entry

Honours

League positions


ImageSize = width:1600 height:75
PlotArea = left:10 right:10 bottom:30 top:10
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy
DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy
Period = from:01/07/1970 till:01/07/2026
ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:2 start:1971
Colors =
id:First_tier value:green legend:First_tier
id:Second_tier value:yellow legend:Second_tier
id:Third_tier value:orange legend:Third_tier
id:Fourth_tier value:pink legend:Fourth_tier
id:Fifth_tier value:red legend:Fifth_tier
id:Does_not_exist value:black legend:Does_not_exist
PlotData=
bar:Position width:16 color:white align:center
from:01/07/1970 till:01/07/1971 shift: text:7
from:01/07/1971 till:01/07/1972 shift: text:2
from:01/07/1970 till:01/07/1972 color:yellow shift: text: "NB I/B*"
from:01/07/1972 till:01/07/1973 shift: text:6
from:01/07/1973 till:01/07/1974 shift: text:12
from:01/07/1974 till:01/07/1975 shift: text:7
from:01/07/1975 till:01/07/1976 shift: text:10
from:01/07/1976 till:01/07/1977 shift: text:11
from:01/07/1977 till:01/07/1978 shift: text:12
from:01/07/1978 till:01/07/1979 shift: text:10
from:01/07/1979 till:01/07/1980 shift: text:9
from:01/07/1980 till:01/07/1981 shift: text:13
from:01/07/1981 till:01/07/1982 shift: text:13
from:01/07/1982 till:01/07/1983 shift: text:11
from:01/07/1983 till:01/07/1984 shift: text:7
from:01/07/1984 till:01/07/1985 shift: text:4
from:01/07/1985 till:01/07/1986 shift: text:4
from:01/07/1986 till:01/07/1987 shift: text:11
from:01/07/1987 till:01/07/1988 shift: text:14
from:01/07/1988 till:01/07/1989 shift: text:15
from:01/07/1972 till:01/07/1989 color:green shift: text: "NB I"
from:01/07/1989 till:01/07/1990 shift: text:4
from:01/07/1990 till:01/07/1991 shift: text:2
from:01/07/1989 till:01/07/1991 color:yellow shift: text: "NB II"
from:01/07/1991 till:01/07/1992 shift: text:16
from:01/07/1991 till:01/07/1992 color:green shift: text: "NB I"
from:01/07/1992 till:01/07/1993 shift: text:6
from:01/07/1993 till:01/07/1994 shift: text:2
from:01/07/1992 till:01/07/1994 color:yellow shift: text: "NB II"
from:01/07/1994 till:01/07/1995 shift: text:8
from:01/07/1995 till:01/07/1996 shift: text:10
from:01/07/1996 till:01/07/1997 shift: text:13
from:01/07/1997 till:01/07/1998 shift: text:7
from:01/07/1998 till:01/07/1999 shift: text:7
from:01/07/1999 till:01/07/2000 shift: text:11
from:01/07/2000 till:01/07/2001 shift: text:10
from:01/07/2001 till:01/07/2002 shift: text:1
from:01/07/2002 till:01/07/2003 shift: text:7
from:01/07/2003 till:01/07/2004 shift: text:7
from:01/07/2004 till:01/07/2005 shift: text:6
from:01/07/2005 till:01/07/2006 shift: text:11
from:01/07/2006 till:01/07/2007 shift: text:3
from:01/07/2007 till:01/07/2008 shift: text:7
from:01/07/2008 till:01/07/2009 shift: text:4
from:01/07/2009 till:01/07/2010 shift: text:5
from:01/07/2010 till:01/07/2011 shift: text:4
from:01/07/2011 till:01/07/2012 shift: text:16
from:01/07/1994 till:01/07/2012 color:green shift: text: "NB I"
from:01/07/2012 till:01/07/2013 shift: text:4
from:01/07/2013 till:01/07/2014 shift: text:9
from:01/07/2014 till:01/07/2015 shift: text:8
from:01/07/2015 till:01/07/2016 shift: text:3
from:01/07/2016 till:01/07/2017 shift: text:7
from:01/07/2017 till:01/07/2018 shift: text:16
from:01/07/2018 till:01/07/2019 shift: text:1
from:01/07/2012 till:01/07/2019 color:yellow shift: text: "NB II"
from:01/07/2019 till:01/07/2020 shift: text:7
from:01/07/2020 till:01/07/2021 shift: text:9
from:01/07/2021 till:01/07/2022 shift: text:8
from:01/07/2022 till:01/07/2023 shift: text:9
from:01/07/2023 till:01/07/2024 shift: text:9
from:01/07/2024 till:01/07/2025 shift: text:10
from:01/07/2025 till:01/07/2026 shift: text:
from:01/07/2019 till:01/07/2026 color:green shift: text: "NB I"

  • Between 1970–71 and 1971–72 the second tier league called NB I/B.