Pál "Palkó" Dárdai (born 24 April 1999) is a 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 lea ...

who plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for German club

Hertha BSC Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V., commonly known as Hertha BSC () or Hertha Berlin, is a German professional football club based in Berlin. Hertha BSC plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of German football league system, German footbal ...

. Born in Germany, he plays for the Hungary national team.

Club career

Youth

Dárdai began his youth career at Seeburger SV in 2006, before moving to 1. FC Wilmersdorf in 2009. In 2011, Dárdai moved to the youth academy of

, following his father's retirement from football after 14 years with Hertha.

Hertha BSC

Dárdai made his debut for Hertha BSC II on 18 March 2017, starting in an away match against Carl Zeiss Jena in the

Regionalliga Nordost The Regionalliga Nordost is the fourth tier of German football league system, German football in the states of Berlin, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony and Thuringia. These comprise the states of former East Germany ...

. Dárdai scored to put Hertha 2–1 ahead, before being substituted out with the match finishing as a 2–2 draw. On 2 November 2017, Dárdai made his professional debut for

under his father in the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

, coming on as a substitute in the 79th minute for Alexander Esswein in the 2–0 home win against Ukrainian club

Zorya Luhansk FC Zorya Luhansk ( ) is a Ukrainian football team. Zorya Luhansk was based in the city of Luhansk, Ukraine. However, due to the Russo-Ukrainian War, the team currently plays its games at Slavutych-Arena in Zaporizhzhia. The modern club as a ...

Fehérvár FC

On 5 January 2021, Dárdai signed with

Fehérvár FC Fehérvár Football Club (commonly known as ''Fehérvár'', ''Vidi'', or ''MOL Fehérvár Football Club'' for sponsorship reasons), is a Hungarian professional football club based in Székesfehérvár, which plays in the Nemzeti Bajnokság II ...

of the

Nemzeti Bajnokság I The Nemzeti Bajnokság (, ), also known as NB I or Fizz Liga after its title sponsor, OTP Bank's webshop subsidiary, is a professional association football league in Hungary and the highest level of the Hungarian football league system. Twelve ...

Return to Hertha BSC

On 25 July 2023, Dárdai returned to

on a three-year contract, joining his brother Márton and his father and Hertha manager Pál Dárdai. He scored his first goal in the 2023–24 DFB-Pokal against

FC Carl Zeiss Jena FC Carl Zeiss Jena () is a German football club based in Jena, Thuringia. Founded in 1903, it was initially associated with the optics manufacturer Carl Zeiss. From the 1960s to the 1980s it was one of the top-ranked clubs in East Germany, won ...

in a 5–0 victory on 12 August 2023. On 16 February 2024, he scored a goal in a 3–2 victory over

1. FC Magdeburg 1. FC Magdeburg is a German Association football Football club (association football), club based in Magdeburg. The club was founded in 1965 from the football department of the Sports club (East Germany), sports club ''SC Magdeburg'' and has bee ...

in the 2023–24 2. Bundesliga season. On 12 April 2024, he scored twice in a 4–0 victory against

FC Hansa Rostock FC Hansa Rostock () is a German association football club based in the city of Rostock, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The club is also called as "the cog" because of its club crest. They have emerged as one of the most successful clubs from ...

International career

Dárdai was a youth international for Germany, but declared his wish to represent Hungary after joining Fehérvár in 2021. He was included in the Hungarian squad for the 2021 UEFA Euro Under-21, but was cut due to an injury. On 13 November 2022, Dárdai was called up to the Hungary national team for the friendly games against

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

and

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

and gained his first cap against the latter as a substitute in the 72nd minute.

Personal life

Palkó is the oldest son of Hungarian manager and former footballer Pál Dárdai, and the brother of the

footballers Márton and Bence Dárdai. Palkó's grandfather was also a footballer and manager, and also named Pál Dárdai.

Career statistics

Club

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dardai, Palko 1999 births Living people Footballers from Berlin Hungarian men's footballers Hungary men's international footballers German men's footballers Germany men's youth international footballers German people of Hungarian descent Sportspeople of Hungarian descent Men's association football midfielders Hertha BSC II players Hertha BSC players Fehérvár FC players Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players Regionalliga players Nemzeti Bajnokság I players 21st-century German sportsmen 21st-century Hungarian sportsmen