Football Talent-Nurture after the 1989-1990 Political Transformation in Hungary

Hungarian football used to be in the first line of the international arena but for the last five decades a steady and strong setback has been a characteristic feature. The main purpose of this paper is to discover the major problems related to the education of young players and to make suggestions to improve the current situation. The study is based on a research in which three different but complementary methods, called "triangulation" were used: fieldwork, content analysis and in-depth interviews. The results show that although sport had always been the area which served political interests, this situation has dramatically changed after 1989-1990. Since then moral and economic crisis could be observed and this has resulted in the collapse of the Hungarian football. Concerning the talent care program there is no a common educational project for young players. This could be explained by the lack of cooperation between professionals who believe that they have different professional and financial interests and act accordingly. In conclusion it can be stated that success could only be reached if politics and the central budget were be independent and the cooperation between decision makers and experts in football were stronger. The unskilled managers and coaches responsible for the education of young players should be exchanged for real professionals.