Hungarian Conservative

Just a few weeks ago, Liverpool was the favourite to win the Premier League with eight games to go and a two-point lead. However, things have changed a lot for the team recently, and for the worse: they are third in the league and lost to Atalanta 3–0 at home in the Europa League. Some fans are even turning on Szoboszlai himself. Where will he go from here?

Boxing Day football is a tradition in England that goes all the way back to the 19th century. A handful of Hungarian footballers have had the chance to participate in it in the modern, Premier League era. They include Crystal Palace goalkeeper Gábor Király, and West Brom and Fulham midfielder Zoltán Gera. This Christmas, we get to root for Dominik Szoboszlai at Liverpool and Milos Kerkez at Bournemouth.

The young Hungarian supertalent beat World Cup-winning Argentine goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez with a shot from the edge of the area after a corner, giving the lead to Liverpool. The game ended in a 3–0 victory for the Reds against Aston Villa. This was the first time a Hungarian player scored in the English Premier League in over a decade.

The 22-year-old Hungary National Team captain has played through all three Premier League games for his title-challenging Liverpool side this season. The British media is also impressed with his performance. It’s been a long time since a player from Hungary has played such a prominent role at such a prestigious club.

It would have been too great of a risk for Szoboszlai to go against his teammates and refuse to take a knee on his Premier League debut. While playing for the Hungarian National Team, however, he did just that: he, along with his teammates, refused to kneel before the two Nations League games against England in 2022, and they won both times.

The 19-year-old left back is the second Hungarian player to be signed by a Premier League side for a high transfer fee this summer. Kerkez joined Bournemouth only weeks after Dominik Szoboszlai’s transfer to Liverpool was announced.