QUALITY IN FOOTBALL, QUALITY IN LIFE

It was the Hungarian Football Federation website which first published the productivity list of Hungarian football academies, ranking the Puskás Academy second behind MTK. We talked to Mihály Takács about the good news and he told us about the success achieved so far and what the future plans of the academy are. 

“We aren’t a traditional top-flight club but we were founded in 1931 so we have a long history. This is what the academy, founded in 2006, grew out of. MTK, where high-quality professional work is carried out to this day, began with a ten-year head-start over us but we have succeeded in catching up in most areas, if not in points. Take, for example, the Champions League group stage last season where there were two Hungarian players involved: Péter Gulácsi, who came through the ranks at MTK, and Roland Sallai, who is one of our alumni. Indeed, another Puskás Academy graduate, László Kleinheisler, also played in the Europa League”, the Academy director said. 

At the same time, there are some among the sporting community or press – and not just a few – who endeavour to portray the academies and work carried out in them in a less than positive light.

I’m convinced that only someone who has ever worked in youth football, at an academy, or in the establishment of an academy can really comment on this. For example, many tend to forget that the academies, the Puskás Academy included, were established by private initiative and without government support. Additionally, Hungary still lacked know-how when it came to academies and we’ve done all we can to change that. To this end, we’ve been travelling around Europe and the world for years so that our youth football can catch up with the international elite. In terms of professional training and infrastructure, we have now caught up; the next task is to nurture world-class footballers. It goes to show something that our U-14 team won the Nike Cup European final in Berlin where, just like this year’s Puskás-Suzuki Cup, there were countless international scouts watching our players’ every move. The Puskás-Suzuki Cup, on the other hand, has grown into a prestigious global event. It’s not me who says this but those who have participated, such as Real Madrid, Bayern München, Sporting CP or Flamengo. 

A detailed presentation of all the multipliers and data used to calculate your productivity score would go beyond the scope of such an interview. What are the key figures and facts that clearly show how effective the Puskás Academy really is?

I remember that we started with the 1991-1992 age group, from which we nurtured Roland Szolnoki, who reached the Europa League group stage with Videoton under Paulo Sousa, and Ádám Gyurcsó, who scored on his national-team debut against the Czech Republic. That means that already among our very first graduates there are well-known footballers. Not many know it, but across the globe it’s considered a success if a club can nurture one top-flight player a year. Even at Real Madrid there have been seasons when they haven’t had a player who came through their youth system in their team. So far, thirty-two Puskás Academy graduates have become top-flight footballers and we can rightly be proud of that. We have 134 former students currently in one of the top three divisions. Our third-division side is based upon this year’s Puskás-Suzuki Cup runners-up team and Csákvár in the second division line up every week with five or six of our former academy students in their starting eleven. Our task is to serve Hungarian football, and these numbers show that we have been fulfilling our mission so far and will continue to do so. 

We also have another mission, because according to the founder's message, we are primarily nurturing people, who are also great footballers…

It was never our goal to become a traditional football academy; we always wanted to tread our own path. To those who criticise the triple-system of nurturing, educating and training, we say that they can try out what it means to maintain a college, schooling and training all in one place. This model, by the way, is exemplary in the world; Bayern München, for example, came to see how it works and Real Madrid built a college not that long ago in Valdebebas. At Juventus, they are also now thinking about something similar. Their representative Claudio Chiellini paid us a visit in May for an exchange of ideas. As far as the education part goes, 53 of our former students are currently studying at college or university, that is, if all goes well, one in every ten Puskás Academy graduates is on the way to acquiring a degree.  To support them, we established our higher education scholarship system and the first – and still the only among the football academies in Hungary – alumni centre. 

Aside from this, how do we help those who in the end do not choose to become professional footballers?

Because our students’ physical condition is well-developed and they are quick learners, the building of our sports hall allows for our high-school students to orientate towards a career as a PE teacher, that is, we wish to ensure a dual career model for our students.  Because our athlete's sports culture is sophisticated, sophisticated and quick to learn, building a sports hall allows our high-school students to move toward a physical education teacher path, meaning we want to provide the child with a dual career model. Many more vocations are of course still open to them, and whatever their affinity we support their endeavours, because although we nurture footballers, their playing careers won’t last forever so we must think about what happens to them afterwards. We also have a great responsibility in this direction; we must help and we will help. Here at the Puskás Academy we don’t just talk; we also act. Prospective students may be directed to Felcsút on the recommendation of one of our partner clubs or draw attention to themselves with their performances at national trials. Opportunities are naturally given to players from the national youth teams. We welcome youngsters to the Puskás Academy based on the recommendations of club coaches and of coaches involved in the national youth team set-up. 

To enquire about enrolment, call 0620 313 8877