Former Hungarian international, debuted for Ienei in the Hungarian national team: “Imre Baci was a visionary” + How a tie with Romania would look like: “Hallway to the World Cup!”

The disappearance of Emeric Ienei saddened not only Romania, but also Hungary, where the coach who brought the European Champions Cup to the Stela showcase prepared the national team between January 1992 and March 1993 (14 matches, 6 wins, 4 draws, 4 failures).

Jozsef Csabi (10 selections/0 goals) made his debut in the national team jersey under Ienei's baton, in a locker room where there were also big names in Budapest, such as Detari or Kiprich. At the passing of Imre baci to the eternal ones, Csabi, currently a coach in the Hungarian second league, at Ajka, recalls the moments and emotions gathered together with the Romanian selector.

Joszef Csabi: “He explained to me that he considers me an important piece”

– Mr. Csabi, you started your adventure with the Hungarian national team in 1993, under the mandate of Emeric Ienei. What do you remember about that time?
– I knew he was a famous trainer. He had won the European Champions Cup with Steaua, had qualified the Romanian national team for the 1990 World Cup and I had great respect for him. But when he announced that he was calling me to the national team, I felt like I was flying. A great joy! This even if it was not a surprise for me, because the team had been on a training tour in Qatar in the fall of 1992 and I knew that since that time they were in the sights of the selector. News had appeared in the press, I knew he was watching me.

– How was the first meeting with Ienei?
– It happened at the “Stadion” hotel, located near the “Ferenc Puskas” arena. He welcomed me to the national team, told me that he has been following me for a long time and that he wants me to become a long-term solution, not a temporary option. He encouraged me and explained to me that he considers me an important piece in the plan to build the national team. From the beginning we had an extraordinary chemistry between us and the fact that he chose me to implement a new philosophy made me ambitious.

Jozsef Csabi remained with special respect for Emeric Ienei, because he gave him the chance to perform for the national team of his country

“He wanted to change the philosophy of Hungarian football”

– In what sense?
– Ienei was a visionary at that time for the Hungarian national team. He wanted to change the approach, to build the game from the goalkeeper, from the central area, to control the ball, to dictate the pace, which is exactly what we see today in world-class football. Ienei had set out to do this in Hungarian football over 30 years ago. It was about a completely different ideology compared to how the national team worked then.

Jozsef Csabi impressed Ienei with his developments in the Hungarian league in the early 90s. Photo: szovetseg.mlsz.hu

– The first match with Ienei selector?
– We went on a training tour in Japan, at the “Kirin Cup”, where we played with the Japanese and the USA. On his return, the coach declared that he had already found eight of the starters, and the media wrote that I was among them. Which proved to be true as we made the first eleven against Greece at home in the 1994 World Cup qualifiers. Unfortunately we lost 1-0 and Imre Baci had to go. I felt very sorry, because he was trying to bring something else to Hungary's game, but it all ended too quickly.

If you asked me today why I missed that World Cup qualification in the USA 1994, with Emeric Ienei on the bench at the start of the campaign, I wouldn't have an answer. Simply, things didn't work out the way we wanted, although Hungary had an interesting team, with Detari, Pisont or Kiprich among the leaders. Maybe the plan to quickly change the national ideology was too abrupt
Jozsef Csabi, former Hungarian international

“I had a lot of bad luck in the preliminaries for the '94 World Cup”

Hungary in the 1993 version, a team that bogged down in the 1994 World Cup campaign. Photo: Imago

– How was Ienei seen in the national team's locker room: as a Romanian who came to prepare Hungary or as a Hungarian coach, from home?
– A man of the house, yes! I just told you that almost everyone called him Imre baci, not Emeric or Emeric Iena. I'm sorry that we didn't have the opportunity to collaborate for more time, to build a stronger bond. But I keep a special place in my heart for him, because he gave me the chance to debut in the national team. Later I found out that he also lived near the border with Hungary, in Oradea, where my current second-in-command, Sorin Cigan, is from. And I also have a good friend there, Viorel Vancea.

– What system did he use in the Hungarian national team?
– With four defenders, a line in which I played right back. In the defeat with Greece, however, I also ended up as a stopper in the middle of the first half, after a colleague's injury, when Imre Baci passed me from the lane inside. We also had a lot of bad luck in those preliminaries, in which Romania, with a fantastic team and famous players in Europe, managed to go to the World Cup. We, unfortunately, missed out.

I knew from my Romanian friends that Imre baci is very sick. It's a big loss for both countries, Romania and Hungary. I regret that I won't be able to make it to the funeral on Saturday because we have a championship match on Sunday and we have to prepare for the game
Jozsef Csabi, former Hungarian international

“I visited Imre Baci three times in Oradea, I was laughing when I was talking on the phone”

Romania destroyed Hungary in 2013, in Bucharest, 3-0, a match in which Jozsef Csabi was on the Hungarian bench as second coach. Photo: Imago

– You were Sandor Egervari's second in the Hungarian national team, when you met Romania in the 2014 World Cup campaign. What do you remember from those matches, 2-2 in Budapest, 3-0 for Romania in Bucharest?
– I think that exactly during that period I went to Oradea two or three times on various errands and I also met with Ienei. We stayed in touch, he even called me a few times afterwards and I enjoyed every dialogue with Imre baci. I was laughing a lot on the phone. But that's life! A few weeks ago, I lost another great coach I worked with, Gyorgy Mezei, the former Hungarian coach at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. Now it happened with Imre baci. The matches? In Budapest we were tied in extra time, a frustrating draw in an empty stadium, strange because it was played behind closed doors. And in Bucharest – a fantastic atmosphere, that's what I remember most vividly!

– Today, Hungary looks better than Romania at the national level and there could be a meeting even in the play-off towards the World Cup. It would be crazy around such a party, don't you agree?
– That's right! This time, Hungary is a little better than Romania, proof that we have enough players in top championships, led by Szoboszlai and Kerkez at Liverpool, plus others in England, Germany, France. It is a special generation for Hungarian football and we must benefit from this passage to the World Cup, probably from second place, because Portugal is difficult to overcome. However, a match against Romania would be very complicated anyway in terms of extraordinary ambitions and tradition.

CV JOZSEF CSABI

• Date of birth: February 4, 1967, Szolnok

• Post: right back

• He played at Szolnok ('84-'88), Honved ('88-'94, '98-'00), BVSC ('94-'96), Hapoel Kfar Saba ('96-'97), MTK Budapest ('97)

• Achievements: 3 titles ('89, '91, '93), Hungarian Cup ('89) – all with Honved

• National matches/goals: 10/0

• Coach: Szolnok ('01, '15-'23/coach+sports director), Rakospalota ('01-'02), Vasas ('02, second), MTK Budapesta II ('03), Vecses ('04-'07), Honved ('07-'10, '14 -'15, main+second), Hungary ('10-'13, second), Hungary U21 ('13), Nyiregyhaza ('14), Kazincbarcika ('23-'24), BVSC ('24), Ajka ('25-present)