István Kozma (footballer)

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This article is about the footballer. For the wrestler, see István Kozma (wrestler).

The native form of this personal name is Kozma István. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.
István Kozma
Kozma in 2009
Personal information
Date of birth (1964-12-03) 3 December 1964 (age 60)
Place of birth Pásztó, Hungary
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
?–? Salgótarjáni TC
1983–1989 Újpesti Dózsa 156 (10)
1989 Bordeaux
1989–1992 Dunfermline Athletic 90 (8)
1992–1993 Liverpool 6 (0)
1993–1995 Újpest FC 58 (15)
1995–1997 APOEL 42 (5)
1997–1999 Újpest FC 33 (0)
1999 Videoton 14 (1)
2000 Tatabánya 11 (0)
2000–2001 Újpest FC 20 (3)
2001–2002 Ostbahn XI Wein
2002–2003 Budafoki MTE
2003–2004 Rákosmenti KSK
International career
1986–1995 Hungary 40 (1)
1990 Scottish League XI 1 (0)
Managerial career
2006–2007 Vasas SC (assistant)
2013 Újpest FC
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

István Kozma (born 3 December 1964) is a former Hungarian footballer who played as a midfielder. He was the first Hungarian player to ever play in the Premier League on 26 September 1992, when he appeared for Liverpool as a substitute against Wimbledon, playing 7 minutes.

Kozma began his career at Salgótarjáni TC in Hungary. He then moved to Újpest FC, followed by Bordeaux, and the Scottish team Dunfermline Athletic. At Dunfermline, he became a fan favourite playing in 103 matches. In 1992, he was purchased by Liverpool, making his debut in a match against Ipswich Town in the fifth round of the FA Cup[2] but he never found his feet at Liverpool. He returned briefly to Újpest FC before playing for APOEL in Cyprus in 1995–96 where he led his team to the Double. The next season, he helped APOEL to win the Super Cup and the Cup again before moving back to Újpest for a third time, where he helped them to won the Nemzeti Bajnokság I in 1998.[3] Kozma subsequently appeared for Videoton FC and FC Tatabánya, before finishing his professional career with a fourth spell at Újpest.

Kozma made his international debut for Hungary on 9 September 1986, going on to play 40 times for the national team.

Career

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Club

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He began his career at Salgótarjáni TC in his native country of Hungary. Kozma then moved to Újpest FC and then to French Ligue 1 champions Bordeaux. In September 1989, he was signed by Jim Leishman for Scottish team Dunfermline Athletic for £600,000, a club record transfer fee.[4]

At Dunfermline, Kozma became a "firm fan favourite" playing 103 times and scoring nine goals.[5] In February 1992, he was a shock purchase for Liverpool, with Graeme Souness signing the Hungarian for £300,000. Kozma made his debut in a goalless draw against Ipswich Town in the fifth round of the FA Cup,[2] but never looked like breaking into the first team at Liverpool. In the 1991–92 season he made five league appearances and two in the FA Cup. In the 1992–93 season, he played in the 1992 FA Charity Shield and then made one league appearance as a substitute and one further substitute appearance in the League Cup,[6] before being released in July 1993. He was forced to leave the UK due to regulations affecting non-EU citizens,[7] which required them to have played at least 75 per cent of their club and national team matches.[8] With only 3 appearances following his transfer from Dunfermline, Kozma lost his visa.[8] His limited performance at Liverpool earned him, in 2007, the dubious success of being rated by Times Online as the fourth worst ever player to play in the Premiership.[9]

He then returned to Újpest FC, signing a one year deal.[7] In 1995–96 he played for APOEL in Cyprus where, after amazing performances, he led his team to the Double. The next season, he helped APOEL to win the Super Cup and the Cup again, before moving back to Újpest for a third time, with whom he won the Nemzeti Bajnokság I in 1998.[3] He subsequently appeared for Videoton FC and FC Tatabánya, before finishing his professional career with a fourth spell at Újpest. He subsequently signed for Austrian amateur side Ostbahn XI Wein and Hungarian lower-division teams Budafoki MTE and Rákosmenti KSK.

International

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Kozma made his international debut for Hungary on 9 September 1986, coming on as a substitute in a 0-0 friendly draw with Norway. He went on to play 40 times for the national team until 1995, scoring once, in a 4-1 friendly win over Turkey on 5 September 1990.[10]

Kozma also appeared for the Scottish Football League XI in a 1990 fixture against Scotland, to mark the centenary of the Scottish Football League. The match finished 1-0 to the League XI.[11]

Coaching career

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From season 2006–07, he was working as an assistant manager at Vasas SC.

In May 2013, Kozma returned to Újpest as manager.[12] After just five months, Kozma left his position at the club in October 2013, being sacked altogether after initially being transferred to the role of video analyst instead.[13][14]

Career statistics

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Club

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Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[15][16]
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Újpesti Dózsa 1983–84 Nemzeti Bajnokság I 19 0 — 2[c] 0 — 21 0
1984–85 23 1 — 0 0 — 23 1
1985–86 27 0 — 0 0 — 27 0
1986–87 29 2 — 0 0 — 29 2
1987–88 28 2 — 2[c] 0 — 30 2
1988–89 30 5 — 4[d] 0 — 34 5
Total 156 10 — 8 0 — 164 10
Dunfermline Athletic 1989–90 Scottish Premier Division 33 6 4 0 1 0 — — 38 6
1990–91 34 2 1 0 2 0 — — 37 2
1991–92 23 0 1 0 4 1 — — 28 1
Total 90 8 6 0 7 1 — — 103 9
Liverpool 1991–92 Football League First Division 5 0 2 0 0 0 — — 7 0
1992–94 1 0 0 0 1 0 — 1[e] 0 3 0
Total 6 0 2 0 1 0 — 1 0 10 0
Újpest FC 1993–94 Nemzeti Bajnokság I 29 8 0 0 — 0 0 — 29 8
1994–95 29 7 0 0 — 0 0 — 29 7
Total 58 15 0 0 — 0 0 — 158 15
APOEL F.C. 1995–96 Cypriot First Division 20 2 0 0 — 4[c] 0 — 24 2
1996–97 20 3 0 0 — 6[d] 1 — 26 4
Total 40 5 0 0 — 10 1 — 50 6
Újpest FC 1997–98 Nemzeti Bajnokság I 29 0 0 0 — 0 0 — 29 0
1998–99 4 0 0 0 — 0 0 — 4 0
Total 33 0 0 0 — 0 0 — 33 0
Videoton FC 1998–99 Nemzeti Bajnokság I 14 1 0 0 — 0 0 — 14 1
FC Tatabánya 1999–2000 11 0 0 0 — 0 0 — 11 0
Újpest FC 7 0 0 0 — 0 0 — 7 0
2000–01 13 3 0 0 — 0 0 — 13 3
Total 20 3 0 0 — 0 0 — 20 3
Career total 428 42 8 0 8 1 18 1 1 0 463 44
  1. ^ Includes FA Cup
  2. ^ Includes Football League Cup
  3. ^ a b c Appearances in UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
  4. ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Cup
  5. ^ One appearance in the FA Charity Shield

International

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Appearances and goals by national team and year[17]
National team Year Apps Goals
Hungary 1986 1 0
1987 0 0
1988 10 0
1989 8 0
1990 5 1
1991 5 0
1992 0 0
1993 0 0
1994 5 0
1995 6 0
Total 40 1
Hungary score listed first, score column indicates score after each Kozma goal[17]
List of international goals scored by István Kozma
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1 5 September 1990 Megyeri úti stadion, Újpest, Hungary 20  Turkey 2–0 4–1 Friendly [10]

Honours

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Dunfermline Athletic
APOEL
Ujpest

References

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  1. ^ "István Kozma: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Matchdetails from Ipswich Town-Liverpool played on Sunday 16 February 1992". LFCHistory.net. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  3. ^ a b c "Hungary 1997/98". RSSSF.
  4. ^ "Kozma Clincher". Daily Post: The Paper for Wales. Wrexham, Clwyd, Wales. 31 January 1992. p. 40. Retrieved 5 July 2025.
  5. ^ "Legend Istvan Returns!". Dunfermline Press and West of Fife Advertiser. 10 November 2022. p. 53. Retrieved 5 July 2025.
  6. ^ "Istvan Kozma". lfchistory.net. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
  7. ^ a b "Handful to Cheer the Mystery Man". Football. Liverpool Echo. 14 August 1993. p. 9. Retrieved 5 July 2025.
  8. ^ a b Jardine, Peter (30 July 1993). "Unhappy Kozma's Anfield Stunner". Daily Post: The Paper for Wales. Wrexham, Clwyd, Wales. p. 40.
  9. ^ The 50 worst footballers
  10. ^ a b "Hungary vs Turkey, 5 September 1990". EU Football.info.
  11. ^ "From the archives: Centenary match". Scottish Professional Football League. 18 August 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  12. ^ "Újpest: István Kozma will be the head coach of the Purple and Whites". Nemzeti Sport (in Hungarian). 25 May 2013. Archived from the original on 1 November 2024. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  13. ^ "The new head coach of Újpest is a workaholic teller - "he can do great things"". Nemzeti Sport (in Hungarian). 23 October 2013. Archived from the original on 1 November 2024. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  14. ^ "Újpest: How would you decide today? I would go for it! - István Kozma". Nemzeti Sport (in Hungarian). 31 October 2013. Archived from the original on 1 November 2024. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  15. ^ "Istvan Kozma » Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  16. ^ "István Kozma". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  17. ^ a b István Kozma at National-Football-Teams.com
  18. ^ Jeffrey 2007, p. 90
  19. ^ "Results & Matches on Sun, 27 Oct 1991". Soccerbase.
  20. ^ a b "Cyprus 1995/96". RSSSF.
  21. ^ "Cyprus 1996/97". RSSSF.
  22. ^ "Cyprus - List of Super Cup Finals". RSSSF.

Cited works

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