Csaba László (footballer, born 1964)

Csaba László
Personal information
Date of birth (1964-02-13) 13 February 1964
Place of birth Odorheiu Secuiesc, Romania
Playing position Midfielder
Youth career
Progresul Odorhei
FC Unirea Cristur
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1982–1984 Szekelyudvarhely FC
– SpVgg Oberaussem
– TuS Grevenbroich
– Ford Niehl Köln
1988–1989 Bayer 05 Uerdingen
1989–1990 Volán FC
1990–1991 BVSC Budapest
Teams managed
2004–2005 Ferencvárosi TC
2004–2005 Hungary (Assistant Coach)
2006 FC Sopron
2006–2008 Uganda
2008–2010 Heart of Midlothian
2010–2011 Charleroi SC
2012–2013 Lithuania
2015–2016 MTK Budapest
2016–2017 Dunajská Streda
2017–2018 Dundee United
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Csaba László (born 13 February 1964 in Odorheiu Secuiesc,[1] Harghita County, Romania) is a Hungarian[1][2] football manager and former player.

He was the manager of Hungarian Premier League Club MTK Budapest, Belgian Pro League club Charleroi SC and of Scottish Premier League club Heart of Midlothian.[1] Previously to that, he had spells managing at Ferencvárosi TC, FC Sopron and the Ugandan and Lithuanian national team and Slovakian Premier League club Dunajská Streda.

Playing career

László played for a number of clubs in Romania, Hungary and West Germany including Bayer 05 Uerdingen, Volán FC and BVSC Budapest but never played at the highest level. He was forced to retire at age 27 due to a knee injury. He played as a central midfielder.[1]

Coaching career

Early coaching roles

Csaba László holds a UEFA coaching certificate. He started coaching in Germany with BW Kerpen. He then coached at Tus Grevenbroich and Borussia Mönchengladbach's B team. He discovered players of the calibre of Marcell Jansen, Eugen Polanski and Tobias Levels during his spell as Borussia Mönchengladbach's Youth Head Coach. All these players later won caps for Germany at senior level. He then joined the coaching staff at the Hungarian national team, where he was assistant to Lothar Matthäus, in January 2004.

Hungarian National Team and Ferencváros

Csaba joined the coaching staff at the Hungarian national football team, where he was assistant coach to Lothar Matthäus in January 2004. He was instrumental for Matthäus as he didn’t have any knowledge of Hungarian football. The Hungarian national team played the World Cup Qualifications games for Germany 2006. During his time, the national team achieved good results and signs of improvement. They had great results against Croatia, Estonia, Germany and Scotland.

In June 2004 he was appointed as the manager of Hungarian league side Ferencvárosi TC where he defeated Albanian side KF Tirana in the Champions League in 2004 before being eliminated by Sparta Prague. Ferencváros were then dropped into the UEFA Cup, where they defeated Millwall and Heart of Midlothian, and earned a respectable 1–1 draw with Feyenoord. At that time, it was the second qualification in the last 11 years of a Hungarian team in a major competition. His success in Europe earned him the 2005 Hungarian Trainer of the Year award.[1] When Ferencváros ran into financial trouble in 2006, he left to join FC Sopron. He lasted only a matter of months at Sopron and left to become manager of the Uganda national squad later that year.

During his time as a Ferencvárosi TC coach, he produced, developed and turned into the international scene players of the calibre of Huszti Szabolcs, Dániel Tőzsér, Dénes Rósa, Gyepes Gabor, Bese Barnabás and Torghelle Sandor.

Uganda

After his appointment as a Head Coach of Uganda, they missed out on qualification for the African Cup of Nations in Ghana 2008 on goal difference in favour of Sudan. Under Laszlo Csaba's guidance, Uganda jumped from 181 to 91 in the FIFA ranking just after a year in charge.

Uganda beat arch-rivals Nigeria and Angola national team for the first time in football history and in December 2007, they finished third in the CECAFA Cup.

Thanks to his charisma and hard work during his period in charge as Ugandan national coach, FUFA (Uganda FA) signed a 1 million USD sponsorship deal with African mobile telephone giants MTN and African giants Satellite Television channel GTV signed a 5 years contract to broadcast the league games of the Ugandan football league.

During his reign as Uganda national coach, players such Ibrahim Sekagya, Noah Kasule and David Obua managed to sign lucrative contracts abroad.

Csaba becomes a cult hero in Uganda. He was nicknamed “The Miracle Man” by the African press.

Hearts

He was appointed as manager of Scottish Premier League side Heart of Midlothian on 11 July 2008.[3] He was the man who created the club’s slogan “Together” in 2008–09. This appointment did not come without controversy, however, as the Ugandan FA claimed that they did not give László permission to hold talks with Hearts, and that his appointment as Hearts manager was breaching his contract as Uganda head coach. His first signing came on 20 July 2008 when he signed David Obua, who was a vital member of his Uganda side, on a free transfer from South African club Kaizer Chiefs.

In his first season with Hearts, Laszlo guided the team to a third-place finish in the Scottish Premier League and qualification for the inaugural Europa League.[4] Laszlo was subsequently named 'Manager of the Year' by both the Scottish Football Writers' Association and the Scottish Premier League itself. Surprisingly, László was sacked as Hearts manager on 29 January 2010.[4] Even though he was Hearts manager for only 18 months, László held the position longer than any other coach during Vladimir Romanov's ownership of the club.[4] The Glasgow’s giants Celtic and Rangers were defeated several times in the league and the cup during his reign as Hearts boss. László Csaba was linked with the job of Scotland’s national coach to replace George Burley.

Charleroi

On 23 September 2010, Laszlo was appointed trainer of Belgian Pro League team R. Charleroi S.C..[5]

Lithuania national team

In 2012 he was appointed as head coach of the Lithuanian national football team.[6] In September 2013, László resigned after poor results.

MTK Budapest

Historical and famous club MTK Budapest FC was underachieving for decades under the shadows of Ferencváros and Debreceni VSC. MTK Budapest called László Csaba, to reinstall some pride and develop a work plan for the future. Under his guidance, MTK Budapest kicked off amazingly the league and for several weeks they led the OptBank Hungarian Premier League on top of giants Ferencváros, Újpest Dosza and Debrecen, despite having one of the lowest budgets and youngest squads in the league. MTK battled and fought bravely to the end of the first part of the league (till the winter break) and kept their condition as contenders to qualify to Europe next season. Surprisingly, during the winter break in Turkey, several disagreements about the transfer policy with the club’s board and László Csaba, forced both parties to part ways. Hungarian media and MTK Budapest’s fans reacted angrily and were surprised about the club’s decision. László Csaba left the team among the top five on the table. After his departure, MTK Budapest fell into a negative spiral and struggled during the remaining of the season.

DAC Dunajská Streda

On 20 October 2016, he was appointed as a head coach of Slovak Super Liga team Dunajská Streda[7] When László Csaba took over Premier League Slovakian club DAC 1904 Dunajská Streda, the Slovakian club was lying bottom of the league with a big danger of relegation to the 2nd division. Laszlo Csaba transformed Dunajská Streda into a winning team managed to took them out of the relegation zone. In an incredible come back, Dunajská Streda missed narrowly a place to the Europa League. László Csaba guided his team to a successful breaking-record of 16 games unbeaten which is a new record in the Slovakian football league history.

Dundee United

László returned to Scottish football in November 2017 as Dundee United manager.[8] United finished third in the 2017–18 Scottish Championship, but then lost in the promotion playoffs to Livingston.[9] Following a 5–1 home defeat to Ross County, László left Dundee United on 30 September 2018.[9]

Personal life

László is of Székely origin. He is married with two children and studied in the Public Secondary School in Odorheiu Secuiesc, Romania and in the University extension in Hoghia, Romania. He speaks four languages; English, German, Hungarian and Romanian.[1] As an ethnic minority growing up in Communist Romania he was forced to listen to Hungarian football matches on the radio in secret as foreign radio broadcasts were banned.[10] He said, about this: "Life under the regime was brutal. It was especially hard on us Hungarians living there. We used to secretly listen to Ferencváros matches on the radio".[10] He fled to West Germany on a tourist's visa in 1984 to live with his uncle and start a new life in the West.

Managerial Statistics

As of 29 September 2018
Team From To Record
GWDLWin %
Heart of Midlothian 11 July 2008 29 January 2010 58 23 20 15 039.66
Dundee United 8 November 2017 30 September 2018 43 18 12 13 041.86
Total 102 41 32 29 040.20
  • Scottish statistics only.

Honours

  • Manager of the Year in Hungary: 2003-04.[11] by the Hungarian Football Association
  • Manager of the Year in Scotland: 2008-09.[12] by the Scottish Football Writers' Association and the Scottish Premier League

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Csaba Laszlo". www.heartsfc.premiumtv.co.uk. Archived from the original on 25 February 2009. Retrieved 22 March 2009.
  2. ↑ Érdekes ez a cikk? Igen Nem (1999-01-31). "Csaba László says in this interview, he considers himself a Hungarian". Origo.hu. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
  3. ↑ "Romanov gets his man as Laszlo takes charge of Hearts". London: Guardian News and Media Limited. 11 July 2008. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
  4. 1 2 3 "Hearts part company with manager Csaba Laszlo". BBC Sport. 29 January 2010.
  5. ↑ Martin, Robert (9 October 2010). "Csaba the Hibee". The Scottish Sun. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
  6. ↑ http://sportas.delfi.lt/abroad/vengras-cslaszlo-stoja-uz-lietuvos-nacionalines-futbolo-rinktines-vairo.d?id=54355619
  7. ↑ http://www.profutbal.sk/ligy/svk1/clanok214903-Nemeth_v_Dunajskej_Strede_skoncil_DAC_oznamil_meno_noveho_kouca_video.htm?&forum=show#diskusia
  8. ↑ Lorimer, Scott (8 November 2017). "Confirmed: Dundee United announce Csaba Laszlo is new manager". Evening Telegraph. DC Thomson & Co Ltd. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  9. 1 2 "Dundee United: Csaba Laszlo 'mutually agrees' to leave as manager". BBC Sport. 30 September 2018. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  10. 1 2 https://ftcbk.wordpress.com/2009/06/05/edzoink-voltak-beszelgetes-laszlo-csabaval/
  11. ↑ "Geráé a magyar Aranylabda" (in Hungarian). origo.hu. Retrieved 6 December 2004.
  12. ↑ "Caldwell named player of season". BBC. 2009-05-11. Retrieved 11 May 2009.

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