Last year he made his debut as the second-youngest Honvéd player of all time. This season Maurizio Jacobacci and his coaching staff have named him in the starting XI for both of our league matches so far. Our attacking midfielder is only 16 and recently signed a three-year contract with the club. For now, nothing seems to be standing in the way of his remarkable progress. Tamás Somogyi has already come a long way, despite not yet being an adult.
“The past year has been very positive. Obviously there have been difficult periods too, especially the transition over the summer from youth football to the senior game. It wasn't easy, but I think I adapted very quickly. I look back on the whole pre-season very positively; I think it went well. That is why I was able to start the last two matches, which is a huge achievement for me and something I'm proud of. It also motivates me to keep performing at the same level in every match and earn a place in the starting line-up.” – our young footballer reflected, adding that he still needs to get used to the atmosphere in stadiums.
“As well as the physical side of the game, I had to get used to the atmosphere. At first, playing in stadiums during matches felt strange to me, and I had to adjust to the atmosphere too. I remember the Osijek game being my first real experience of a major stadium, and I'd put the Kisvárda match in the same category. I made some fairly serious technical mistakes that I don't normally make. Obviously I still have to get used to having thousands of people in the stands cheering, and to the greater pressure. I still need to improve in that respect.”
He has adapted so well that in our most recent match against MTK he set up his brother Ádám for a goal.
“We've watched it back several times. We won the ball on the left wing and with two or three short passes I was able to put Ádi in a shooting position. And I have to say he scored a beautiful goal. I was so happy when he scored – I celebrated as if I'd scored it myself.” – said our recently honoured Puskás Award winner with a smile.“We complement each other well and help each other. Playing together is good for both of us, and we try to make the most of it.” – he added, before we asked him about this weekend's match against Paksi FC.
“It will be a very difficult match, and I think there will be plenty of chances and goals. From what I've seen so far, they defend quite high up the pitch, so there is plenty of space behind their defenders, and I think we can exploit that. The decisive factor will be how we play the through balls into those spaces, make runs onto them and finish our chances. We also need to improve defensively. It would be great to finish the match with a clean sheet.”
Our first team visit Paks on Sunday in round three of the OTP Bank Liga. György Bognár's side started well, beating reigning champions Ferencváros 4–2 in the opening round, but suffered a somewhat surprising three-goal defeat to Zalaegerszeg in their most recent league match.
Among other things, the full interview reveals how far in advance he starts thinking about the weekend's match, when the post-match nerves subside, and what expectations he sets himself before games.
OTP BANK LIGA 2026/27, ROUND 3
August 9 (Sunday), 15:30
PAKSI FC–KISPEST–HONVÉD FC
Paksi FC Stadium
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