Gábor Bukrán (born 16 November 1975) is a Hungarian former 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 played 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 ...

. His most recent team was Belgian lower division side Royal Cercle Sportif Onhaye.

Early life

Bukrán was born in

Eger Eger ( , ; ; also known by other #Names and etymology, alternative names) is the county seat of Heves County, and the second largest city in Northern Hungary (after Miskolc). A city with county rights, Eger is best known for Castle of Eger, its ...

Club career

He began his career in 1992 with

Budapest Honvéd Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

before moving to

Belgian First Division The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023– ...

side

Charleroi Charleroi (, , ; ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It is the largest city in both Hainaut and Wallonia. The city is situated in the valley of the Sambre, in the south-west of Belgium, not ...

in 1993. Bukrán helped Charleroi to a fourth-place finish in 1993–94 and qualification for European competition in three out of his four years in Belgium. In 1997, he moved to Spain to play for

Córdoba Córdoba most commonly refers to: * Córdoba, Spain, a major city in southern Spain and formerly the imperial capital of Islamic Spain * Córdoba, Argentina, the second largest city in Argentina and the capital of Córdoba Province Córdoba or Cord ...

in the

Segunda División B Segunda División B (English: second division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish ...

. After only one season, he moved to Xerez, who also played in Segunda División B. In his two years in Spain, Bukrán played 47 league games and scored five goals. In the summer of 1999, Bukrán came to the attention of English side

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

and, on 5 August 1999, he signed a two-year contract with the newly promoted

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

side. He quickly became a fans' favourite but could not prevent the team's relegation on the final day of the season. The 2000–01 season was a much happier one as Bukrán helped Walsall to promotion back to the First Division via the Second Division play-off final, beating

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

3–2 at Cardiff's

Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium (), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium () for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it has a retractable roof and is the home of the Wales national rugby union team; it has ...

. After leaving Walsall, Bukrán spent a very brief spell at

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

, where he only managed one appearance, before moving to Austrian side SV Salzburg. He spent two years at Salzburg before returning to Belgium with

Royal Antwerp Royal Antwerp Football Club (commonly referred to as Royal Antwerp or simply Antwerp) is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Antwerp. They compete in the Belgian Pro League, the top flight of Belgian football. Founded in 1 ...

in 2003. He played out the remainder of his career in Belgium with

Union Royale Namur Union Namur, formerly known as Union Royale Namur, is a Belgian football club based in Namur, capital of Namur Province. The team currently play in the National Division 1, the third tier of Belgian football. They are often nicknamed ''Les Merl ...

, R. JS Heppignies and R.C.S. Onhaye.

International career

Bukran made his international debut for

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much 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 south, Croatia and ...

in a 3–0 friendly defeat to Australia in February 2000. Despite being selected in the squad for the majority of Hungary's Euro 2000 Qualifying campaign, his debut turned out to be his first and last international appearance.

Honours

;with Walsall *

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third tier ...

play-off winner:

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

References

External links

Player profile at PlayerHistory.com
*

* 1975 births Living people Footballers from Eger Hungarian men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Hungary men's international footballers Budapest Honvéd FC players Hungarian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Royal Charleroi S.C. players Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Córdoba CF players Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Xerez CD footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Walsall F.C. players Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in England Wigan Athletic F.C. players Expatriate men's footballers in Austria FC Red Bull Salzburg players Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in Austria Royal Antwerp F.C. players Union Namur players English Football League players {{Hungary-footy-midfielder-stub