Janos Gyurka’s Mosonmagyarovar and the power of belief

Mosonmagyarovar is a town of only 32,000 inhabitants, located near the western border of Hungary, less than 40 kilometres from the handball powerhouse city of Györ. With a few exceptions, handball on the western side of Hungary has dominated sports since 1966. But it was not until 2014 that MKC was founded.  

The latest success of the club is linked to the former right back Gyurka. As part of the Hungarian national team, he won silver at the 1986 IHF Men’s World Championship and finished fourth at the Seoul Olympic Games in 1988.

Gyurka joined MKC as head coach in 2020, following in the footsteps of the likes of Anita Görbicz’s first coach Kálmán Róth, or Tomás Hlavatý who now coaches EHF Champions League titleholders Vipers Kristiansand.

Under Gyurka’s leadership, Mosonmagyarovar has reached three EHF European League group phases in a row. One may think Gyurka may know something that his predecessors did not, but when trying to find out Mosonmagyarovar’s secret, the coach mostly shrugs. He is not one to bask in the spotlight, and steps back even when his players chanted his name in front of the TV cameras during the emotional celebration of victory against Györi Audi ETO KC last September.

“Our main goal has not changed, we are still focusing on teaching players because we work with talented, but mostly not experienced athletes. We want to fight for the opportunity to participate at the international club level. To achieve this, we must finish among the top four in the domestic league. Of course, we are aware that Györi Audi ETO and FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria are unattainable for us, and our main rival, DVSC Schaeffler, is also ahead of us.

“Progressing from the group phase in the EHF Europe League Women group phase would be commendable, but realistically, I consider gaining experience to be much more important. In any case, I am extremely proud of the work done so far,” explains Gyurka.

MKC have had a solid season, beating CSM Targu Jiu in round 1 and then defeating Sola HK in Norway in round 2. This is an improvement from 2021/22, when MKC lost to Sola both at home and away.

Round 3 saw MKC suffer their first defeat (26:29) against Costa del Sol Malaga in Spain, thanks partly to a virus that swept through the team. However, MKC took revenge at home two weeks later, beating Malaga 25:23.

Last weekend Janos Gyurka's team could have secured their place in the quarterfinal against Sola, but after trailing 0:4 early on, the Norwegian team won 34:29 in Mosonmagyarovar. In the last round, Sola, who have already advanced with eight points, and second-placed Malaga (six points) will play against each other. If Sola get at least one point and MKC collects the two points against Targu Jiu in their final group game, the Hungarian team will advance to the last eight.

“Of course, we are aware that our fate is not in our own hands. I believe the Norwegian team will play in the spirit of fair play and will do everything for its own success against Malaga. As for us: after a good beginning in January, we would be disappointed if we could not manage to advance from this group.

“At the same time, I would like to point out that our young players’ physical and mental state is not always stable. Many of them are not competitive types yet, but they will be able to improve in this aspect, too,” says Gyurka.

The team will change next season. DVSC Schaeffler have signed junior European champion centre back, Nikolett Tóth, to replace Petra Vámos, who leaves for Metz. National team goalkeeper Zsófi Szemerey and line player Noémi Pásztor are leaving the club, too. According to Gyurka, the demand for his players is a recognition of the work being done at the club.

Gyurka is not only experienced with women's teams, but also led the Hungarian under-18 national men’s team, including Telekom Veszprém left back Patrik Ligetvári – to a European silver medal in 2014.

So, for his next steps, the question comes up of whether Gyurka will continue to work with the women's team or return to coaching men.

“Working with both men and women has its own beauty. If the coach is motivated and able to work with his players in a trusting atmosphere, he can be effective,” Gyurka thinks.

“I found that with women's handball, I work under excellent circumstances with my colleagues and have a great relationship with my players. At the same time, I believe I could work effectively with men in a similar atmosphere, although this is not relevant now, because I’m not thinking of leaving Mosonmagyarovar.

“I am lucky to be able to work on the handball field. I devoted a lot of energy to achieve my goals as a player and work to develop my team to play with a sincere heart. I believe in this mission,” Gyurka concludes.

Photos © Ferenc Zengő