Miklós "Miki" Fehér (; 20 July 1979 – 25 January 2004) was a Hungarian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a striker. He spent most of his nine-year career in Portugal, representing four clubs and amassing

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...

totals of 80 games and 27 goals. On 25 January 2004, he died of a

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...

during a match between

Vitória de Guimarães Vitoria or Vitória may refer to : People * Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian * Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer * Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer * Steven Vitória ...

and his team Benfica in

Guimarães Guimarães () is a city and municipality located in northern Portugal, in the district of Braga. Its historic town centre has been listed as a UNESCWorld Heritage Sitesince 2001, in recognition for being an "exceptionally well-preserved and a ...

. Fehér represented Hungary national team at international level, making his debut in 1998 at the age of 19.

Club career

Born in

Tatabánya Tatabánya (; german: Totiserkolonie; sk, Banská Stará) is a City with county rights, city with county rights of 64,305 inhabitants in northwestern Hungary, in the Central Transdanubian region. It is the capital of Komárom-Esztergom County. L ...

, Fehér started his playing career at

Győri ETO FC ETO FC Győr (''Egyetértés Torna Osztály Futball Club Győr''; ''Concordance Gymnastics Department Football Club of Győr'') or just ETO, is a football club from the city of Győr in Hungary. They are best known for reaching the semi-finals of ...

, where he was spotted by

FC Porto Futebol Clube do Porto, MHIH, OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portu ...

scouts. He was signed in 1998 but never really made a breakthrough onto the first team, being loaned to gain experience from ages 20 to 21 to another two northern sides, S.C. Salgueiros and

S.C. Braga Sporting Clube de Braga () (), commonly known as Sporting de Braga or just Braga, is a Portuguese sports club from the city of Braga. It is best known for the professional football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese ...

. At Braga, Fehér had his best professional season, scoring 14

goals in 26 games in 2000–01. After Porto

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa Jorge Nuno de Lima Pinto da Costa (; born 28 December 1937) is the president of Portuguese sports club FC Porto since 1982. He is the president with most titles won (66) and most days in charge in world football. He was involved in the Portugue ...

quarrelled with his agent José Veiga, the player refused to part with the latter and left, joining

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

side

S.L. Benfica Sport Lisboa e Benfica (), commonly known as Benfica, is a professional association football, football club based in Lisbon, Portugal, that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football league system, Portuguese footba ...

and going on to net eight official goals over two seasons.

Death and legacy

On 25 January 2004, Fehér was in

with Benfica to play against

. The game was being broadcast live on television, and Benfica were leading 1–0. Fehér had just come on as a substitute and assisted another player just off the bench,

Fernando Aguiar Fernando João Lobo Aguiar (born 18 March 1972) is a Canadian former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He was arguably Canada's second most successful player to have competed in Portugal, after Alex Bunbury, and w ...

, for the match's only goal, but received a

yellow card Yellow card may refer to: * Yellow card (sport), shown in many sports after a rules infraction or, by analogy, a serious warning in other areas * Yellowcard, an American alternative rock band * Yellow Card Scheme, a United Kingdom initiative conce ...

injury time Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

and suddenly bent forward, seemingly in pain; he then fell backwards to the ground. Members of both teams rushed immediately to aid Fehér before medical personnel arrived on the pitch.

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure consisting of chest compressions often combined with artificial ventilation in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore spont ...

was performed, an ambulance arrived on the pitch and he was rushed to the hospital. His condition was covered by the Portuguese media throughout the day and, before midnight, his death was confirmed, the cause of death being

cardiac arrhythmia Arrhythmias, also known as cardiac arrhythmias, heart arrhythmias, or dysrhythmias, are irregularities in the heartbeat, including when it is too fast or too slow. A resting heart rate that is too fast – above 100 beats per minute in adults ...

brought on by

hypertrophic cardiomyopathy Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM, or HOCM when obstructive) is a condition in which the heart becomes thickened without an obvious cause. The parts of the heart most commonly affected are the interventricular septum and the ventricles. This r ...

. In his memory Benfica retired the number 29 shirt, which he wore during his time at the club. He was remembered by many and his death caused a profound shock in Portuguese sports. Among others, Porto

director of football A sporting director, or director of sport, is an executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many types of sports. The sport ...

Reinaldo Teles and manager

José Mourinho José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix GOIH (; born 26 January 1963), is a Portuguese professional football manager and former player who is the current head coach of Italian Serie A club Roma. Once dubbed "The Special One" by the British ...

paid their respects at the

Estádio da Luz The Estádio da Luz (), officially named Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, is a multi-purpose stadium located in Lisbon, Portugal. It is used mostly for association football matches, hosting the home games of Portuguese club S.L. Benfica, its ...

, where the player's body remained before his

burial Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

in his native Hungary. Benfica's delegation, which included president

Luís Filipe Vieira Luís Filipe Ferreira Vieira (born 22 June 1949) is a Portuguese real estate businessman who was the 33rd president of sports club S.L. Benfica, from October 2003 to July 2021. He was also president of the club's SAD board of directors until ...

, coach

Giovanni Trapattoni Giovanni Trapattoni (; born 17 March 1939), sometimes popularly known as "Trap" or "Il Trap", is an Italian football manager and former player, considered the most successful club coach of Italian football. A former defensive midfielder, as a p ...

and the entire first-team squad, travelled to Hungary, presenting Fehér's parents with the 2004–05 league championship medal, in respect for the player and his time with the club. They had previously dedicated the

2003–04 Taça de Portugal The 2003–04 Taça de Portugal was the 64th edition of the Portuguese football knockout tournament, organized by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF). This edition of the Taça de Portugal began on 7 September 2003, and concluded on 16 May 20 ...

trophy to him. On 9 October 2009, the day before their

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

qualifier In linguistics, a modifier is an optional element in phrase structure or clause structure which ''modifies'' the meaning of another element in the structure. For instance, the adjective "red" acts as a modifier in the noun phrase "red ball", provi ...

against

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, the Hungary national team squad laid a wreath next to a metal bust of Fehér at Benfica's homeground, in tribute to his memory. Before a

UEFA Europa Conference League The UEFA Europa Conference League (abbreviated as UECL) is an annual football club competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. Clubs qualify for the competition based on their ...

game at the ground where he died, Hungarian club

Puskás Akadémia FC Puskás Akadémia Football Club, commonly known as Puskás Akadémia, is a football club based in Felcsút, Hungary, that competes in the Nemzeti Bajnokság I, the top flight of Hungarian football. Puskás Akadémia have spent five seasons in the ...

paid tribute to him on 20 July 2022, which would have been his 43rd birthday.

International career

Fehér earned his first

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

for the Hungary national team on 10 October 1998, in a

UEFA Euro 2000 The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. The finals tournament was ...

qualifying match against

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

. He came on as a sixth-minute substitute for

Ferenc Horváth Ferenc Horváth (born 6 May 1973) is a Hungarian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is now a manager, most recently coaching at Budapest Honvéd FC. He made his debut for the Hungary national team in 1996, and got 3 ...

at the

Tofiq Bahramov Stadium The Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium ( az, Tofiq Bəhramov adına Respublika Stadionu) is a multi-purpose stadium in Baku, Azerbaijan. It is currently used mostly for football matches. It served as the home ground for the Azerbaijan national foo ...

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

, and scored the final goal of the 4–0 win. On 11 October 2000, Fehér netted a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

in a 6–1 away rout of

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

for the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

qualifiers. In total, he scored seven goals in 25 appearances.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Hungary's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Fehér goal''.

Honours

Porto *

: 1998–99 *

Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; "Cup of Portugal") is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Placard since the 2015–16 seaso ...

: 1999–2000 *

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira The Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (; English: Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup, or simply Portuguese Super Cup) is an annual Portuguese football match played since 1979 between the winners of the Portuguese League (Primeira Liga) and Portuguese ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

Benfica *

: 2003–04 Individual * Young Hungarian Player of the Year: 1997 *

Ferenc Puskás Ferenc Puskás (, ; born Ferenc Purczeld; 1 April 1927 – 17 November 2006) was a Hungarian football player and manager, widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and the sport's first international superstar. A forward, ...

Award: 2000

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Feher, Miklos 1979 births 2004 deaths People from Tatabánya Sportspeople from Komárom-Esztergom County Hungarian footballers Association football forwards Nemzeti Bajnokság I players Győri ETO FC players Primeira Liga players Segunda Divisão players FC Porto players FC Porto B players S.C. Salgueiros players S.C. Braga players S.L. Benfica footballers Hungary under-21 international footballers Hungary international footballers Hungarian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Portugal Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Association football players who died while playing Sport deaths in Portugal Filmed deaths in sports Deaths from cardiomyopathy