That seven hundred!
József Karszt – that’s how many people know him.
Jozsó bá’ – even more people, in fact most of them, know him that way.
So, Jozsó bá’, the technical manager of the Paks team (and anyway: all of them) sat on the team’s bench for the 700th, seven hundredth time in the league match against Kisvárda in the previous round!
There isn’t any data that he doesn’t memorize (it’s good if you have to search the internet, there is a notebook he has carefully kept for decades, which is slowly worth more than any lexicon…), anyone who has ever worn the Paks jersey is listed in bá Jozsó’s memory library. But this time the numbers speak for themselves: 56 NB III, 89 NB II and now 555 NB I matches. The players who are so close to his heart greeted him as he had secretly hoped: with a 1-0 victory in the Várkerti Stadium, thanks to which the green and whites of Tolna county continue to lead the table.
It doesn’t hurt to emphasize that these seven hundred matches “only” consist of the champions, if we were to add the various cup matches, Jozsó bá’ would probably be very close to the mythical thousand. Well, it is not by chance that the first one is always special. When Tamás Méhes, Paksi FC’s communications manager, asked about the “debut”, József Karszt, sorry, Jozsó already said it without a second’s thoughtthat…
“…2001 on August 11, a Boly-Paksi SE match was organized, in which we lost 4-1, even though we had the advantage, our head coach was István Klement, our scorer was Attila Prantner…”
The memory of the first match… Attila Prantner (left) and bá Jozsó (Photo: paksifc.hu)
Twenty-three years ago, the club’s permanent technical director still remembers it as if it were yesterday. Knowing him, this is no wonder, he lived and lives every match as a holiday, whether it’s in the third division, second league or top division, it doesn’t matter, all that matters to Jozsó bá is that Paks play. Of course, he doesn’t brag about it, but we can write it down: after PFC was promoted to NB I in 2006, and since then he has been a respected member of the first-class field, he is the longest-serving technical manager at the highest level of Hungarian football.
“It started as a hobby, it became a serious occupation, since from the very beginning we always have a team that you love to go into the locker room with every day. I feel that the guys and the coaches accept me, whether it’s about the present or even the first years. I tried and am trying to establish the best possible relationship with everyone. I made a lot of sports friends and got to know great footballers, excellent people and colleagues over the course of more than two decades, and I also enjoy the city and county recognitions I received as a pleasant experience.”
However, in 2016 he received an award for the Sport of the City of Paks, and in 2018 he received the Lussonium award, but he also deserves special recognition for the fact that, not surprisingly, he readily answered the question of how many players and coaches he brought the fate of the Fehérvári út sports complex so far.
“Two hundred and eighteen footballers have played in our first team so far, and I have worked with eleven coaches since I became the technical manager,” said Jozsó bá, who had only missed two matches since August 11, 2001. – The last time was during the Covid epidemic, in September 2020, I couldn’t go with the team to the Groupama Arena, and before that in October 2003 I had to miss a match between Paks and Budafok due to the loss of my mother. In sports, weekends are scriptures, so the whole family organizes their activities around football, whether it’s a holiday, chores around the house, or just a little rest. However, a lot has changed in the last twenty-three years. The old benches cannot be compared with the current ones, if I suddenly think only of the infrastructure and the working conditions. Today, the milieu has also completely changed, but at the same time, the old one had its own charm and the current one has its own charm. You can’t make a difference, it’s simply different, everything has changed, and it’s quite certain that it will continue to change, it’s the nature of time.”
It is for what is eternal.
Sorry, some are eternal.
Jozsó, of course.
Yet there are irreplaceable people…
Some people are closer to József Karszt’s heart than others. People who did as much for Paks on the field as he did off the field. “I’ve been saying to Jozsó for a long time, he can’t retire until I’m playing football too, so it’s quite certain that this seven hundred will increase with quite a few more. These more than twenty years have flown by incredibly quickly, to this day we still discuss each and every one of our matches, and not only our matches… We have almost a father-son relationship, and this wording says it all,” said Dániel Böde about him. “We played on the concrete pitch as children, the Jozsó brothers watched us even then, and no matter where life took me, he was always proud of me. We have a special relationship, we can discuss anything with each other. In addition to its straightness, its precision is truly exemplary, a living lexicon. He follows everyone and nurtures relationships and traditions. They say there is no irreplaceable person. I think he is!” – added László Éger. “He is one of the persons whose importance and role in the life and success of the Paks club is unquestionable. Live or die for this game. If we look at the number of seven hundred championships, let’s not forget that a generation grew up during this time, and this shows an astonishing amount of time spent. I will never forget how he welcomed me when I checked in to Paks. I got to know him as a clear-eyed person, of whom there are very few,” said Gábor Vayer.
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