01.05.2012, 12:00
Once an ETO fan, always an ETO fan!

Hungarian fans preparing for the EHF Women’s Champions League Final.

Once an ETO fan, always an ETO fan!

The Hungarian champions Győri Audi ETO KC have a long-standing history and loyal fans who follow the team everywhere they play.

They even travel to an EHF Women's Champions League semi-final in Chekhov, Russia, where some of the fanatical supporters endured a 72-hour train and mini bus return trip because they couldn’t afford a flight.

ehfCL.com talked to Tamás Gellért, President, and Gábor Gulyás, Vice-President, of the Győri ETO handball fan club. Alongside these two dedicated green and white fan, Tamás Vizi, Vice-President of MKSZOSZ, the Association of Hungarian Handball Fans, talked about the fans of handball in Hungary.

ehfCL.com: You and your fellow fans must be delighted that Győri Audi ETO KC made it to the EHF Women's Champions League Final. Is the excitement growing day-by-day with the final approaching soon?

Tamás Vizi: Oh yes, of course. Honestly, we very much hoped to clash with Budućnost for the EHF Women’s Champions League trophy. On one hand we very much like the Balkan area. In the spring it’s very beautiful, so we can make a nice four-day trip through Bosnia and Herzegovina to Montenegro.

On the other hand, we felt Budućnost might have the strongest squad besides Győri Audi ETO KC, so we only wanted to meet them at the end of the season. Last, but not least, our former player, our big favourite, Siki (Ana Đokić) plays in Podgorica, so we will be very happy to see her again.

But to answer your question, yes, the countdown is progressing. We talk to each other every day about the details of the tour, rumours on Karl Erik Bøhn's possible strategy, how to defend against Bojana Popović, and of course about new ideas on our own choreography in Veszprém, how best to support our team in order to reach at least a 5-6 goals advantage for the tour to Morača Sports Centre.

ehfCL.com: A lot of Hungarians will travel to Podgorica as well. What activities are the fans planning for the two legs?

Tamás Vizi: Fans are arriving from different directions, in different vehicles, and on different days, but I can promise you that from Sunday afternoon the downtown of Podgorica will be green and white! We’ve visited Podgorica twice with my old fan-mates during 2006-2007 and the Montenegrins are very warm, very hospitable people, and we like Crna Gora very much.

ehfCL.com: You and your friends follow almost every game, be it home or away. What does it mean for you and the fans to cheer for Győri Audi ETO KC?

Tamás Vizi: Many of us started to cheer for ETO during the “silver” period when we always had strong teams, but somehow couldn’t win either the Hungarian title, or international trophies. In 2005 something changed: we won the Hungarian Cup. Our players gradually learned to win, and a “golden” period started, and therefore lots of new fans arrived.

For us, ETO is a religion, and the team and fans are our second family. When we arrive on a weekend at our 'church', the Magvassy Mihály Sportcsarnok, we feel that we have arrived at home, we are among friends, and nothing bad can happen. Management, players and results can change, but this faith and commitment will not change in our lifetime. Our big dream is that the men’s team of ETO could again reach the level of the women’s team and we will have the opportunity to support them again at important matches and to win international cups again with them, as in 1986.

ehfCL.com: The main core of the fans celebrate each victory with the players. What is the relationship like between players, coaching staff and the fans?

Tamás Vizi: Most of the players (especially the foreign players) are very open towards the fans. 2-3 days before the match we write some encouraging, rousing messages to them, but then allow them to concentrate on the big day directly before the match. At the end of a big clash they celebrate for a few minutes with us. These are our favourite moments.

Coach Karl Erik is also very open towards us. He is always ready to hear us and to answer our “professional” questions. We have direct channels also to the renewed management of the club. If we have problems, questions, or business to be discussed, they are happy to talk to us.

ehfCL.com: There is also a fan club for the team which is very well organised. How did this come into existence, and what should we know about it?

Tamás Gellért: We have lots of members, ranging between six and 88 years of age, and they fit well together despite the wide age difference. It´s a very friendly group that also meets outside of handball. The membership only costs 5000 HUF (ca. 17 Euro) per year and members receive discounts when buying season tickets, merchandise from the ETO SHOP, travel within Hungary to league games, and also travel to EHF Women's Champions League matches.

ehfCL.com: May fans in other countries also apply for membership?

Tamás Gellért: Yes, certainly. We already have a few fans from Slovakia.

ehfCL.com: The fan club regularly travels to international matches of the green and white team. Please give us some numbers on this year´s travels, and also indicate how many supporters will make the long journey to Podgorica.

Gábor Gulyás: We have travelled in a bus to Spain with 50, to Denmark with 40, and to Norway with 45 fans. In Râmnicu Vâlcea we had the biggest number of supporters for the semi-final first leg and around 350-400 fans will be in Montenegro, traveling either by non-stop bus, aircraft, or traveling in other vehicles. That number might increase though, if our team earns a good result this coming weekend!

ehfCL.com: You and some of your mates founded a fan club for Győri Audi ETO KC´s centre-back Andrea Lekić. You even wear your own design shirts made for Andrea. Why this special dedication to her?

Tamás Vizi: Yes, we admire her very much. Some of us followed the Hungarian Team to Skopje in FYR Macedonia at the EHF European Championship in 2008 and we ‘discovered’ her there.

Firstly we admired her for her soccer skills, as before the match against Germany the Serbian team started the warm-up with some football. Andrea was very handy with a football too! After the real business started we came to know her genius with the handball too, and the ‘love affair’ started.

After that she communicated very directly with us, and she was very happy when we visited her at her former club in Ljubljana for a match against Nürnberg. I think she understood our long-term commitment towards her when our Andrea Lekić Fan Club banner was proudly unfurled in front of the Audi ETO fans during a Győr - Krim match.

After all this you can imagine our feelings when we heard rumours of her possible transfer to Győr. Even now I still cannot believe my eyes when I see her in our green and white jersey. One of our dreams came true. You know, she is a real star, but we surely know that her attitude towards us will not change even when she will become a bigger star. We are proud members of the Andrea Lekić Fan Club!

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TEXT: Márk Hegedüs