István Ferenczi (born 14 September 1977) 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

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

. He gained nine caps for the Hungary national team between 2001 and 2008 and scored two goals. The last club he played for in the top flight of Hungarian football was

Vasas SC Vasas SC () is a Hungarian sports club based in Budapest. Members of the ''Hungarian Union of Iron Workers'' founded the club as ''Vas- és Fémmunkások Sport Clubja'', the "Sport Club of Iron and Metal Workers", on 16 March 1911. The club ...

. He was over 40 when he played his last first league game, and played two more professional games at the age of 43 for

BFC Siófok Bodajk FC Siófok, generally shortened to BFC Siófok, is a Hungarian football club based in Siófok, a small town on the shores of Lake Balaton. The club was founded in 1921 as ''Siófok SE''. The word ''Bodajk'' in the club's name stems from ...

Nemzeti Bajnokság II The NB II, currently known as the Merkantil Bank Liga for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of Hungarian football. At the end of the 2004–05 season, the tournament format was changed from one division of 14 teams to two divisions: ''Ke ...

, the second tier of Hungarian football. He is a target man standing. He has scored goals in a number of countries including England, Turkey, Germany and his native Hungary.

Barnsley career

2006–2007

Ferenczi signed for

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

on 31 January 2007 – the transfer deadline day and incidentally the same week Barnsley captured fellow Hungarian

Péter Rajczi Péter Rajczi (born 3 April 1981) is a Hungarian footballer who plays as a striker for USV Neulengbach. Career Rajczi started to play football in Kaposvár, playing for Kaposvári Rákóczi FC. He played many seasons with Rákóczi, and scor ...

. He made his Barnsley debut against

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

on 2 February 2007 from the bench. Ferenczi scored his first goal in the game at

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

when he headed home a

Martin Devaney Martin Thomas Devaney (born 1 June 1980) is a football coach and former professional midfielder who is assistant head coach of EFL League One Barnsley. Born in England of Irish parents, Devaney has played for the Republic Ireland at youth level. ...

cross. In the following fixture against

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. They compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. They play their home ...

, Ferenczi scored a brace, the first he slid under the keeper after a defensive error and the second a bullet header from a Brian Howard cross. Ferenczi carried on his impressive scoring record as he scored a goal supplied by Péter Rajczi and beat

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, the cl ...

on 26 February 2007. This game was shown live on

Sky Sports 1 Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...

. He added his fifth goal in four starts on 3 March, after terrifically heading in a Martin Devaney cross. Although Barnsley lost 3–1

Oakwell Oakwell is a multi-purpose sports ground in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England used by Barnsley Football Club for home fixtures, and those of their reserves. As of 2023, the Barnsley F.C. Women's team also play at the stadium. While the na ...

against

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

in that match. He failed to hit the target against

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

the following Saturday as Barnsley lost 2–0, but scored a last minute clincher against

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club has played ...

on 14 March in a terrific 4–2 away win. He was a big hit with the fans in South Yorkshire and gained the nickname Stan.

2007–2008

Ferenczi started the first game of the season against

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Coventry, West Midlands. The club plays in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club is nicknamed The Sky Blues after the sky blue colou ...

and was tugged and pulled all over the place by

Elliott Ward Elliott Leslie Ward (born 19 January 1985) is an English retired professional footballer who played as a defender. He played in the Premier League for West Ham United and Norwich City. He is currently head coach of Colchester United's under- ...

but had no favours given to him by the

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other title ...

. Three days later in the

Carling Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the English Football L ...

he got off the mark for the season after coming off the bench by heading home

Rob Kozluk Robert Kozluk (born 5 August 1977) is an English former footballer who played primarily as a right-back. Born in Mansfield, he came through the Derby County youth team ranks before turning professional in 1997 before joining Sheffield United in ...

's cross. He got off the mark in the League on 25 August in Barnsley's home game with Plymouth when he swept home

Kayode Odejayi Olukayode Ishmael "Kayode" Odejayi (born 21 February 1982) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a striker, most recently for Guiseley. He is a former Nigeria international. Club career Born in Ibadan, Oyo State, Odejayi started ...

's low cross. He suffered an ankle injury against

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

at Oakwell and missed five weeks, but he returned with a bang with new strike partner

Jon Macken Jonathan Paul Macken (born 7 September 1977) is a football manager and former professional player who played as a striker. He is manager of Stalybridge Celtic. He began his career with Premier League side Manchester United in 1995 but was rele ...

and scored two goals in as many games against Preston and

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

, both headers from Brian Howard free kicks. He also played in the memorable victories over

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

sides

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

and Chelsea in the

2007–08 FA Cup The 2007–08 FA Cup (known as The FA Cup sponsored by E.ON for sponsorship reasons) was the 127th season of the world's oldest football knockout competition, the FA Cup. A record 731 clubs' entries were accepted for the competition. The competit ...

. In May 2008, Simon Davey transfer-listed Ferenczi (despite his desire to stay) along with four other players. Following initial interest from Nottingham Forest and an unnamed Swedish club, he signed a two-year contract for

Ferencváros Ferencváros (, ) is the 9th district of Budapest (), Hungary. Name The southern suburb of Pest was named after King Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, Francis I on 4 December 1792 when he was crowned king of Hungary. History The developmen ...

on 24 July 2008. Ferencváros are one of the highest rated clubs in Hungary and Stan wanted to play for them eventually.

2008–2009

Ferenczi had a remarkable return to his homeland, bagging 13 goals in the first seven games. As of 1 June 2009, he scored 39 goals in only 24 league matches.

Career statistics

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

Honours

Levski Sofia *

Bulgarian A PFG The First Professional Football League (), commonly known as Parva Liga or Bulgarian First League (currently known as the efbet League for sponsorship reasons), is a professional association football league in Bulgaria and the highest level of t ...

: 2001–02 Debreceni VSC *

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 ...

: 2005–06 *

Szuperkupa The Hungarian Super Cup is an annual association football match between the League (Nemzeti Bajnokság I) champions and the Cup (Magyar Kupa) winners. Winners (*) due to violent incidents during the recent 1997–98 Magyar Kupa Final between ...

: 2006 Ferencváros *

(Eastern Group): 2008–09 Individual *

top scorer: 2008–09 with 39 goals

References

External links

*
Ferencváros profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferenczi, Istvan 1977 births Living people Footballers from Győr Hungarian men's footballers Hungary men's youth international footballers Hungary men's under-21 international footballers Hungary men's international footballers Győri ETO FC players Zalaegerszegi TE players MTK Budapest FC players PFC Levski Sofia players VfL Osnabrück players Vasas SC players Çaykur Rizespor footballers Debreceni VSC players Barnsley F.C. players Ferencvárosi TC footballers Pápai FC footballers Gyirmót FC Győr players Nemzeti Bajnokság I players 2. Bundesliga players First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players Hungarian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Bulgaria Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in England Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in Bulgaria Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in England Men's association football forwards Nemzeti Bajnokság II players Vasas SC managers Hungarian football managers English Football League players