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Hungary’s football team gets a heroes’ welcome in Heroes’ Square
The Hungarian national football team arrived back in Budapest from the European Football Championship in France in the early evening on Monday, and received a warm welcome by a huge crowd at Heroes’ Square, thanking them for the exuberant experiences and football fever spread with the Magyars’ multiple victorious matches of the past weeks, providing a sense of jubilation that Hungary hasn’t experienced for decades.
On the Millennium Underground, it was already obvious that something big was going to happen: the yellow cars must’ve broken a Monday record, as there was hardly another time when it had more travelers on the first day of the week. With good business sense, some vendors started selling pretzels, sunflower seeds, and knickknacks at the Heroes’ Square exit, even though the crowd gathered not to watch another match, but to celebrate.
The masses arrived to celebrate the most impressive football success of Hungary in the past 30 years. Despite “only” participating in the European Championship and getting into the quarterfinals, the days behind them proved that nothing can bring people together as much as the world’s most popular sport.
The Hungarian team’s performance was incredible, but we’re curious what unsuspecting tourists that were wandering in the neighborhood must’ve thought about this unusual occurrence on a warm summer night, and the mob of happy Hungarians armed with flags, scarves, and flares.
Well, they came to celebrate them. THE TEAM.
Showcasing great dramaturgical skills, the organizers hired Soho Party as the warm-up band to perform the country’s new football anthem live. The formation probably held the greatest concert of their career so far – as for the number of viewers, they definitely did not expect such a return.
The white bus rolled into the square with a minor delay, from which Olympic boxing champion István “Kokó” Kovács called the nation’s current favorites onto the stage one by one. It’s hard to tell which player received the loudest applause, but we’d guess it was the trio of Dzsudzsák, Király, and Gera – in this order specifically.
László Kleinheisler couldn’t complain, either: the midfielder, nicknamed Scholes, received special a highlight from the crowd (“Well done, Laci!”), and Gábor Király, the oldest player to represent their country at a UEFA Championship so far, also received massive applause, even though he wasn’t wearing his distinctive gray sweatpants.
Kokó told those present in advance that they shouldn’t expect long speeches; after all, the players haven’t seen their loved ones for weeks. In any case, Balázs Dzsudzsák and head coach Bernd Storck said a few words, and thanked the people for their cheering in the past weeks.
After a short assessment, some singing concluded the team’s return: the team members sang while embracing each other, accompanied by the gathered fans.
We might have been defeated, but the joyous experience that these guys provided for Hungary was still a miracle.
