The Gábor Isa Memorial Tournament was held for the first time this year, created to honour the memory of our former youth coach. Honvéd also took part in the event and, after progressing all the way to the final, ultimately finished with the silver medal behind Csíkszereda.
The final was an evenly contested encounter: there were few chances in the first half, so the teams went into the break at 0–0. A single goal decided the second half, with Kristóf Deák’s strike securing victory for Csíkszereda.
Tournament results:
- Honvéd – Monor 2–0
- Csíkszereda – Ikarus 1–1
(penalties: 5–3) - Final: Honvéd – Csíkszereda 0–1
Honvéd: Szabó (Petró) – Török, Nyiri, Palásti, Pisont (Sólyom), Józsa, Magyar (Gerebenes), Varga, Domány, Szijjártó, Malomsoki
Judit Tóth, Gábor Isa’s wife, said:
“This is an incredibly moving and heartfelt event. We are very happy that my husband’s memory is being preserved in this way here at Honvéd. I would like to thank the Honvéd family, the academy, the president, the management and everyone who contributed to making the first Gábor Isa Memorial Tournament possible! Honvéd was Gábor’s life: he started playing football here as a child, and when he returned as a coach he felt he had come home. He was not only a coach to the children, he also raised them, helped them and cared for them – in many ways they were like a family to him. That is exactly why we also created the Gábor Isa Foundation, so that we can carry this legacy forward as well. Congratulations to the winners, and thank you to every team and every player for allowing us to remember together!”
Zoltán Fogarasi, head coach of Csíkszereda:
“It was a great honour to take part in this tournament. The professional cooperation between the two clubs already existed, and this is a fine continuation of that relationship. The children were really looking forward to this weekend; for many of them it was their first appearance in Hungary. The tournament was of a high standard and the teams fought fairly. The final was a genuine fifty-fifty match decided by a single goal – fortunately we scored it.”
Tamás Szamosi, head coach of Honvéd:
“We have come through a very successful tournament and are sorry that we could not leave as winners. It was a fitting tribute to Uncle Gabi, and we hope it will become a tradition. In the final we played against a good team; this is how it turned out today, but we will try to put it right in the future.”
