Budapesti Atletikai Klub

We get loads of requests to cover clubs from all over the world. North America, South America, Europe, and Asia and we try to cover them all. This next club is from Europe, Hungary to be exact. When we think of football and Hungary, we think of the legendary Puskas. Although, Hungarian football hasn’t been the strongest in recent years, it’s nation still loves it’s football and their fans are just as passionate about the sport as anywhere else in the world. This is shown in the work that has been put into this next club. Getting it up and running and competing has been a challenge but one they have stepped up to. Influenced by their love of football and history of the sport in their country, this club could be called a phoenix club, although it was a slow birth. 70 years to be exact since the original club dissolved. This is the story of Budapest Atletikai Klub or BAK for short.

Budapest Atletikai Klub were originally founded in 1900 by a group of athletes who were part of a sports club called MTK Budapest. The sports club had no football section so a few of them decided to break away and form a football club. BAK was formed and entered the Hungarian League in 190-07 season. There they competed for 15 years, coming 4^th in their debut season,(MTK Budapest actually formed a football club and entered the league in 1903, becoming one of the most successful Hungarian football clubs with 23 league titles and 12 Hungarian cups.)

The Old BAK Team

After being relegated for the first time in 1921 the club never reached the dizzy heights of the Hungarian top tier and eventually folded in 1947. And that was that for the club. Many years past with the club left in the memories of those who played and ran the club in the first part of the 20^th century. But like most of the club we cover, they come back, with the help of the supporters. This club might have taken it’ time but in 2018, more than 70 years after the original club had folded, the new BAK was formed. A group of football enthusiasts, who had taken inspiration from one of BAK’s most famous former player, Erno Egri Erbstein, who played for the club in the years 1916 to 1924.

Erno Egri Erbstein

BAK merged with another existing club named, Respect and took the place of BLSZ III in the sixth tier of Hungarian football. The logo for the club would be that of a rams head, which comes from the work ‘BAK’ which means Ram in Hungarian. And so the new BAK were formed in 2018.

Forgotten Clubs was lucky enough to get an interview with the man behind the reformation of this old club, current club president, Bertalan Molnar. When we asked why he brought BAK back to life, instead of creating a brand-new club his answer was direct.

‘BAK was one of the most popular clubs in Hungary originally, but after 70 years of non-existence, no one knew even the name of the club. It was crucial for us to bring back life to this legendary club in Hungary and pay some respect to the players and managers who did a lot for Hungarian football in the last century.’

BAK at the Corinthians Cup (credit Stuart Tree)

In regards his favourite player, well, Bertalan, isn’t shy when naming some of BAK’s former players, but his personal all time favourite is hard to disagree with.

‘Ernő Egri Erbstein is our club icon, together with Jenő Karoly and Alfréd Schaffer. They played in our team in our glory period at the beginning of the last century. These players became world famous managers after their active playing years. Erbstein is a club icon in Torino, Karoly was the first manager of Juventus, and Schaffer, known as the FussballKönig in Germany, won the first scudetto for AS Roma in the 1940s. Personally, my favourite player was Diego Armando Maradona. He was the best ever. By far. Period.’

Despite his obvious passion for BAK, Bertalan does not see his club reaching the dizzy heights they were once at. It’s all about the honour of playing for the club.

‘No, I think this would be an impossible task right now, even in the long run. However, this was never our goal when we decided to re-establish BAK. We want to be the best amateur club in Hungary, a club that all the players are proud to play for, and it should be an honour for everyone to put on the blue-black striped shirts.’

But that is not to say he does not have long term plans for the club.

‘We want to establish ourselves as a strong amateur club, playing in the second division in Budapest (the fifth tier nationally). For our futsal team, we want to play in the Hungarian Second Division and for our blind football team, we want to compete in European competitions as an important club for the Hungarian national team.’

Credit Stuart Tree

So, does that mean they have fans anymore? Bertlalan explains that this is probably the most difficult task for the club due to the lack of success for Hungarian clubs on the European stage but also the Hungarian national team.

‘At this level, there are no fans, unfortunately, in Hungary. People are disillusioned because of the non-successful period for Hungarian football and the culture which surrounds football nowadays. Having fans again at a BAK game is our most difficult task in the future.’

Of course, reforming a club can’t just be done by one man and there are a whole host of people that Bertalan thanks for the clubs reformation.

‘I have a bunch of people who I am personally very grateful to, for their help in re-establishing our club. In Hungary my club directors have all done an incredible job, and internationally Dominic Bliss and John Forrest at Corinthian-Casuals helped our work tremendously. Thanks for that, my friends.’

BAK is a different type of club than we have covered before. A club that once was great in Hungarian football is now content to play amateur football and represent and honour those who played in their colours many years ago. It is quite refreshing that their dream is not to become something that most other clubs dream to be. They remember what they were, they appreciate it, and in the world of football, where money is king, this is one of the few clubs that are back for different reasons. BAK just want to play football.