History of Győri ETO FC

Rudolf Jeny managing Győr in the 1955 season of the Hungarian League

Győr first reached the Hungarian First Division in 1937, however their stay was brief. They were relegated straight back to the second division after finishing in 13th out of 14 teams in the 1937–38 season. In 1946 the club again reached the first division and this time they played 10 consecutive seasons in the top flight, until in 1955 they were relegated again. They again spent one season in the first league in 1958. After their next comeback in 1960, they played 55 years in the top flight, until they were relegated to the Nemzeti Bajnokság III at the end of the 2014–15 season.

In 1963 Győri ETO FC won the Hungarian National Championship I title for the first time. As a consequence, the team could enter the European Cup 1964-65 season. On 2 September 1964 Győr beat Chemie Leipzig 2–0 in Leipzig. In the second leg Győr won 4–2 and entered the first round of the qualification.[1] In the first round Győr played their first match at home against Lokomotiv Sofia and they won the first leg by 5–3. In Sofia they lost to 4–3 but won on aggregate 8–7.[2] In the quarter finals Győr played the Dutch DWS. The first leg was played in Amsterdam at the Olympisch Stadion and the final result was 1–1. In the second leg at home Győr won the match 1–0, and therefore won 2–1 on aggregate.[3] In the semi-finals Győr faced the Portuguese giant club Benfica and lost their first match 1–0 at home at the Népstadion (now Puskás Ferenc Stadium). In the second leg Benfica won 4–0 at the Estádio da Luz which resulted in the departure of Győr from the European Cup.[4]

30 April 1965

Vasas ETO Győr	0–1	Benfica
	Report	José Augusto  71'

Népstadion, Budapest

Attendance: 62,327

Referee: Valdemar Hansen (Denmark)

6 May 1965

Benfica	4–0	Vasas ETO Győr
Eusébio  22', 42' Torres  36', 40'	Report

Estádio da Luz, Lisbon

Attendance: 43,875

Referee: Michel Kitabdjian (France)

In 1965 Győr won the Hungarian Cup for the first time by beating Diósgyőri VTK 4–0 in the final held at the Népstadion therefore Győr could enter the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1966-67 season. In the first round Győr lost 1–0 (Chiarugi) to ACF Fiorentina in Florence[5] but in the second leg they could beat the Italian club by 4–2 (Stolcz 2, Varsányi, Orbán) therefore they could advance on aggregate .[6] In the first leg of the second round Győr beat SC Braga 3–0 at home.[7] Although they lost 2–0 away, they could qualify for the quarter finals of the Cup Winners' Cup.[8] In the quarter-finals Győr won their first match 2–1 against the Belgian Standard Liège at home[9] but they lost the second leg of the tie 2–0 which resulted the elimination of the club from the cup.[10]

Nándor Hidegkuti won the 1963 season with the club

In 1966 Győr could keep the trophy of the Hungarian Cup by beating Ferencvárosi TC in a two-legged tie. The first match ended in a 1–1 draw, while Győr could win away by 3–2 obtaining their second cup title in a row. In the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1967-68 Győr beat the Cypriot Apollon Limassol 5–0 at home,[11] while 4–0 away.[12] In the second round Győr faced with the Italian giant club AC Milan. On 22 November 1967, at home both Győrfi and Sormani scored two goals ending the match in a 2–2 draw.[13] In the second leg, on 7 December 1967, at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza Szaló scored in the 6th minute which was equalized by Prati in the 22nd minute which resulted a 1–1 draw eliminating Győr from the cup without a lost match against AC Milan.[14]

In 1967 Győr could triple their Hungarian Cup titles by beating Salgótarjáni BTC 1–0 in the final at the Népstadion in front of 3,000 spectators. In the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1968-69 Győr would have entered the first round of the tournament but due to the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia the club were forced to withdraw their participation.[15][16]

The longest serving and most successful manager, József Verebes a.k.a. "The magician" won the Hungarian League twice 1982 and 1983 with Győr

Győr reached their zenith in the early 1980s winning the 1981–82 and the 1982–83 season of the Hungarian League. Péter Hannich and Lázár Szentes scored 43 goals together out of the 102 goals during the 1981–82 season. The József Verebes led team gained 49 points applying the Dutch style of playing football. The following season Győr won the championship only in the last round gaining 44 points while Ferencváros came second with 43 points. In the 1982–83 season Győr scored 20 goals less than the previous season which was due to Lázár Szentes injuries while Péter Hannich scored 20 goals becoming the second top goal scorer in the season. Since the team won the 1981–82 season they entered the European Cup 1982-83. In the first leg of the first round of the tournament on 15 September 1982, Standard Liège hosted Győr at the Stade Maurice Dufrasne in Liège. The Belgian club beat Győr by 5–0.[19] In the second leg, on 29 September 1982, Győr beat 3–0 Standard Liege at home but it was not sufficient to qualify for the next round.[20]

In the European Cup 1983-84 Győr beat the Icelandic Víkingur in the first leg of the first round. Győr won the first leg 2–1 with the goals of Magyar and Burcsa.[21] They won also in Iceland by 2–0 with the goals of Magyar and Szentes.[22] In the second round Győr had to face a much more difficult opponent the Soviet Dinamo Minsk. The first match was played in Győr and the Soviet club won it by 6–3.[23] In the away match Dinamo won 3–1 and eliminated the Hungarian club from the European cup.[24]

In the 1983–84 season of the national league Győr finished runners-up in the Hungarian League therefore they qualified for the 1984-85 UEFA Cup. On 19 September 1984, Győr played with Manchester United F.C. at the Old Trafford Stadium and the final result was 3–0 to the English side.[25] At home Győr drew with Manchester which resulted their farewell from the international cup.[26]

In the 1984–85 season of the Hungarian League Győr came second after Budapest Honvéd. On international level Győr entered 1985-86 UEFA Cup. On 18 September 1985, Győr hosted the Czech FC Bohemians 1905 and beat 3–1. On 2 October 1985, the final result was 3–1 to the Prague team.[27] In the extra time the Czech team scored another goal and qualified for the next round.[28]

In the 1985–86 season of the Hungarian League the club finished third therefore they could enter the 1986-87 UEFA Cup. On 17 September 1986, Győr was hosted by Dinamo Minsk and Győr could win 4–2 away.[29] On 1 October 1986, Győr lost 1–0 at home but could enter the second round on 4–3 aggregate.[30] In the second round, on 22 October 1986, Győr was beaten 4–0 by Torino F.C..[31] On 5 November 1986, Győr drew with Torino which resulted their farewell from the UEFA Cup.[32]

In the 1986–87 season the club finished only 10th while in the following year they came closer to the top of the league by reaching fourth place.

Ferencváros legend, Zoltán Varga managed Győr in 2001 and 2003

The 1990s did not start promising for the club since they finished only 11th in the 1990–91 and the 1991–92 season of the Hungarian League. In 1995–96 the club finished 15th in the league and had to play play-offs against the Western Hungarian rivals FC Sopron. The first match was won by Győr 2–0 while the away match was lost 2–1 which resulted in Győr remaining in the first division. After reaching the nadir of the history of the club, in the 1996–97 season Győr finished 9th and secured a place for the following season. In the 1997–98 and 1998–99 seasons the club finished fourth which were considered the best positions in the 1990s.

Attila Pintér won the fourth Hungarian League title in the 2012–13 season

In 2011 Aurél Csertői was appointed as the manager of the team. Győr started the 2011–12 season with seven consecutive wins. On 19 June 2011 UEFA suspended the club for violations of licensing rules. As a consequence the club cannot participate in European competitions for three consecutive seasons.[43][44] In March 2012 Aurél Csertői and the club agreed to his departure and Attila Pintér was re-appointed as the manager of the club. In the 2011–12 season of the Hungarian League Győr finished third, however due to the suspension of the UEFA they could not enter the Europa League.

In the 2012/13 season of the Hungarian League Győr was leading the table 6 points clear.[45]

On 12 May 2013, Győr ended a 30-year wait for the Hungarian League title by beating Ferencvárosi TC at home by 1–0, while their rival Videoton FC lost to Debreceni VSC 2–1 in the 27th weekday of the championship. In the 2012–13 season they went on a 22-match unbeaten run before back-to-back defeats knocked them off their stride. But neither Videoton FC nor MTK Budapest FC could sustain the challenge therefore Győr could wrap up their fourth title with room to spare. [46]

On 22 May 2013, Győr could have double their success by winning the 2012–13 Magyar Kupa against Debreceni VSC at the Bozsik Stadion, Budapest. Győr was winning by 1–0 thanks to the goal by Nemanja Andrić in the 19th minute but in the second half Debrecen's Adamo Coulibaly scored two goals which resulted Debrecen's victory over Győr in the Hungarian Cup final.[47]

On 17 July 2013, Győr hosted Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C. and lost to 2–0 in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League 2013-14 season.[48] In the second tie Győr also lost 2–1 which resulted the early farewell of the club.

On 19 December 2013, Pintér resigned from his position after he was appointed as the head coach of the Hungarian national football team by the head of the Hungarian Football Federation, Sándor Csányi, in Telki.[49]

After the 2014–15 season, the Hungarian Football Federation relegated Győr to the Nemzeti Bajnokság III due to financial reasons. The 2015–16 season would be the first one of Győr out of the top division. On 21 May 2017, the club won the league and therefore was promoted to the 2017–18 Nemzeti Bajnokság II.[50]

On 22 June 2018, Géza Mészöly was appointed as the manager of the club. [51] However, after a negative start Mészöly was quickly removed from his position.[52]