Budapest Honvéd’s first team has a new head coach: from now on our side will be led by Zsolt Laczkó, a Hungarian champion as a player who has also worked as Marco Rossi’s assistant as a coach!
“From a professional point of view, I consider Zsolt Laczkó a very well-prepared coach. Our ideas about football are very similar and we have many qualities in common. We both believe in hard work and think a team can only be successful if the coaching staff sets an example for the players and works from morning to night for the team’s success. Zsolt gained a great deal of experience with the national team alongside Marco Rossi, he was a Hungarian champion with Honvéd, he knows what the supporters expect from us and I am sure he will do everything possible to make the team successful. On behalf of Honvéd, I would like to thank Marco for supporting Zsolt in taking on this role“ – said sporting director Sándor Fórizs.
The 37-year-old Zsolt Laczkó has already been part of Budapest Honvéd as a player. He wore the red-and-black in 2017 and was also a member of the championship-winning team. He made 22 appearances for the Hungarian national team and also played for Sampdoria, Ferencváros and DVSC (appearing in the Champions League with the latter). He began his coaching career at PAFC, where he worked as an individual development coach before leading the U15 and U17 teams, and from 2021 he worked with the national side. He joined Honvéd this summer as head coach of our second team, and from now on he will lead the first team.
“I was very surprised when the possibility came up, but I did not think about it for even a minute because this is one of Hungary’s biggest clubs. I know what it means to lead Honvéd and I am ready for the challenge – said Zsolt Laczkó. – Naturally, I also asked Marco Rossi for his opinion before making the decision, and he fully supported me in accepting this role. I am very grateful to him. Over the past three years I learned a lot with the national team, from him and from the entire coaching staff, and I am very happy that both Honvéd and the national team support me in combining the two roles. I do not have time to think about how big a step this job represents; in any case, I am already focused on the work and the training sessions. I believe in player development regardless of age, and we have to work a lot and work hard in order to succeed. It also motivates me to see how committed the management are to making Honvéd successful, and I am grateful to them for the opportunity. As for the team, I want to keep the elements that have worked well and change what needs to be changed, because one defeat does not mean everything is bad. Naturally, I also want to bring my own personality into the work. As a coach I strive for one hundred percent every day; this job can only be done with total commitment. That is the basic standard for me, and it is what I expect from myself, my colleagues and the players alike.“
We warmly welcome Zsolt Laczkó as head coach of the first team and wish him every success!
