A knowledgeable acquaintance of mine gave me Mr. Horvat’s phone number and the information that there was a Hungarian soccer team in Toronto that had just won the regional championship. Additionally, between 2012 and 2015, this team had a famous Hungarian coach in the person of Laszlo Kess, “Campo”, who was known as Mini Menotti in his prime, when he took the lion’s share of the 1987 MTK Championship title as Josef Feribes . track coach.
Mr. Horvát’s full name is Adalbert Horvát, he’s only 36, and he’s the owner of Hungaria Toronto Vasas FC – because that’s the club’s full name – and he started our phone conversation with shocking information.
I looked on every website I could find, going back fifty years, but I couldn’t find a similar achievement: This is the first time a soccer team with a Hungarian identity has won a championship in Canada – says the young businessman, who left his homeland thirteen years ago Only, in 2008, and settled in Újvilág, where he mainly finances the club on his own with the help of some Hungarian businessmen and restaurateurs. – What we won is the Ontario Eastern Province championship, which is actually the third line of Canadian football, an amateur league made up of several provincial leagues on a regional basis. Our club was founded in 2003, five years before I came to Canada, It was founded by Ágnes Rajnák and Károly Turcsik. Initially, the team competed in top-tier indoor tournaments, but then I came to Canada in 2008, and then Laszlo Diack took over the club in 2011 and continued under the name Toronto Vasas FC. Between 2012 and 2015, Laszlo Case was our coach!
Kálmán Lami, who lives in Toronto, has co-managed the club, which was founded in 2003, as honorary president. Which, of course, is nothing like the Moldovan hero from the Ferencváros cocktail party, Árpád Lami, the immortal left-back. Although Kálmán Lami was also nearly immortal, he lived a good life, passing away in 2007, at the age of 86. He was a great player, and once played with Rudolf Ilowski and Gyula Zilagi in Fez. In 2015, Károly Turcsik created an association called Hungária, which merged with Toronto Vasas FC. This consolidated club has been operating for six years and has now won the Eastern Ontario championship.
Practically bringing these two clubs together, founder Karolej Torczyk requested and received permission from Mr. Laszlo Markovic, President of Vasas SC, to use the name. I am the boss, but Mr. Turcsik and Mr. Deák remained honorary presidents, two older gentlemen – continued Mr. Horvát, who has been the team’s top scorer and player for years. – I myself am a Vasas fan, which is why Vasas is included in the club’s name. There is an important Hungarian colony in and around Toronto, there are about sixty thousand of us, two-thirds of the players on the team are Hungarian, but we also have players from other countries.
Recently, two Hungarian players have arrived from Dunaszerdahely, Attila Boráros and Zsolt Bazsó, as well as Levente Péter Kovács. They owe a lot of thanks to the goalkeeper and captain of the team, Tamas Miesko, who contributed to the success and victory in the regional championship thanks to his brave saves.
Laszlo Case remembered the three years he spent in Toronto between 2012 and 2015 as a fond memory.
Hungária Toronto Vasas FC is an amateur team, Hungarian and non-Hungarian men play football there for love – said the eternal opposition “Kampó”. I felt good at the club, they made a modest but secure life for me, and I’m glad to hear they won the provincial championship.
Of course, there was a lot of turnover in the team, and many talented Hungarian guys who worked abroad, of course, since they didn’t get paid at the club, stopped after a while, because they earn well, and the more they work, the more money they have for the house. Even two to three thousand fullers per month, which is a huge difference compared to the 60-100 thousand forints obtained in Hungary. After a while, they run out of time to play.
But this is the case with most amateur teams, whether we are talking about Canada or Hungary.
Now, however, there is great joy around the club’s home, because no matter the outcome of the game against Toronto Celtic in the last round, they are champions already!
(Cover photo: Adalbert Horvát)
