Our age-group team finished first at the 16-team Jozef Kopejtka Memorial Tournament. Alongside us, Újpest represented Hungary, and in addition to the purple-and-whites we were able to test ourselves against Polish and Slovak youth sides. Our U13 team, led by Richárd Takács, finished the league phase with three wins and one defeat, then earned a place in the next round by beating Poland's Zaglebie Sosnowiec in the round of 16. A two-goal victory over Újpest secured a place in the last four, where we faced Slovakia's Vyber VSFZ. Although our opponents took an early lead in the semi-final, our academy players responded well and turned the match around. In the final, our U13s faced Spartak Trnava and, although the Slovak side managed to equalise twice, our disciplined performance brought a 3–2 victory, allowing our players to lift the trophy after the final whistle. Our head coach stressed that outstanding individual performances contributed greatly to the success, but the real strength came from the unity of the team: our players formed a close-knit group both on and off the pitch.
Richárd Takács, head coach:
“We spent three experience-filled days in Košice, where we played Polish, Slovak and Hungarian teams in an international tournament. During the group matches we mostly faced strong opponents, which we viewed positively because that is what makes this kind of tournament truly valuable. We also played Spartak Trnava in this phase; they later became our opponents again in the final, but in the first meeting they came out on top in a high-intensity, evenly matched game. In the rest of the tournament, however, we left the pitch as winners after every match, thanks to the fact that we increasingly found the rhythm that is essential in a competition like this. The players showed outstanding mental strength throughout, something that was particularly evident in the semi-final when we fell behind as early as the second minute but were able to respond immediately. The same characterised the final, where we led 1–0 and then 2–1, but the opponents equalised on both occasions. Even so, we never collapsed; each time we shifted up another gear, and in the end that brought its reward. It is important to stress that although the team produced a number of excellent individual performances, the key to the final success was clearly the fact that we formed an exceptionally united group both on and off the pitch. I would also like to highlight the support of the parents, who stood by the team throughout: when needed, they bought sandwiches for us, washed the kits or cheered the children from the touchline. We thank them for their help!”
Our U13 team's results:
League phase
Honvéd–Górnik Zabrze (POL) 1–0
Honvéd–FC Spartak Trnava (SVK) 0–1
Honvéd–FK Podbrezová (SVK) 5–0
Honvéd–FC Petrzalka (SVK) 1–0
Round of 16
Honvéd–Zaglebie Sosnowiec (POL) 5–0
Quarter-final
Honvéd–UTE 2-0
Semi-final
Honvéd–Vyber VSFZ (SVK) 3–1
Final
Honvéd–Spartak Trnava (SVK) 3–2
Squad:
Babos Csanád, Baji Bálint, Balla Zalán, Berki Tibor Benett, Gál Vince Noel, Izing Dávid, Jamrik Larion, Juhász Bence, Juhász Gergő, Krapfel Dominik, Márta Bence, Németh Flórián János, Nyerges Zoltán, Pándi Máté, Pál Benjámin, Pályka Béla Olivér, Tóbiás Ábel Marcell, Várdai Csongor, Varga Olivér, Walkó Milán
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