Attila Pintér (born 7 May 1966) is a Hungarian football manager and former player. He is most known for being the head coach of the

Hungarian national football team The Hungary national football team ( hu, magyar labdarúgó-válogatott) represents Hungary in men's international football and is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation. The team has made 9 appearances in the FIFA World Cup and 4 appe ...

from 19 December 2013 until 18 September 2014.

Managerial career

Ferencváros

Pintér won the

Hungarian League Hungarian may refer to: * Hungary, a country in Central Europe * Kingdom of Hungary, state of Hungary, existing between 1000 and 1946 * Hungarians, ethnic groups in Hungary * Hungarian algorithm, a polynomial time algorithm for solving the assignm ...

title with

Ferencváros Ferencváros () is the 9th district of Budapest ( hu, Budapest IX. kerülete), Hungary. Name The southern suburb of Pest was named after King Francis I on 4 December 1792 when he was crowned king of Hungary. History The development of Fe ...

in the 2003–04 season. Pintér also could win 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 ...

in 2004. He was dismissed from the club in 2004 after what was claimed to be a contract negotiation problem. Shortly after, the players of the club released a statement about Pintér's apparent behaviour during his tenure: according to the team, profanity, hazing, racist slurs and bullying was commonplace.

Sopron

Pintér won the Hungarian Cup in 2005 with

Sopron Sopron (; german: Ödenburg, ; sl, Šopron) is a city in Hungary on the Austrian border, near Lake Neusiedl/Lake Fertő. History Ancient times-13th century When the area that is today Western Hungary was a province of the Roman Empire, a ...

Győr

Attila Pintér became the coach of the Győri ETO FC in 2009. During his coaching the team finished third in the Hungarian League 2009–10 season after beating

Videoton FC Videoton may refer to: * Videoton (company), Hungarian electronics company *Fehérvár FC, formerly known as Videoton FC, Hungarian football club See also *Vidéotron Vidéotron is a Canadian integrated telecommunications company active in cable ...

in the last round. On international turf the team entered the Europa League 2010-11 season. In the first qualifying round Győr played their first match against

FC Nitra FC Nitra is a Slovak association football club, playing in the town of Nitra. Established in 1909, FC Nitra is one of the oldest football clubs in Slovakia. History Czechoslovak era Nitra were promoted and relegated 4 times from the Czechoslov ...

. The final result was 2–2. In the second leg Attila Pintér's team could win 3–1 at the ETO Park. In the second qualifying round Győr played their first match in

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

against Atyrau. The match finished 2–0 to Győr thanks to the goals of Linas Pilibaitis and Fouad Bouguerra. In the second leg Győr could win 2–0. The goals were scored by Rati Aleksidze and Mihai Nicorec. In the third qualifying round Győr played with the French

Montpellier HSC Montpellier Hérault Sport Club (), commonly referred to as Montpellier HSC or simply Montpellier, is a French professional football club based in the city of Montpellier in Occitanie. The original club was founded in 1919, while the current ...

. The first match was played at the ETO Park and the final result was 1–0 to the French team. The only goal of the match was scored by

Olivier Giroud Olivier Jonathan Giroud (born 30 September 1986) is a French professional footballer who plays as a striker for club AC Milan and the France national team. Regarded for his work-rate, strength, acrobatic strikes, shot power, consistent goal-s ...

. In the second leg Győr won 1–0. The only goal was scored by

Valentin Babić Valentin Babić (born 6 July 1981) is a Croatian retired Association football, football Defender (association football), defender, who primarily played for NK Osijek. Club career He also had a spell in Germany with amateur sides SV Hajduk Wiesb ...

. In extra time there were no more goals therefore the teams had to decide the match in the penalty shootout. Győr won 4–3 on penalties and entered the play-offs of the Europa League. Győr played the Croatian

Dinamo Zagreb Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb ( en, Dinamo Zagreb Citizens' Football Club, link=yes, italics=yes), commonly referred to as GNK Dinamo Zagreb or simply Dinamo Zagreb (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. Dinamo ...

in the play-off of the Europa League 2010-11. The first match was won by Zagreb 2–0. In the second leg at the

Stadion Maksimir Maksimir Stadium ( hr, Stadion Maksimir, ) is a multi-use stadium in Zagreb, Croatia. It takes its name from the surrounding neighbourhood of Maksimir. The venue is primarily the home of Dinamo Zagreb, the top club of the country with 23 le ...

Győr lost to 2–1 and were eliminated from the Europa League on 4–1 aggregate. Due to the increase of the number of matches the team were unable to do well both in the Hungarian League and in the Europa League. The results in the domestic league were not satisfying for the management, therefore Attila Pintér and the management mutually terminated the contract between each other and the management appointed

Aurél Csertői Aurél Csertői (born 25 September 1965 in Győr) is a Hungarian football player and manager. Coaching career FC Fehérvár (Videoton FC) (2004-2006) Csertői won a bronze medal in the Hungarian National Championship I 2005-06 season. ...

as the manager. On 12 May 2013, Attila Pintér's Győr ended a 30-year wait for the Hungarian League title by 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 ...

at home by 1–0, while their rival

lost to Debreceni VSC 2–1 in the 27th weekday of the championship. In the 2012–13 season they went on a 22-match unbeaten run before back-to-back defeats knocked them off their stride. But neither Videoton FC nor

MTK Budapest FC Magyar Testgyakorlók Köre Budapest Futball Club or shortly MTK is a Hungarian football club based in Józsefváros, Budapest. The team currently plays in the Nemzeti Bajnokság II. The club's colours are blue and white. As one of the most suc ...

could sustain the challenge therefore Győr could wrap up their fourth title with room to spare. On 22 May 2013, Pintér could have led Győr to double their success by winning the 2012–13 Magyar Kupa against Debreceni VSC at the

Bozsik Stadion Bozsik (, probably of Western Slavic origin, possibly from the masculine given name ''Boško'' – itself derived from the Slavic word boh/bog/ bóh for "god" – followed by the Slavic diminutive suffix '' -ik'', and thus of theophori ...

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 ...

. Győr was winning by 1–0 thanks to the goal by Nemanja Andrić in the 19th minute but in the second half Debrecen's Adamo Coulibaly scored two goals which resulted Debrecen's victory over Győr in the Hungarian Cup final.

Hungary

On 19 December 2013, Pintér was appointed as the

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

of the

by the head of the

Hungarian Football Federation The Hungarian Football Federation ( hu, Magyar Labdarúgó Szövetség, MLSZ) is the governing body of football in Hungary. It organizes the Hungarian league and the Hungarian national team. It is based in Budapest. Honours ;National Team * Worl ...

, Sándor Csányi, in

Telki Telki is a village near Budakeszi, in Hungary, some away from 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 secon ...

. Some has seen this decision as controversial, given Pintér's low popularity with fans and players alike. On 7 September 2014, Hungary were defeated by

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

by 2–1 at the newly built

Groupama Arena Groupama an abbreviation for Groupe des Assurances Mutuelles Agricoles ( en , Group of Mutual Agricultural Insurances) is a French insurance group headquartered in Paris with operations in 10 countries. It is listed in the 2007 International Co ...

on the first matchday of the

UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying The UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying tournament was a football competition that was played from September 2014 to November 2015 to determine the 23 UEFA member men's national teams joining the automatically qualified host team France in the UEFA Euro 2 ...

. Pintér was subsequently dismissed, with

Pál Dárdai Pál Dárdai (born 16 March 1976) is a Hungarian retired footballer who played mainly as a defensive midfielder, and last coached Hertha BSC. In a 20-year professional career, he played for over a decade with the same club, Hertha BSC, in Ger ...

appointed as a temporary replacement for three matches.

Szalai controversy

After the 8–1 defeat of the Hungarian national side against the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, Szalai gave an interview about the reasons behind the long-term underachievement of the national side. Szalai has not been called up to play for Hungary since. On 13 November 2013, Pintér reacted on Szalai's criticism and doubted Szalai's honesty. Pintér claimed that Szalai said in an interview before the 8–1 defeat that he does not have any problems with Hungary coach

Sándor Egervári Sándor Egervári (born 15 July 1950) is a Hungarian football manager. He attended the University of Physical Education in Budapest and qualified as a football coach in 1983. He has completed the UEFA A and B course and as well as the pro lic ...

. Pintér criticised Szalai for being irresponsible for criticising the Hungarian coaches since Szalai does not know them. On 5 March 2014, Hungary played their first match, ended in a 2–1 defeat, against

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

in Győr's ETO Park in the year and Szalai was left out. In an interview with

Nemzeti Sport ''Nemzeti Sport'' (the title means "National Sport") is a Hungarian sports daily. History and profile ''Nemzeti Sport'' was founded in 1903. The paper is owned by Ringier of Switzerland. It is frequently cited by quality English-language media The ...

, Szalai said that he cannot say anything about his future with the national team since he was not invited and he did not have the option to decide whether to join or not. On 28 August 2014, Pintér appointed the footballers of the Hungarian national side against the upcoming UEFA Euro 2016 qualifier against Northern Ireland at the Groupama Arena on 7 September 2014. Szalai was left out from the team. On 4 September 2014, Szalai posted an announcement on his Facebook profile saying that he doesn't want to play for Hungary during the management of Pintér. Szalai became the second Hungarian footballer in the past 20 years who resigned from the Hungarian national side after the resignation of

Szabolcs Huszti Szabolcs Huszti (; born 18 April 1983) is a Hungarian professional football coach and a former player. He was well known for his dribbling, pace, passing and goal scoring ability from midfield. Huszti began his professional career at the Hunga ...

in 2007.

Honours

Player

Club

;Ferencváros: *

: 1988–89,

1990–91 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...

: 1991

Manager

Ferencváros

: 2003–04 *

: 2004

Sopron

: 2005

Győr

: 2012–13

International goals

Managerial statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pinter, Attila 1966 births Living people People from Salgótarján Hungarian football managers Hungarian footballers Hungary youth international footballers Hungary international footballers Nemzeti Bajnokság I players Ferencvárosi TC managers Ferencvárosi TC footballers Győri ETO FC managers Győri ETO FC players Vasas SC managers Vasas SC players Beerschot A.C. players Budapesti VSC footballers FC DAC 1904 Dunajská Streda players Hungarian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Czechoslovakia Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in Czechoslovakia Expatriate footballers in Belgium Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Association football defenders Puskás Akadémia FC managers Mezőkövesdi SE managers Nemzeti Bajnokság I managers Sportspeople from Nógrád County