WE ARE CRAZY ABOUT HUNGARIAN FOOTBALL...

Pestszentlorinc is located in the 18th district of the Hungarian capital. In 1930, it was the largest village in Hungary with 30,000 inhabitants. It took six years to seek recognition from the Ministry of the Interior so that Pestszentlorinc could become an independent town. On January 1, 1936, the effort became a reality and for 14 years it could proudly use the title of a regional town. In 1950, Pestszentlorinc, with 22 other towns, fell victim to the expansion of Budapest and, together with the neighboring Pestszentimre, joined the capital.

102 years ago, the Szentlorinci Athletic Club was founded thanks to entrepreneurs and local patriots. The football club had its best period in the 1940s, when they advanced to the highest Hungarian competition. At that time, Deák Ferenc, the legendary Bamba, played for SZAC, who scored 66 goals in the 1945/46 season, which nobody has surpassed to this day.

Unfortunately, the successful years were followed by a downfalls, which culminated in the demise of the club. During its existence, SZAC disappeared several times and rose again from the ashes. They currently play the highest competition in Budapest, which is equal to the fourth level of Hungarian football.

A group of fans called Brigate XVIII has also been behind the team since 2014. Tamás tells us their story:

MM: When and how did it all start?

TR: In 2014 I together with a friend decided that want to activily support our football players. The group quickly grew, up till 8-10 members. All of us are somehow connected to Pestszentlorinc despite the fact that there are among us guys who supported Kispest, went to Újpest on the regular bases or Ferencváros. The NB1 fixtures became boring, that is why we all turned to SZAC. The enthusiasm lasted only three years,unfortunatelly. Most of the members slowly took off, found the amateur competitions too dull. We reastarted the Brigate in 2020, now 15 guys following SZAC everywhere. Because of the construction of our stadium, we are there at every home game also now, in these hard times.

MM: Who do you call friends and who are your enemies?

TR: W e a maintain a friendly relationship with the BVSC supporters since 2014. We visit each others matches on a regular basis. We had som disputes with the Ultras Vizmuvek and their friends from Rákospalota but that problem is solved now. We had a meeting with the representatives of both groups and we laid down the ground rules.

MM: What is the average age of the group?

TR: It is around 25.

MM: What is the specialty of your group?

TR: Pyrotechnics. We use some smoke and flares on most of our games.

MM: Which traditional groups inspired your work, your support? Do you look at foreign groups as well?

TR: What we do is remake some of the well known songs, mostly form Kispest and Újpest so we can say that these two are inspiring for us. We are crazy about Hungarian football, we do not really care about foreign teams.

MM: What would be a derby for you?

TR: We have a district derby against Pestszentimre. But no real rivalry is there. We know each other very well. On the other hand, we do not meet to often latelly. It would be nice if they advanced at the end of the season to BLSZ1.

MM: Ok. Who are your biggest rivals then at the moment?

TR: REAC and Csepel.

MM: How does a day look like when you are playing against them?

TR: Like any other match. We meet at a usual place before the match and warm up. Beer is an important part of the preparation ritual. You dont have to encourage anybody we all know how to get in the mood.

MM: What is your relationship with the team and the management?

TR: We don't know the chairman personelly, he is a well-known person in the media, he is busy. The team, the coaches and members like what we are doing. There is great harmony between us. We cheer together if they win and they have our support also after a defeat too.

MM: How are you doing in terms of souvenirs?

TR: We have a SZAC scarf, but that is an old relic.At the moment hoodies and stickers are being made.

MM: How do you relate to the Hungarian national team?

TR: As a born and bred Hungarian has to. We are planing to travel in the new qualification to Germany as Brigate XVIII.

MM: Superb. What are your thoughts on the way the team qualified to the EURO, the fixtures in Budapest and on the expected euphoria?

TR: We hope that COVID will be only a memory by then. It is a huge progress that we qualified to the EURO. That is thanks to the Maestro, Rossi. We have good players at the national team and the home turf could be an advantage. Who knows? There will be no complaint about the mood. The Hungarians are very fanatical.

MM: As far as politics is concerned, what is the direction of the group?

TR: We do not care about politics, that usually does not end well. The group is generally on the right side, but we never voice that opinion.

MM: How do you strenghten the community? Over time you can get tired of the supporters life or some members disappear because of family or work. Do you build alredy the new generation?

TR: We are not afraid of fatigue. The group is enthusiastic. We are too young to have our own family yet. We still have at least 10 years ahead of us. Unfortunately, it is not easy to recruit people in the BLSZ . Lower class, not really interesting for people. We don't really force it. We are a group of friends that anyone can join. We've been out on quite a few platforms already, thanks to which a lot of people have heard about us. Anyone who wants to join, the doors are open.

MM: Does the group have a motto?

TR: "THIS IS JUST ABOUT YOU"

MM: ... and what does that mean?

TR: This inscription is also on one of our banners. This banner is already with us since 2014. It aims to be more than just a hobby. This is really for the district. The players need to be made to know that this is for them...

MM: If you want to recruit new members to your ranks, how would you invite your prospective colleagues?

TR: The recruit would be only for people from the XVIII. district, who understand what is it to be from Pestszentlorinc. People stick together here and we would like if the unity and togetherness meant something for the members. We are not in a hurry, we were just re-estabilished in 2020. SZAC targeted promotion to the NB3 in about three years. Maybe then will more youngsters join us.

MM: At last, what would you like to wish for in 2021?

TR: Our team is performing very well. We feel the harmony. At the end of the season a bronze medal and a Budapest Cup titel is a realistic result. For us supporters, more experiences, victories, good mood. THIS IS JUST ABOUT YOU!