Teams, tales and tips – a guide to the local game
Formed when the manufacturing town of Zalaegerszeg was thriving a century ago, Zalaegerszegi Torna Egylet, ZTE (Zalaegerszeg Gymnastics Association, ‘Zeh-teh’ to all), brought the Hungarian title to south-west Hungary for the first and only time in 2002. Months later, they brought glory, beating Manchester United in the home leg of a Champions League qualifier, 1-0.
One late breakaway goal conveyed the name of Zalaegerszeg round the world – 12 letters today spelled out as a selfie spot in the main square, the few tourists who visit barely able to squeeze the whole word into the frame.
Their stadium, the ZTE Aréna, stands a ten-minute walk from the centre, by the railway line that runs to Slovenia an hour or so away. Slovenia also provided the opposition when Hungary staged a full international here, a low-key friendly at the old ZTE Stadion in 2008.
Hungary had first played at the old ground in 1974, but ZTE’s win over a team featuring Keane, Beckham and Laurent Blanc encouraged the club to persuade the Hungarian government to part with 1.5 billion forints in loans and subsidies to rebuild the stadium on three sides, an entire ZTE Aréna eventually unveiled in 2017.
The rapid rebuild of 2002 also allowed the city to host the 2005 Women’s U-19 Euros. Until the early 2000s, surprisingly for a county town and railway hub in Hungary, Zalaegerszeg had kept a low profile where football was concerned.
Football had been introduced here as late as 1912, occasional games played at what is now Vizsla Park but was more of a meadow a century ago. ZTE weren’t formed until after World War I, the colours changing over the years, only settling on blue and white from the late 1970s onwards.
When the club played its first friendly in 1921, the players themselves marked out the pitch on Vizslarét themselves, and made it suitable to welcome visitors Szombathely AK.
This patchwork approach marked the local football scene for decades, ZTE stuck in the lower Szombathely division of Hungary’s low-profile Western Football Association. A whole 12 years went past after World War II before the city had any kind of flagship club, mergers between, Zalaegerszeg Dózsa and Petőfi, then Petőfi and Ruhagyár (‘Clothes Factory’) hardly allowing Zalaegerszeg to challenge the status of its near neighbour, Szombathely.
Eventually, ZTE were reformed in the later 1960s and trod a middling path in the top flight through the 1970s and 1980s.This continued until the stand-out league season of 2001-02.
Under Péter Bozsik, son of the key player of Hungary’s Magic Magyars team of the early 1950s, ZTE made the most of their sponsorship by the local meat factory by attracting proven goalscorers Krisztián Kenesei and Gábor Egressy. It was enough to pip Ferencváros and MTK to the title in the second stage of the championship.
Months later, these same players were taking the field at the national Puskás Stadion to face Manchester United, holding out for a breakaway 1-0 win, then travelling to Old Trafford for a 5-0 defeat.
Apart from a third place in 2007, ZTE haven’t come close to the title since, a cup win in 2023 producing a wave of nostalgia for that rare short spell in the spotlight two decades earlier.
The ZTE Aréna continues to stage occasional prestigious fixtures, such as the Nations League tie between Belarus and Northern Ireland in October 2024, the former Soviets unable to stage games at home.
Getting Around
Arriving in town and local transport
Budapest Airport is 195km (121 miles) from Zalaegerszeg. The train from Budapest Déli station (Ft 3,000-Ft4,000/€7.50-€10) takes 3.5hrs as currently you have to change twice, at Várpalota and Veszprém. A direct Volánbusz runs from Budapest Népliget station every 2hrs, costs Ft4,000 (€10) and takes 4hrs. The same national bus company oversees local transport in Zalaegerszeg, there isn’t a city-run network.
Zalaegerszeg rail station is south of the centre, connected by bus 10 every 15-20mins.
If you prefer to walk, apart from the 15min hike up to town from the station, turning right out of the main building, everything is close at hand. The bus station is by the city centre, halfway between there and the ZTE Aréna 5mins walk away.
Cabs await incoming trains – call Egerszeg Taxi on +36 92 333 333.
Where to Drink
The best pubs and bars for football fans
On the main square of Dísz tér, ‘gasztró bár’ Díszpinty chalks its current beers on a board, hangs a large TV screen in its sleek interior and pumps out music at weekends to encourage imbibing. From its terrace, you can see the alternative option of SaloonZoo, a cult cellar bar on Kisfaludy utca.
North of Dísz tér, Terra Incognita offers a prominent roof terrace lit by moonlight, TV sport prominent. It towers over the Club Pop Up Underground on Európa tér, where student-age drinkers sink draught Csíki beer amid cartoon murals, gawping at sport and playing ping-pong in the back room. Across Kossuth utca, the Records Music Pub believes that rock tunes and affordable drinks can bring twentysomethings together. It can.
On main Rákóczi Ferenc utca, ZTE hangout Alibi is where young shavers convene over Jack Daniel’s amid the reassuring green glow of match action. Rows of empty JD bottles – was Keith Richards here? – share wall space with ZTE, FTC and Rangers iconography.
Where to stay
The best hotels for the stadium and city centre
Zalaegerszeg Turizmus has a hotel database.
Close to the stadium on Széchenyi tér, Arany Bárány (‘Golden Sheep’) was opened in the 1750s, gained its elegance in the 1890s, and its modernisation (and spa) from 2012 onwards.
Away from town on the same main road, Rákóczi Ferenc utca, still within easy reach, Véndiófa is a pleasant pension and restaurant – round the corner, the cheaper, equally comfortable Kántor is run by a lovely couple.
Behind the main square of Dísz tér in town, Beck’s Corner Motel curves around a car park, its rooftop bar/restaurant a joy. Towards the station, Göcsej Palatinus on leafy Baross liget comprises 11 comfortable rooms and a restaurant dating back to 1891.
