History

Siófok SE was first established in the summer of 1921, with the club’s first colours being green and white. The name Siófok Miners was first used in 1956, and this remained the case until 1998. Since then it has been Siófok FC, then BFC Siófok, with the shirt colours changing to yellow-blue-green. The club has played in yellow and blue since the summer of 2001, having left behind the colour green.

Promotion was earned by the following players: Ferenc Bujtor, József Hegedűs, Ferenc  Soós, Károly Gáspár, Lajos Pintér, Károly Vent, István Zselyi, Károly Szabó, Ferenc Kiss, Rudolf Gáspár, Károly Soós, Ferenc Berki, István Gáspár, Károly Nagy, Pál Bíró. It was in 1967 that the Miners first earned promotion to the second division. This success was achieved with the following players: István Iszak, Lajos Istvándi, Sándor Babán, László Fehér, Jenő Farkas, József Riedl, Ferenc Vörös, László Kresz, Sándor Somogyi, Gábor Schádl, József Erdei, József Németh, Béla Kerényi, István Tóth, Gergely Pelyva, József Kárpáti. Our Manager was Gyula Papp.

After a lengthy wait, it was in 1982 that we took part once again in the second division. The team finished in fourth place in the 82/83 championship, with 14 victories, 15 draws and nine defeats, along with 64 goals scored and 69 conceded.

The next season again saw a fourth-place finish, with 17 victories, 13 draws and eight defeats, along with 62 goals scored and 45 conceded. It wa sduring this period that we also battled successfully in the Cup, on June 9th, 1984 becoming the first NB II side to take home the Hungarian People’s Republic Cup, beating Rába ETO 2-1 in the final at Székesfehérvár. As a result of this, we were able to enter the 84/85 Cup Winners’ Cup series, drawing Greek side Larissa as our opposition. We played a 1-1 draw with them in Székesfehérvár on September 19th, 1984, thanks to Tieber’s goal. However, in the second leg on October 3rd the Greek club came out 2-0 winners, making Siófok’s record in international play the following: two matches, one draw and one loss, one goal scored, three conceded.

We were able to achieve promotion to the first division in the 1984/85 championship, finishing in second place behing Budapest Volán, with 20 victories, 12 draws, and six defeats.

We scored 66 goals and conceded 40, edging the first non-promoted side, Váci Izzó by three points. We played our first match in the top division on August 10th, 1985, beating Csepel 3-0 in front of 8000 fans. The following team took the pitch in the Miners first NB I match: Kovács (Horváth II, 81.)- Brettner, Pardavi, Olajos, Takács- Szajcz, Zsadányi, Jankovics- Handel (Boda, 64.), Horváth I, Tieber. The goals were scored in the second half, with Tieber striking in the 68th minute, followed by Jankovics in the 72nd, and Horváth I in the 76th. Our Manager was Miklós Szőke, who was also the boss who helped us to the Cup as well as promotion. This result helped us to the top of the table for the first, and to this day, the last time ever in our NB I history. Our first NB I defeat was inflicted by Vasas four days later, by a score of 4-2, which was followed three days later by our first home loss as well, by a score of 0-1 versus Honvéd. The first away victory was against Csepel, similar to the first home win. It was on November 3rd, 1985 that we were able to win 2-1 versus the islanders, with goals from Horváth I and Zsadányi. We finished in 14th place in the 85/86 championship barely edging the two relegated sides, Csepel and Budapest Volán. In total, we finished with eight victories, eight draws and 14 defeats in the 30 matches played, along with 28 goals scored and 46 conceded. It bears mentioning that at home we were able to beat Ferencváros 2-0, and Újpest 1-0. We didn’t lose to these giants away either, earning a 0-0 draw at Ferencváros, and even winning at Újpest, 1-0. Truth be told, it was also during this same championship that the club suffered its two worst top division losses, both by a score of 6-0. The first crushing loss took place on October 26th, 1985 as visitors of MTK, then the second on April 5th, 1986 at Pécs. We can say that our bad luck against MTK began immediately.

We finished the 1986/87 championship in 13th place, earning nine victories, nine draws and 12 defeats, along with 36 goals scored and 41 conceded under the leadership of Manager Gábor Kaszás.

This is when we played Eger SE twice, beating them both times (3-1 and 1-0), making them the only side against which we have a 100% record in our NB I history. This was also the championship in which we were able to win four times in succession, a feat that we have been able to replicate twice since then. The run began on April 18th, 1987, with a 2-1 victory away at Székesfehérvár. This was followed by two 3-1 wins at home, versus Szombatplaceand Győr, then a 1-0 victory away at Dunaújváros. We were not able to follow it up with a fifth in a row, but the 2-2 draw with soon to be crowned champions MTK was still considered to be a good result. The 87/88 season saw us repeat our performance from the previous one, the difference being that this time we scored 39 goals, while conceding 50, enough to earn us 12th place. This season also bore witness to the only times that there have been Somogy County Derbies in NB I, since Rákóczi Kaposvár were also in the top division then. We beat them 3-1 in Siófok, and were able to play to a 0-0 draw in Kaposvár. This was also the season that we suffered our worst home defeat: Ferencváros beat us 5-1 on the coast of Lake Balaton. 1988/89 saw us able to repeat our 12th place performance, by this time under Manager Imre Gelei. This was that strange season where penalties decided the fate of the points in case of draws after 90 minutes. We drew 10 times in all, in addition to eight victories and 12 defeats, along with 34 goals scored and 41 conceded. We won four times and lost six times after penalties. It is interesting to note that as a result of this quirky rule, we were able to win after 1-1 draws at both Ferencváros and MTK. In addition, we won 4-1 after 90 minutes at both Vasas and Székesfehérvár.

The upward trend continued in the 89/90 championship, as we were able to finish in seventh place. This was the first time that we were able to finish with double digits in victories, gaining exactly 10 when all was said and done.

We also had nine draws and 11 defeats next to our name, along with 31 goals scored and 34 conceded. The foundations of this wonderful result were laid at home, where we suffered only two losses, while also earning our first-ever four-goal win, the victim being Debrecen on April 14th, 1990, with goals scored by  Zsadányi, Zare, Meksz and Czigány. In 1990/91 we finished in 7th spot once again, by this time under the tutelage of István Varga. Our home form was such that we may never again be able to replicate it, suffering but one loss (to Vasas, 2-1 in October of 1990), conceding only seven times in the 15 matches. In fact, we only let in 28 during the entire season, the fewest we have ever conceded in the top flight. However, at the same time we only scored 25, a number we have always been able to eclipse. So maybe it’s no coincidence that we drew 11 times, eight of which were goalless draws. We did win 10 times though, for example by a score of 3-0 against Újpest. Plus, we were able to shock titleholders Honvéd 1-0 both home and away. The 91/92 season saw us achieve our best showing in NB I, reaching 4th place at the end, behind only Ferencváros, Vác, and Kispest. It is well worth noting the members of that team: Imre Bíró, Gábor Brakszatórisz, Imre Fodor, Pál Fischer, Sándor Olajos, József Somogyi, Attila Kámán, Gyula Meksz, Frank Wolf, Ferenc Ozsváth, Ioan Adrian Zare, Tibor Kirchmayer, József Gregor, Sándor Varsányi, István Keszeg, Zsolt Máriási, József Duró, Steffen Menze, József Szilágyi, Tamás Csák, László Zsadányi. We were able to sign some of these big names with German financial support, helping us earn 2nd spot behind Vác at the winter break. It was before this break, during the fall season that we were able to post our second run of four straight victories, beginning in Győr, with a 2-1 win. This was followed by an amazing 4-3 success against Újpest on October 26th, 1991, in which we were able to turn it around from 3-1 down in the last 10 minutes of the match. Those who witnessed it will never forget. The run was rounded out by a 1-0 win away at MTK and a 2-0 victory at home versus Tatabánya, and was finished by Veszprém, who beat us 1-0. The team was weakened a bit by springtime, as a result of which we missed out on the podium, amassing a total of nine losses by the end. However, in addition to the 4th spot, we also achieved other club records, earning 15 victories, scoring 46 times, and earning a positive goals against ratio for the only time in the top tier, since the number of goals conceded was only 34. And let’s not forget that in Pál Fischer and his 16 goals, we had one of the joint top-scorers of the league. This was also the season that we had our most ever goals scored away in a match, winning 5-1 away at Tatabánya on May 23rd, 1992.

Unfortunately, the team was not able to climb any further on the league table, dropping down to 8th spot in 92/93, by then under the direction of László Pusztai. We notched 11 victories, seven draws and 12 defeats, along with 36 goals scored and 39 conceded.

Among our achievements that season, the 4-0 win at Veszprém stands out, along with the 2-1 victory over soon to be champions Kispest, our first triumph at Békéscsaba and BVSC, and our home and away wins over Pécs and Vasas. However, the 3-2 loss at Nyíregyháza was not a source of pride, and neither was the 4-1 loss at home to MTK. By 1993/94, we could only snatch 13th place, which then meant that we had to go through a Playoff to stay in the top flight. This was mostly down to our poor performance in the spring, as we were only able to notch two victories. Interestingly, neither one of these was at home, but during the same period we were able to win away at Ferencváros, 3-1. This was our first ever away victory over FTC, but even this was not enough to help us out. In the meantime, we lost home and away to EMDSZ-Sopron, so they are the only club against which we have a 0% record in NB I. The away match was also historic in another way: we were 5-0 down already at halftime, which is our negative record for the first half of a match. In the end, it finished 6-1, making it the third time that we conceded six in an NB I match.  They won 1-0 in Siófok, which went a long way towards „ensuring” our Playoff spot, where we would draw Zalaegereszeg as our opponents. We won 4-3 at home in the first leg, but then lost 6-0 away in an utterly lifeless display, and were thus relegated, bringing an end to a nine-year long dream in the history of the club. A nine-year dream called the top flight.

We were able to make it back two years later, in 1996. Till then we battled in the Western group of NB II, first finishing third, then winning the championship. We were able to hold our own as newbies in the top tier, placing 12th, a position which were able to then repeat the following season as well, in 97/98.

From 1998, the club played under the name Siófok FC, finishing 15th two seasons in a row. The second of these resulted in relegation in the summer of 2000. This was also the year that the city saved the club from becoming defunct, resulting in the fact that the club would proceed to take up the city’s yellow-blue-green colours.

From June of 1999, the Limited Liability Company became the property of Veszprém entrepreneur József Kiss, who was followed in this position by Siófok entrepreneur László Lukacsik, who then handed over the club to the Fodor Share Company on August 3rd, 2001. The new leadership scrapped usage of the colour green, so the new club patch included only the yellow and blue that is still visible to this day. These two colours are a good representation of the recognisable qualities of Siófok: sunshine and the Lake Balaton. As a result of a more stable financial background and appropriate professional work on the technical side, Siófok FC made it back to the top division in the summer of 2002.

We succeeded in keeping on board our highly sought after manager János Csank, who played a vital role in earning promotion. In fact, we enjoyed a series of successes after the arrival of the master tactician. We won the Indoor Football Championship, then came from 10 points down in the league to secure promotion. Then, in the 2002/2003 championship we earned the title for Surprise Team of the Year, shocking all to finish in 5th place.

However, despite the professional success, the material stability of the club would go on to waver, due to the fact that the chief owner was not able to provide as much support as previously. In May of 2003, 97% of the limited liability company’s stake was purchased by István Kuti’s company, Balaton Reklám and Média Ltd. The club started the 2003/2004 league under the name Balaton FC. The team led by Aurél Csertői ended up missing out on the podium, despite the fact that only five rounds from the finish it stood in first place, finally coming in fourth. Already in the first half of 2003, dark clouds began to gather around the club, and despite success on the pitch, the financial situation deteriorated totally, resulting in the cessation of adult football in Siófok (István Kuti moved headquarters to Diósgyőr).

Nothing happened for a year in Siófok. Only youth football was functioning, with support from the council. Then, just before the start of the 2005-2006 season everybody’s wish came true: Siófok would once again go on to have an adult team, since the team from Bodajk moved its headquarters to Siófok.

The club had been established in 1947 in Bodajk. With support from the local mine, the team was able to play in NB III in the 60’s, but was then later relegated to local level. In the middle of the 90’s, they were embraced by an agile entrepreneur, Ferenc Nemes, with whose help they were able to climb all the way to the second division. In the meantime, they also signed a cooperation agreement with MTK, as a result of which „students” from the Agárd Football Academy were able to play in Bodajk’s colours. However, the three-year marriage would soon come to an end, due to the fact that neither side wanted to prolong the agreement. This brought about a new chapter: the 48% ownership stake of the Bodajk Council was purchased by Siófoki Bányász, along with the 1% stake of the club. This made it possible for 51% owner Ferenc Nemes to move company headquarters to Siófok. The change meant that Siófok played in NB II from the autumn.