The players of the ETO University Handball Team began their preparation for the long-awaited NBI season in mid-July. Compared to last year, the team has undergone changes, and we are launching a series to introduce our new players. In the first part, you can get to know Balogh Zsolt, a 169-time Hungarian national team handball player, more closely.
The seasoned player arrived in Győr from the Ferencváros team, but throughout his career, he has played for several clubs both domestically and abroad. You can now read the interview conducted with him.
Many people know a lot about you, as you are an unavoidable figure in Hungarian men's handball. Still, could you share with us how you got acquainted with handball and why you chose this sport?
n my hometown of Orosháza, there weren't many options other than football at that time, so I started playing that as well. I was about ten years old when handball started in the city, and I could attend a training session. One weekend, I saw a handball match and really enjoyed it, so I signed up for practice on Monday. Right away, I was encouraged by the coaches, who said it was great that I was left-handed, as that’s quite rare. Handball was love at first sight for me, and that love has lasted for twenty-five years.
You started handball in Orosháza, but you also played in places like Szeged, Tatabánya, and even at the German club Magdeburg. How did your journey unfold that led you to end up here in Győr, at ETO?
From the age of 10 until I was 16, I was in Orosháza, where I played at both NBI/B and adult levels, and I joined the PLER team in Budapest as a youth national team player. I played there for five seasons, and it was during this time that I made my debut in the NBI and received my first call-up to the senior national team. I also had a year-long opportunity abroad in the Bundesliga. It had been a great dream of mine to get there, and in my early twenties, I achieved it, as I had a Bundesliga contract with Magdeburg, who have since become Champions League winners, so it's a well-known club. At that time, they were still an emerging team, but unfortunately, that season didn't go very well for me due to an injury, and after one year, I returned to Hungary after practically two years. I came to Gyöngyös at the invitation of my coach at PLER, Nagy Karcsi, which was also a promoted team, and with that team, we achieved our best result at that time, finishing in 6th place. I believe that might still be the greatest success there. That period went well for both me and the team. After that, I transferred to Szeged, where I spent seven years. This period was perhaps the most memorable seven years of my life, and I was also at my best age during that time. From Szeged, I moved to Tatabánya, where I played for three years, and from Tatabánya, I signed with Ferencváros two years ago. After my time there, I came to Győr.
You mentioned at the beginning that handball was love at first sight for you. What was it that captivated you about the sport? As a right-winger, did you face any challenges in your position?
I found the sport very visually appealing, which immediately attracted me. Additionally, it allows for creativity to be unleashed. That's why I play in an interior position. I can't imagine myself as a winger or pivot because those are more vulnerable positions, and you depend more on your teammates. In an interior position, individual skills can shine more. Thanks to my left hand, I ended up as a right-winger.
Two weeks ago, in mid-July, ETO began their preparations. What are your first impressions?
I've been looking forward to the season and was curious about the new teammates. There are some in the team that I know from before; I played with some and faced others as opponents, and of course, there are those I’m meeting for the first time. The atmosphere is very positive, and we are working really well together. I can see that a great locker room is starting to form, which obviously takes time, but we are on the right track. Everyone is giving 100% in training, so I'm looking forward to the start of the league. However, we still have a long way to go; we need to work hard in training, and it's crucial to turn individual talents into a cohesive team. It will take some time, but as I said, we are on a very good path, and we can't wait for the start.
Since we've already mentioned the upcoming season, everyone knows the team's goal, which is to ensure stable retention in the league. However, we would be curious about your personal goals...
As a new team, I believe we should be cautious with our goals, so I would say that securing our place in the league should be our primary objective. Secretly, I hope that if everything goes well, we will see this clearly by mid-season, perhaps around Christmas, so that we won’t have to worry about it in the spring and can then set a new goal for ourselves.
You chose the number 19 for your jersey in the team, but as a child, you started playing handball with the number 9. How did your current number come about, and what is its story?
The story is quite simple. My favorite number is nine, and I started playing with that as a child. When I signed with different teams, I couldn't wear that number wherever it was already taken. In Gyöngyös, I was first assigned number 29 because I was born on March 29, and the 9 was in there. When I transferred to Szeged, both 29 and 9 were taken, so I chose the number in between, which had a nine in it, and that became 19. It worked out really well for me since then. Sometimes I had to fight a bit for it, but fortunately, Imre Bence was very willing to offer to give it to me, and I accepted. I told him that I made the national team out of it because he changed his number. Last year in Győr, Nagy Martin wore this number, but he also willingly offered to part with it. So that's how I ended up with number 19, and now I don’t want to change it anymore.
As a final question, a bit more personal yet still related to the matches: do you have any rituals or superstitions that you perform before games?
I need to think about this. There might be something I would call a superstition or a habit, but I’m not sure how it started. I would rather say it’s a habit that before matches, during the last part of the warm-up, when we reach the halfway line, I always step fully onto the opponent's half and then turn around. This habit has developed recently and has stuck with me. I also have another practice that I wouldn’t call a superstition. If I can, I prefer to be alone until the match on game days. Of course, it depends on family or children, but if possible, I usually do it this way. Also, I often like to be alone the night before the match to get in the right mindset. On match days, I try not to deal with anything, neither paperwork nor social gatherings. I focus on the game.
