Dzsudzsák: I think of our performance so far as a failure

In September last year, Balázs Dzsudzsák returned to Debrecen after more than 12 years, with which he won the title in NB II the previous season, thus qualifying for the first division.

"It was a lengthy process, but the time I spent away from the city was also long," Balázs Dzsudzsák said of his return. “This is where my professional career started, it was a very good head start in my career that I was trusted as a youngster. This is not very typical of Hungarian football nowadays. This was the reason why, after a career abroad of 12-13 years, and being able to play in top leagues, I could return home proudly. I was thrilled to start Loki getting back to NB I from the second division. I had my doubts about when I should come home, but the virus situation was getting worse. Without exaggeration, it was impossible to know where the world was going, the closures kept coming, and sport and life were disappearing everywhere. So, I settled everything with the management and myself, and it was the right thing to do. I didn't regret for a minute that I was back, and the thousands of people welcoming me at the Nagyerdei Stadion during my first training session on Tuesday completely burned into my brain. These fully reinforce the feeling that you are in a really good place in Debrecen."

Loki changed coaches during the 2020-2021 season: Elemér Kondás was replaced by Gábor Toldi and Szabolcs Huszti. Debrecen ranks 10^th in NB I after ten rounds.

"I do not want to compare them. We owe our thanks to Elemér Kondás, who has achieved great success with Loki. Szabolcs Huszti doesn't have to be introduced to anyone. He is a fully credible professional with a foreign career of 12-13 years who played football in top leagues. He knows what European football is, he has definite ideas of what he wants us to play. Everyone knows his habit, his attitude to winning. Mentally speaking, he's got a lot of energy to put in the team to shape it even more. Our performance is fluctuating, and he can be decisive in helping us overcome that. I work twice as hard in every training session and every game because of him as well. We were national team roommates before, so I have a very good relationship with Szabi. Of course, we can put our friendship aside when training. I am not in a privileged position because of this. If he doesn't like something, he'd tell me the same way."

Szabolcs Huszti counts on Balázs Dzsudzsák, who has played as a winger for many years, in the middle of the pitch.

"It's not that new because I've played in the middle in Dubai, maybe a little bit further ahead, but in the playmaker role that I'm playing now. As soon as Szabi Huszti arrived, he told me that he was not planning on putting me in the winger position. I still have shortcomings in this post, but I am getting more and more involved and constantly watching the footballers who play this role at a high level. I feel good in this position, almost every attack goes through me, I love it when I have the ball, and there's no shortage of that right now. I have to rule the team, so I have a lot of responsibility in this post, but I enjoy every moment of it, and I want to spend as much time on the pitch as possible.”

Dzsudzsák has made nine league appearances in the current season and was always a starter. He scored two goals in total. He received a red card in the match against MOL Fehérvár FC, therefore, he missed the clash against Mezőkövesd. DVSC has not won in its last four NB I games; played a draw with Fehérvár, lost to Kisvárda and Mezőkövesd, and Puskás Akadémia defeated them 3-0 on home grounds.

"In some ways, I felt the expulsion was justified, but from another, not so much. Anyways, I have to learn from it. I have to control the passion that's inside me, it's got to come out on the pitch differently. I got over it, I had no choice. In addition, I would've put myself and the team in an even worse position and I might have been banned from more games if I had complained further. After that, I was very proud of the guys for bringing that match down to a draw with a performance that, unfortunately, we rarely see. We have to solve why the team went through fire and water against Vidi, why the performance against Mezőkövesd and especially Puskás was so much weaker. The team beat itself; I didn't feel the power in us. In NB I, every little mistake is punished by the opponent, and our team is in a crisis because of the mistakes we think are small. Personally, I think of our performance as a failure. There are no excuses nor explanations for this match. But I don't want to say anything that's degrading or that'll cause me an even bigger problem later.”

"I am a perfectionist; I still experience it as a serious disappointment if even a training session doesn't feel good. That's what's making me go forward, that's why I've achieved what I've achieved. I've always considered myself a winning type of person, and that's the mentality that everyone needs. If we sat down now to play anything and I lost in it, I'd die. I was raised in such an environment alongside Tamás Sándor and Tibor Dombi, as I came from a team with whom we won leagues."

Dzsudzsák revealed that there were no plans in the summer that he would leave the club. However, he doesn't shy away from becoming a foreign player once again.

"I've never sold anyone a pig in a poke regarding that. I always tell the guys that if they are called from abroad, they have to go. Not because it's not good in Hungary, but it's a completely different environment, and there's a lot to learn. I'm committed to wanting to have an offer from abroad, but if I don't, I'm not going to be disappointed. I think I've been everywhere I wanted to be, but I'd always embark on another adventure."

A topic regarding the Hungarian national football team came up. Balázs Dzsudzsák appeared in the national team a record-breaking 108 times – just like Gábor Király. The 34-year-old footballer last played for the national team in the European Championship qualifier against Wales, which they lost on November 19, 2019.

"I train every day to give the best performance I can. I've said before that it never occurred to me to resign from the national team, but it's up to the head coach to decide whether he thinks I can help the team or not; that's to his heart's content. I had joyful and successful times, but also experienced failure and crying with the national team. I have played 108 times for Hungary so far, and only one more player can say that about himself, and that is Gábor Király. I scored a goal at the European Championship as a captain, I was able to play at the Puskás Aréna, at Wembley, so I don't feel like I miss anything.”

Translated by Vanda Orosz