Illustrious Hungarian trio commemorated at Barcelona bar opened back in 2014
A curling free-kick from the Nou Camp, Futballárium is not like any other football bar near a major stadium. Baretto 1957 by the San Siro in Milan is plastered in classic images of Italian heroes, the San Mamés in Bilbao is surrounded by bars revelling in Basque football history – but the huge mural in the cosy Futballárium in the heart of the Catalan capital honours legendary players from Hungary.
Why?
The answer lies in the Nou Camp itself – and in Hungarian bar owner, Péter Büki. Marking its tenth anniversary next week, the day before another is honoured 2,000km away in Budapest, Futballárium features a huge mural depicting the three Magyar stars who lit up the nearby stadium more than 60 years ago
One of them, László Kubala, was so popular and influential, Barcelona president Francesc Miró-Sans had the Nou Camp built as a suitable stage for the striker’s considerable talents. This was in 1957, when two of Kubala’s illustrious compatriots, Sándor Kocsis and Zoltán Czibor, both members of Hungary’s Golden Team which had famously beaten England 6-3 four years earlier, were in exile and in limbo.
While the tenth birthday of Péter’s Futballárium bar on October 22 is a cause for celebration, the following day is a solemn occasion back in Hungary, as it marks the outbreak of the failed Uprising against Soviet rule in 1956. Deciding to stay abroad after its brutal clampdown, players such as Ferenc Puskás, Kocsis and Czibor led a nomadic existence until Kubala helped bring them to Spain to find fame and fortune.
While Puskás starred for Real Madrid, the names of Kocsis and Czibor are writ large in FCB history. Kubala is commemorated in statue form outside the Nou Camp, a totem sure to remain in place once the stadium is completely rebuilt by 2026.
When Péter opened his muralled masterpiece of a bar, almost the first he did was have a Hungarian artist friend draw likenesses of the revered trio.
As well as a shrine to his fellow Hungarians, Futballárium is a reliquary for Péter’s life-long collection of football scarves and signed shirts, none more noticeable than those of recently retired Andrés Iniesta.
The former Barça star has a special connection with the bar, acknowledging the football culture that underscores it. Not only are his signed boots visible behind the bar counter but also limited-edition bottles of his wine, a serious venture for Iniesta’s post-playing career.
While Péter remains non-committal as to the guests expected at his bar’s anniversary event next Tuesday, a few glasses of Iniesta’s wine are bound to be raised.
Wine apart, the rest of the bar is given over to football, of course, scarves as far as the eye can see, with a special focus on England and Hungary. Peter Shilton has popped in, while his goalkeeping counterpart Gábor Király, between the sticks from an early age at Péter’s home club Haladás, is represented by a yellow jersey –though not the tracksuit bottoms that made him such a recognisable figure for Hungary and Crystal Palace.
Almost every major English club gets a look-in, teams in green granted a special corner to themselves, in honour of the club shirt once donned by Király’s teammates in Hungary.
The house Futballárium beer is brewed locally, with Paulaner, Heineken and Guinness among the draught alternatives. There’s a full menu, too, featuring Magyar specialities such as goulash and beef stew.
While match days here are somewhat quieter these days, with Barcelona temporarily moved up to Montjuïc during the Nou Camp reconstruction, the place still does a roaring trade from those visiting the club museum up the road, as well as from word of mouth alone. A recent visit by Velez Sarsfield fans almost stopped the traffic along Carrer de Benavent, allowing genial English-speaking barman Martin ample opportunity to make another of his lively video clips.
With ten years already chalked up, Futballárium is looking to the future with Barça’s return here, perhaps as imminently as this December, if rumours are true about the incomplete arena hosting games with limited crowd numbers.
By the final completion date of 2026, capacity will be a vast 105,000, easily the biggest in Europe, and the largest of the venues co-hosting the World Cup of 2030. With space limited at Futballárium, and plenty of scarves and shirts still to hang up, Péter might be wise to find larger premises in the long shadow of the Nou Camp.
Futballárium, Carrer de Benavent 7. Open Tue-Fri 9am-9pm, Sat 10am-9pm, Sun noon-8pm.
