As is known, Maurizio Jacobacci will take charge of our team from the 2026–27 season. Jacobacci currently holds dual citizenship. Although he was born in the capital, Bern, he grew up as an Italian citizen as the child of Italian parents and only acquired Swiss citizenship later because of Swiss law.
“I was born in Switzerland, but as an Italian citizen. I only received Swiss citizenship recently.” – the 63-year-old coach told our official website when we asked about his nationality, before speaking highly of the team's performance last season.
“First of all, I would like to congratulate the team, the staff, the coaches and everyone who played a part in helping the club return to NB I after three years. I can hardly wait to get to work in Kispest and begin preparing for next season with the team and the staff. It is a huge privilege and honour for me to be here and to work as a coach at a club with such a great history and importance. I would definitely like to thank the owner and the sporting director for their trust. I promise to put all my knowledge and experience at the service of the club so that we can achieve our goals.“ – he added.
“I have known Sándor (sporting director Sándor Fórizs – ed.) for more than ten years and we have stayed in regular contact. I liked the short- and long-term concepts outlined by the club. In the first season we want to reach a stable position that keeps us safely in the division, finish as high as possible and go as far as we can in the Hungarian Cup. Honvéd's academy provides an excellent opportunity to integrate young players into the team. I want to help those youngsters, and every player who gets a role with the first team, to continue developing” – he said, before we also asked him about his coaching philosophy and transfers.
“I am pleased that the sporting director has managed to keep the core of the team together and wants to strengthen the squad with quality players in specific positions. As for my philosophy, we need to be stable, organised and compact defensively, and when we win the ball, we have to be able to transition quickly into attack with vertical play. I do not see possession itself as the most important thing; what matters is the decision-making when we have the ball. Transitions are decisive moments in a match, so we want to apply these principles, work on them and see them reflected in our games. In other words, I want the team to play stable football in defence and brave football in attack.”
During the 2010s Jacobacci also coached Swiss top-flight side FC Sion, where players including current Manchester United footballer Matheus Cunha and Internazionale and Italy standout Federico Di Marco developed under him. With Lugano he finished fourth and fifth in the early 2020s. Interestingly, alongside Swiss legend Reto Ziegler – who played for clubs including Juventus and Fenerbahçe – he also coached several Hungarian players there: our former NB I top scorer Filip Holender, home-grown midfielder Bálint Vécsei and Ákos Kecskés. He has also previously led a team against Hungarian opposition: in July 2006, as head coach of Liechtenstein's FC Vaduz, he recorded a 4–0 away victory over Újpest FC at the Szusza Ferenc Stadion in the first qualifying round of the UEFA Cup.
“That was a special moment for me! We were not really in competitive form yet because we were still in pre-season. We went into the match as underdogs, so of course it was a huge achievement to beat Újpest in the UEFA Cup and then win the two-legged tie. It was simply incredible! Football writes stories like that!” – recalled our Italian-Swiss coach, before also discussing the two players with Honvéd connections and Hungary.
“Holender and Vécsei are both good players. Vécsei played under me for half a year and was a regular starter. He is physically strong, works very hard and is a real team player. Holender faced stronger competition, so he rarely played as a centre-forward and was used more often out wide. His situation was not easy because he did not play regularly, but he too was very much a team player. Budapest is a beautiful city, and the people love football. They are passionate about their team. I hope the supporters will accept us, but I am aware that we also have to earn their trust. I hope they give the team and the staff the opportunity and the time to work very well together and build a successful future. Just like last season, the team will need their support very much. After promotion, the most important thing now is to mobilise all our energy so that we do not spend only one season in NB I, but become a stable long-term member of the league.”
