Marco Rossi (born 9 September 1964) is an Italian and Hungarian

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

manager and former professional footballer who is the current manager of Hungary's national team. His greatest achievement as a player was winning the

Italian Cup Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...

with

Sampdoria Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa, Liguria. Sampdoria was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the ...

. After retirement in 2000, Rossi became a manager at various clubs throughout Italy from 2004 to 2011, most notably

Spezia Calcio Spezia Calcio is an Italian professional Association football, football club based in La Spezia, Liguria, currently competing in the Serie B. Spezia Calcio was founded in 1906 by the Swiss banker Hermann Hurni (or Hurny in some documents), who ...

. In August 2012, he took up the position of head coach of

Budapest Honvéd FC Budapest Honvéd Football Club (), commonly known as Budapest Honvéd or simply Honvéd, is a Hungarian sports club based in Kispest, Budapest, with the colours of red and black. The club is best known for its football team. ''Honvéd'' means ...

where he served in two spells. In 2017, he signed a two-year contract with FC DAC 1904 and since 19 June 2018, he has served as the manager of the Hungary national team. As a coach, he won the 2016-2017 Hungarian Football League title with Budapest Honvéd and finished third in the

2017–18 Slovak First Football League The 2017–18 Slovak First Football League (known as the Slovak Slovak First Football League, Fortuna Liga for sponsorship reasons) was the 25th season of first-tier football league in Slovakia, since its establishment in 1993. MŠK Žilina were t ...

with DAC 1904. He has also coached the Hungary national team to qualification for

UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international men's association footb ...

and

UEFA Euro 2024 The 2024 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2024 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2024) or simply Euro 2024, was the 17th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international Association football, football champ ...

Club career

Growing up in the Torino youth academy, with whose Primavera team he won an Italian Cup and a Viareggio Tournament, he made his Serie A debut in the 1983-1984 season in Torino-Ascoli (0-0) on March 18, 1984. He moved on to Campania, where he remained three seasons in Serie C1. In 1987 he moved to Catanzaro, newly promoted to Serie B: the Calabrians, in their first year in the division, missed promotion to Serie A by one point, and Rossi was a starter in defense. In 1988 he moved to Brescia, where he played five consecutive championships, gaining promotion to Serie A in 1992. In 1993, after the relegation of the Rondinelle, he moved to Sampdoria for 2.5 billion lire, and remained there for two seasons in the top division; at this juncture he was included in the FIFA 97 video game database with the highest rating in the game, corresponding to 97. When his contract with the Genoese club expired, at the age of 31, he moved abroad, first to Mexico to América, then to Germany to Eintracht Frankfurt. In 1997 he returned to Italy to end his professional career at Piacenza, with which he won salvation in Serie A in a season conditioned by repeated injuries. He played three seasons in the amateurs, one with Ospitaletto (relegation to Eccellenza due to last place) and two with Salò (in Eccellenza Lombarda).

Managerial career

Initially, he worked for lower Italian teams.

Budapest Honvéd

Then from August 2012 he was appointed as the coach of Budapesti Honvéd FC. In his first season, he took third place with Honvéd in 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 ...

. However, he was no longer as successful in the following season, so on 28 April 2014, Rossi resigned from his position. On 7 February 2015, Rossi was appointed as the coach of the

club

for the second time in his career. Although

was not the most financially stable club of the

, Rossi won the

2016–17 Nemzeti Bajnokság I The 2016–17 Nemzeti Bajnokság I, also known as NB I, is the 118th season of top-tier football in Hungary. The league is officially named ''OTP Bank Liga'' for sponsorship reasons. Ferencvárosi TC (football), Ferencváros were the defending ch ...

after securing their trophy against their rival

Videoton FC Videoton may refer to: *Videoton (company) Videoton, officially VIDEOTON HOLDING Ltd., is a privately owned company group based out of Székesfehérvár, Hungary, and specializing in contract manufacturing, mainly electronics manufacturing servic ...

in the last round of the season. The last match was won by Honvéd 1–0 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 theophoric ...

Budapest 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 ...

, Hungary. After winning the

season with

, Rossi resigned as the manager of Honvéd by saying that:

Rossi was chosen the best manager of the

season.

Dunajská Streda

In 11 June 2017, it was announced that Rossi would sign for FC DAC 1904, a Slovakian football club, for two years plus an option for one more year. The club is strongly supported by the

Hungarian minority in Slovakia Hungarians constitute the largest minority in Slovakia. According to the 2021 Slovak census, 456,154 people (or 8.37% of the population) declared themselves Hungarian, while 462,175 (8.48% of the population) stated that Hungarian was their ...

. The team plays in the Slovakia First League. In the final round of the season, DAC beat

Ružomberok Ružomberok (; ; ; ) is a town in northern Slovakia, in the historical Liptov region. It has a population of approximately 27,000. Etymology The name of the initial settlement located on today's Makovický street was ''Revúca'' ( Slovak "roaring ...

4-0 away from home to secure their place on the podium, while Rossi led another team to the

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 ...

qualifiers after bronze medallist Honvéd.

Hungary national team

On 19 June 2018, Rossi was announced as the new manager of the

Hungary national football team The Hungary national football team (, ) represents Hungary in men's international Association football, football, and is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation. The team has made nine appearances in the FIFA World Cup, and five in the ...

. He replaced

Georges Leekens Georges Leekens (born 18 May 1949) is a Belgian football manager and former player. During his managerial career, he was in charge of four national teams: the Belgian, Tunisian, Algerian and Hungarian national football teams. He also manage ...

. In 2018, András Gáll's book about Rossi's years spent with Honvéd entitled ''Marco Rossi: Olasz meló Magyarországon'' (Marco Rossi: The Italian Job in Hungary) was published. He debuted as the new coach of Hungary on 8 September 2018 against

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

in the

2018–19 UEFA Nations League The 2018–19 UEFA Nations League was the inaugural season of the UEFA Nations League, an international association football competition involving the men's national teams of the 55 member associations of UEFA. The league phase of the competition ...

series. In the

edition, Hungary finished second in their group; thus, they were promoted to the

2020–21 UEFA Nations League B The 2020–21 UEFA Nations League B was the second division of the 2020–21 edition of the UEFA Nations League, the second season of the international football competition involving the men's national teams of the 55 member associations of UEFA. ...

. Hungary could beat Greece at the

Ferencváros Stadion The Ferencváros Stadion, also known as the Groupama Aréna for sponsorship purposes, is a multi-purpose stadium in Ferencváros, Budapest, Hungary and the home of Ferencvárosi TC. With a capacity of 22,000, it was for a time the largest stadiu ...

on 11 September 2018. However, Hungary lost to Greece 1–0 on 12 October 2018 at the

Olympic Stadium (Athens) The Olympic Stadium of Athens "Spyridon Louis, Spyros Louis" (, ''Olympiakó Stádio Athinón "Spýros Loúis"'') is a sports stadium in Marousi, in the north section of Athens, Greece. With a total capacity of 75,000, it is the largest sports v ...

, Greece. In the last two rounds, Hungary beat Estonia 2–0, and Finland 2–0 at home. Since Greece lost to Estonia at home, Hungary finished second in their group and their chances to qualify for the

remained alive. In the

UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying The UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying tournament was a football competition that was played from March 2019 to November 2020 to determine the 24 UEFA member men's national teams that advanced to the UEFA Euro 2020 final tournament, intended to be playe ...

, Hungary finished fourth in their group. On 21 March 2019, Hungary lost to Slovakia 2–0 at the

Anton Malatinský Stadium Anton Malatinský Stadium () is a football stadium located in Trnava, Slovakia, which is the home ground of the local football club Spartak Trnava. The stadium was completely renovated in 2013–2015 and has an all-seated capacity of 18,200 which ...

Trnava Trnava (, , ; , also known by other #Names and etymology, alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, to the northeast of Bratislava, on the Trnávka river. It is the capital of the Trnava Region and the Trnava District. It is the seat o ...

, Slovakia. However, Hungary beat

2018 FIFA World Cup Final The 2018 FIFA World Cup final was the final match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, 2018 World Cup, the 21st edition of FIFA's competition for national association football, football teams. The match was played at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russ ...

ists Croatia on 24 March 2019 at the

2-1 In June 2019, Hungary beat Azerbaijan and Wales. However, in the decisive match against Slovakia, Hungary lost again 1–2 at home. On 19 November 2019, Hungary went to Wales to win their last match and qualifiy directly to the Euro 2020. However, Hungary lost 2–0 to Wales. Thanks to the results reached in the

2018–19 UEFA Nations League C The 2018–19 UEFA Nations League C was the third division of the 2018–19 edition of the UEFA Nations League, the inaugural season of the international football competition involving the men's national teams of the 55 member associations of UEF ...

, Hungary were given the chance to qualify for their Euro 2020. In the

UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying play-offs The play-offs of the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying tournament decided the last four teams that qualified for the UEFA Euro 2020 final tournament, to be staged across Europe in June and July 2021. Unlike previous editions, the participants of the play ...

, Hungary were drawn in Path A along with Bulgaria, Romania, and Iceland. In the first match, Hungary beat Bulgaria 3–1 on 8 October 2020 at the

Vasil Levski National Stadium Vasil Levski National Stadium (), named after Bulgarian Folk hero, national hero and revolutionary Vasil Levski (1837–1873), is the country's second largest stadium. The stadium has 43,230 seats and is located in the centre of Sofia, on the te ...

, Sofia, Bulgaria. Since Romania lost to Iceland at the

Laugardalsvöllur Laugardalsvöllur (, or more precisely 'Laugardalur Stadium') is Iceland's national stadium, national football stadium and the home venue for the Iceland national football team located in Reykjavík. It has a seating capacity of 9,500 and about ...

Reykjavík Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...

, Iceland, Hungary could play at the newly-built

Puskás Aréna Puskás Aréna () is a Soccer-specific stadium, football stadium in the Zugló, 14th district (Zugló) of Budapest, Hungary. The stadium's construction started in 2017 and was finished before the end of 2019. It is an all-seater with a capacity o ...

in Budapest. One day before the national team's decisive Euro 2020 qualifiers play-off match against Iceland, Rossi was tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

. On 12 November 2020, Hungary qualified for the

by beating Iceland 2–1 at home. In the Euro 2020, Hungary failed to progress from the group stage, yet it impressed with an outstanding performance against three powerhouses Portugal, France and Germany, only losing 0–3 to the Portuguese after eighty minutes and drawing both France and Germany in the process. In the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League B series, Hungary played against

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, and

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. Surprisingly, Hungary won their group by beating Turkey twice and Serbia once. Hungary beat Turkey 1–0 at the

New Sivas 4 Eylül Stadium The New Sivas 4 Eylül Stadium is a stadium in Sivas, Turkey. It opened in 2016 and is the new home of Sivasspor of the Süper Lig. The stadium has a capacity of 27,734 spectators, and replaced the club's previous home, 4 Eylül Stadium. The new ...

, Sivas, Turkey on 3 September 2020. Hungary also beat Serbia at the

Red Star Stadium The Rajko Mitić Stadium (, ), previously known as Stadion Crvene zvezde (), also known as Marakana ( sr-Cyrl, Маракана), is a multi-use stadium in Belgrade, Serbia which has been the home ground of Red Star Belgrade, Crvena zvezda sinc ...

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

on 11 October 2020. On the final match day, Hungary beat Turkey 2–0 at the Puskás Aréna on 18 November 2020. In the

2022–23 UEFA Nations League The 2022–23 UEFA Nations League was the third season of the UEFA Nations League, an international association football competition involving the men's national teams of the 55 member associations of UEFA. The competition was held from June to Se ...

series, Rossi's Hungary were drawn in one of the most difficult groups including

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Nevertheless, Hungary finished second in the group and beat England twice and Germany once in 2022. Hungary beat England 1–0 at home in the Puskás Aréna on 4 June 2022. Ten days later, Hungary beat England 4–0 at the

Molineux Stadium Molineux Stadium ( ) is a association football, football stadium situated in Wolverhampton, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It has been the home ground of Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C., Wolverhampton Wanderers ...

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. Located around 12 miles (20 km) north of Birmingham, it forms the northwestern part of the West Midlands conurbation, with the towns of ...

, England. On 23 September 2022, Hungary beat Germany 1–0 at the

Red Bull Arena (Leipzig) Red Bull Arena (; formerly Zentralstadion ) is a Association football, football stadium located in Leipzig, Saxony, Germany. It is the largest football stadium in Eastern Germany, and has also hosted music concerts as well as football. Opened ...

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

. In the last round, Hungary could have qualified for the finals; however, they lost to Italy at the

on 26 September 2022. On 31 October 2022, a detailed interview with Rossi was published by

Nemzeti Sport ''Nemzeti Sport'' (, ) is a Hungarian sports daily. History and profile ''Nemzeti Sport'' was founded in 1903. It is frequently cited by quality English-language media The paper is published in broadsheet format. Between the World War I and Worl ...

entitled ''Success in Hungary has changed my life''. During the interview, it was also leaked that a film would be created on Marco Rossi coaching the Hungarian national team. A week later, on 8 November, Rossi said that

Balázs Dzsudzsák Balázs Dzsudzsák (; born 23 December 1986) is a Hungarian professional association football, footballer who plays as a winger (association football), winger for Nemzeti Bajnokság I club Debreceni VSC. Dzsudzsák began his career at his home ...

deserved a farewell match so he invited him to the squad against

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 ...

. The match was scheduled for 20 November, where Hungary beat Greece 2–1. On 16 November 2023, Hungary secured their qualification to the

on top of their

Group G Group G may refer to: * A set of international motor racing regulations used in touring car racing Touring car racing is a motorsport road racing competition that uses race-prepared touring cars. It has both similarities to and significant dif ...

, following a 2–2 away draw against

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

. On 15 June 2024, Hungary lost 3-1 to

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

and on 19 June 2024 to

(2-0). However, Hungary could win their last group match against

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

thanks to a late goal by Rossi's substitution,

Kevin Csoboth Kevin Csoboth (born 20 June 2000) is a Hungarian professional association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for Swiss Super League club FC St. Gallen, St. Gallen and the Hungary national football team, H ...

. Since Hungary was ranked as the second worst third placed team could not qualify for the knock-out stage. On 27 June 2024, Rossi said that he had not enjoyed any moments of the UEFA Euro 2024 in a press conference. He also said that it is very difficult to think about the future at that time. His statements at the press conference caused uncertainty about his future as the coach of the national team. However, on 3 July 2024, it was confirmed by Sándor Csányi that Rossi remained the coach of the national team. On 9 May 2025, he renewed his contract valid until 2030.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Sampdoria *

Coppa Italia Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...

: 1993–94 *

Supercoppa Italiana The Supercoppa Italiana, also known as the Italian Super Cup, is an annual super cup tournament in Italian football. Founded in 1988 as a two-team competition, it has featured four teams since 2023 (the winners and runners-up of the previous ...

runner-up:

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

Manager

Budapest Honvéd FC *

: 2016–17

Individual

* Hungarian Coach of the Year: 2020, 2022, 2023

Personal

In an interview, he said that his friend, an Italian restaurant (Millennium da Pippo) owner in Budapest, convinced him to ask the owner of Budapest Honvéd, George Hemingway, in 2011 if they are interested in hiring him. Next year, he was employed by Honvéd as the coach. On 3 October 2023, he became a Hungarian citizen. During the ceremony, the former

President of Hungary The president of Hungary, officially the president of the republicUnder the Basic Law, adopted in 2011, the official name of the state is simply Hungary; Before, the state was called the Republic of Hungary. However, the office is nonetheless ...

Katalin Novák Katalin Éva Veresné Novák (, born 6 September 1977) is a Hungarian politician who served as president of Hungary from 2022 to 2024. 2022 Hungarian presidential election, Elected at the age of 44, she was the first woman and youngest person ev ...

, was also present. In an interview with World Soccer, he said that he will be grateful for Hungary until the end of his life. In an interview with

, he said that Hungary is his second home.

References

External links

Budapest Honvéd FC official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rossi, Marco 1964 births Living people Italian men's footballers Men's association football defenders Torino FC players US Catanzaro 1929 players Brescia Calcio players UC Sampdoria players Club América footballers Eintracht Frankfurt players Piacenza Calcio 1919 players Serie A players Serie B players Serie C players Liga MX players 2. Bundesliga players Italian expatriate men's footballers Italian expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Italian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Italian football managers FC Lumezzane managers Aurora Pro Patria 1919 managers Spezia Calcio managers Cavese 1919 managers Budapest Honvéd FC managers Hungary national football team managers UEFA Euro 2020 managers UEFA Euro 2024 managers Italian expatriate football managers Italian expatriate sportspeople in Hungary Expatriate football managers in Hungary FC DAC 1904 Dunajská Streda managers Expatriate football managers in Slovakia Italian expatriate sportspeople in Slovakia Slovak First Football League managers Nemzeti Bajnokság I managers Footballers from the Metropolitan City of Turin Naturalized citizens of Hungary 20th-century Italian sportsmen