József Éles (born 16 February 1969 in
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
)
is a former
Hungarian international
handball player and handball coach.
Playing career
Club
Early career and Veszprém success
Éles started his career in Budapest Spartacus SC in the Hungarian second division. He moved to first division side
Pemű-Honvéd in 1989 and led the team of the little town of
Solymár
Solymár (german: Schaumar) is an urban village in northwest of Budapest metropolitan area, bordering the 3rd and 2nd districts of the city, as well as Nagykovácsi, Pilisszentiván, Pilisvörösvár, Csobánka, Pilisborosjenő, and Üröm. ...
to a podium place in 1991. His performances attracted the attention of domestic powerhouse
KC Veszprém, which ran under the name ''Bramac SE'' at the time, and Éles was signed by the Bakony-side team in the summer of 1991.
He spent thirteen years in Veszprém and won an impressive ten
Hungarian Championship and as many
Hungarian Cup
The Hungarian Cup ( hu, Magyar Kupa) is the Hungarian cup competition for football clubs. It was started by the Hungarian Football Association, the ''Magyar Labdarúgó Szövetség,'' in 1909, eight years after the commencement of the Hungarian ...
titles. During his spell at the club, Veszprém transformed to an acclaimed and feared opponent on continental level as well: they lifted the
EHF Cup Winners' Cup
The EHF Cup Winners' Cup was the official competition for men's and women's handball clubs of Europe that won their national cup, and took place every year. From the 2012–13 season, the men's competition was merged with the EHF Cup.
Winners
...
trophy in 1992, after beating
TSV Milbertshofen in the finals. They were only one step away to repeat their success in the next season, however, this time they fell short against
OM Vitrolles.
Car crash
On 1 July 2000, in the early hours Éles crashed his car into a ditch near
Kiskunmajsa
Kiskunmajsa is a town in Bács-Kiskun county, Hungary.
Twin towns – sister cities
Kiskunmajsa is twinned with:
* Bačka Topola, Serbia
* Bad Schönborn, Germany
* Baiyin, China
* Gheorgheni, Romania
* Lommatzsch, Germany
* Lubliniec, Poland ...
. The handballer was taken to the hospital of
Kiskunhalas
Kiskunhalas (; german: Hallasch) is a city in the county of Bács-Kiskun, Hungary.
Railroad
The city is an important railway junction. It crosses the Budapest-Subotica-Belgrade railway line. The Kiskunfélegyháza railway ends in Kiskunhalas.
...
in a serious but not life-threatening condition. He was diagnosed with brain concussion, a broken collarbone and torn knee ligaments. He went through several operations and it was initially doubtful whether he would be able to play professional handball again. He left the hospital on July 18, and began a long rehabilitation process in Veszprém. He fully recovered from his injury and returned to the field on a pre-season friendly tournament in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
on 29 August 2001.
Playing abroad and first coaching steps
Éles won back his old form, and led his team into the
EHF Champions League
The Men's EHF Champions League is the most important club handball competition for men's teams in Europe and involves the leading teams from the top European nations. The competition is organised every year by EHF. The official name for the men ...
finals in 2002, where they faced
SC Magdeburg
SC Magdeburg is a handball club from Magdeburg, Germany, and is competing in the Handball-Bundesliga.
History
During the time in the GDR, the club won 10 national championships (1970, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1991) an ...
. After winning the first leg on a two goals difference, the German team showed their class and turned the things around with a 30–25 victory on home soil.
In early 2003 there were rumors about the possible departure of Éles as he was linked with many clubs including
THW Kiel
THW Kiel is a handball club from Kiel, Germany. Currently, they compete in the Handball-Bundesliga and are the record champion with 22 titles.
2007 and 2012 were the most successful years in the club's history, as THW completed the treble, wi ...
,
HSG Nordhorn and
TV Grosswallstadt. He finally signed a two-year contract with
AO Filippos Verias, where he joined former legends
Aleksandr Tuchkin
Aleksandr Arkadyevich Tuchkin (born 15 July 1964) is a Russian team handball player and Olympic champion from 2000 in Sydney.[Vyacheslav Atavin
Vyacheslav Vladimirovich Atavin (russian: Вячеслав Владимирович Атавин, born February 4, 1967, in Krasnodar) is a former Soviet and Russian handball player.
During the Soviet period of his career Atavin t ...]
. Yet in the summer of 2003 there was organized a farewell match for Éles between his old and new club. The left back has worn his legendary number 6 shirt the very last time, that was eventually retired after the game.
In December 2004,
GC Amiticia Zürich made a special offer to sign Éles as a player and coach. His existing contract was terminated by mutual agreement, went into immediate effect, and Éles joined the Swiss club in January.
Under his guidance the team performed excellent, and finished second at the end of the season. However, after a rich businessman, Arnold Schuler took over the club and merged it with Grasshoppers, the things have changed quickly. Schuler had his plan and Éles was released to make space for his own players and staff. Not much later he was approached by
TV Endingen, the team that finished just behind Amiticia in the second division campaign that year. Éles accepted a one-year deal and since then he concentrates fully on his coaching career.
International
He made his international debut on 24 November 1989 against
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
.
His first major tournament was the
1992 Summer Olympics
The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...
, where the Hungarian team placed seventh.
One year later he participated on the
1993 World Championship in Sweden, where despite
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
finished on a disappointing eleventh place, Éles topped the scoring charts with 41 goals.
On the
1997 World Championship he was in inspired form once again and finished second on the top scorers' list with 59 goals, only three short to
Yoon Kyung-shin.
He was present on further two World Championships in 1995 and 1999, and also played on the
1994 European Championship.
Coaching career
Éles functioned first as a player-coach during his late years by
GC Amiticia Zürich before turned into a full-time trainer in 2006. After his contract was terminated by the new owner of Amiticia, he signed a one-year deal with
TV Endingen in May 2007.
However, he left the club for relegation struggling
CSU Politehnica Timişoara as early as March 2008 with only five matches left from the ongoing Romanian championship. His mission to keep the purple-whites in the top division failed on the field, but due to the expansion of the league his team maintained their
Liga Națională membership.
Éles revealed his wish to train a Hungarian team earlier, and although Poli became a mid-table team with a strengthened squad in the following season, when in October 2008 he was offered a contract by
Gyöngyösi FKK, he did not hesitate too long and joined the
Nemzeti Bajnokság I
The Nemzeti Bajnokság (, "National Championship"), also known as NB I, is the top level of the Hungarian football league system. The league is officially named OTP Bank Liga after its title sponsor OTP Bank. UEFA currently ranks the league 28th ...
outfit. He achieved his first success as coach with Gyöngyös, when took the
Hungarian Cup
The Hungarian Cup ( hu, Magyar Kupa) is the Hungarian cup competition for football clubs. It was started by the Hungarian Football Association, the ''Magyar Labdarúgó Szövetség,'' in 1909, eight years after the commencement of the Hungarian ...
bronze medal after beating
Ferencvárosi TC
Ferencvárosi Torna Club, known as Ferencváros (), Fradi, or simply FTC, is a professional football club based in Ferencváros, Budapest, Hungary, that competes in the Nemzeti Bajnokság I, the top flight of Hungarian football. Ferencváros ...
. Since finalists
SC Pick Szeged
SC Pick Szeged is a Hungary, Hungarian handball club from Szeged, that plays in the Nemzeti Bajnokság I (men's handball), Nemzeti Bajnokság I and the EHF Champions League.
The current name of the club is OTP Bank - Pick Szeged due to sponsorshi ...
and
MKB Veszprém already secured their place in the
Champions League, with this bronze medal Gyöngyös also earned a spot in the
Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...
for next year. However, despite the good results in the cup, the club get relegated from the Hungarian championship at the end of the season and Éles was sacked.
The last team he managed up to date is the women's handball club
Kiskunhalas NKSE. He took the hot seat in October 2009, when the club was at the very bottom of the table without a single point.
Éles could not make miracle and Kiskunhalas finished second from behind at the end of the season. As a result, his contract was not extended, but as he stated it was a very useful experience for him. He never worked with women before and he was pleasantly surprised. He felt they work more diligent and more humble than men, and also added that if he had to choose at the moment, he would rather train women in the future.
On 15 February 2011 Éles was appointed as the head coach of the
Dominican Republic women's national team and was set the goal to reach a podium place on the forthcoming Pan American Games and thus qualify for the
2011 World Championship. In order to fulfil this plan, the team will train in Hungary for two months, starting from early April and will play friendly matches against Hungarian club teams.
Personal
He has two sons, Benedek and Zsombor. They train in the ''Éles Kézisuli'', a handball academy that was founded by Éles and wears his name.
Achievements
As player
*
Nemzeti Bajnokság I
The Nemzeti Bajnokság (, "National Championship"), also known as NB I, is the top level of the Hungarian football league system. The league is officially named OTP Bank Liga after its title sponsor OTP Bank. UEFA currently ranks the league 28th ...
:
**''Winner'': 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003
**''Silver Medallist'': 1996, 2000
**''Bronze Medallist'': 1991
*
Magyar Kupa
The Hungarian Cup ( hu, Magyar Kupa) is the Hungarian cup competition for football clubs. It was started by the Hungarian Football Association, the ''Magyar Labdarúgó Szövetség,'' in 1909, eight years after the commencement of the Hungarian ...
:
**''Winner'': 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003
*
EHF Champions League
The Men's EHF Champions League is the most important club handball competition for men's teams in Europe and involves the leading teams from the top European nations. The competition is organised every year by EHF. The official name for the men ...
:
**''Finalist'': 2002
*
EHF Cup Winners' Cup
The EHF Cup Winners' Cup was the official competition for men's and women's handball clubs of Europe that won their national cup, and took place every year. From the 2012–13 season, the men's competition was merged with the EHF Cup.
Winners
...
:
**''Winner'': 1992
**''Finalist'': 1993
As coach
*
Magyar Kupa
The Hungarian Cup ( hu, Magyar Kupa) is the Hungarian cup competition for football clubs. It was started by the Hungarian Football Association, the ''Magyar Labdarúgó Szövetség,'' in 1909, eight years after the commencement of the Hungarian ...
– men:
**''Bronze Medallist'': 2009
Individual awards
*
Hungarian Handballer of the Year The Hungarian Handballer of the Year award is an annual prize, which is given to the Hungarian handballer who is considered to have performed the best over the previous calendar year.
Presented by the Hungarian Handball Federation since 1964, the m ...
: 1992, 1993, 1997
* World Championship Top Scorer: 1993
*
Nemzeti Bajnokság I Top Scorer: 1998
References
External links
Éles Kézisuli Official Website
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eles, Jozsef
1969 births
Living people
Handball players from Budapest
Hungarian male handball players
Hungarian handball coaches
Olympic handball players for Hungary
Handball players at the 1992 Summer Olympics
Expatriate handball players
Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in Greece
Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in Romania
Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland