The UEFA Euro 2024 in Germany is moving forward—without Hungary, who unfortunately failed to make it to the top four third-place finishers in the group stage. The tournament is currently at the quarter finals, where Germany faces Spain and Portugal faces France on Friday; and we also have England vs Switzerland and Netherlands vs Türkiye on the schedule on Saturday.
Undoubtedly, the two Hungarian players who received the most attention from the international audience during Euro 2024 were
two strikers, Barnabás Varga and Martin Ádám.
Now, we have some updates on both men.
Of the two, Varga did manage to get on the scoresheet, scoring a header in the game against Switzerland. However, alas, this is not what brought him all the attention; rather, it was the scary head injury he sustained after clashing with Scotland goalkeeper Angus Gunn in the last group game.
All who watched most likely vividly remember medical staff shielding the player with large sheets while he was receiving first aid, as well as captain Dominik Szoboszlai getting a hold of the stretcher and hurrying the medical staff carrying it to his teammate—an action for which the Liverpool star got plenty of praise from fans around the world.
The in-house media team of Varga’s club, Ferencváros, has recently visited him in his small hometown of Szentpéterfa, Hungary, where he is currently recovering with his family. Varga has suffered a concussion and multiple broken cheekbones. He had to undergo emergency surgery in Stuttgart, Germany.
FradiMédia published clips of their interview on Wednesday, 3 July.
‘I am feeling better now, the swelling has decreased. The stitches will be removed soon, and I will have to get a mask made. I am on the right track. When I woke up at the hospital, I immediately realized how many people were worried about me, and how many were inquiring about my condition. I thank everyone for their concern and their messages. I will try to repay everyone and get back on the pitch as soon as possible so I can help my team again and we can bring joy to our supporters with our success,’ Varga said.
In an additional update, Ferencváros will be entitled to financial compensation from UEFA for Varga’s injury, as per their Club Protection Program (CPP) scheme, the Hungarian sports daily Nemzeti Sport informs. Compensations can be claimed if the recovery time from the injury for the player is more than 28 days.
News also broke about Martin Ádám, who has become an international meme sensation for his unusual appearance. According to Nemzeti Sport, he still has not returned to his club, the Korean Ulsan HD, despite the team having a game scheduled for this Friday.
Korea Football News claims he has terminated his contract with Ulsan. However, Nemzeti Sport reached out to Ádám’s manager who denied those claims, but he did make the vague statement that they are ‘in talks’ with the club.
The reason for Ádám’s hesitance in returning to his club is that he has already had limited playtime, playing only ten league games out of the total twenty played so far, and now Ulsan has signed a new player in his position as well. With Brazilian striker Yago Cariello coming in,
Ádám will have even less of a chance of making the starting eleven.
Meanwhile, he has just represented his country in a major international tournament, playing in all three group games (although only coming in as a substitute in all three), and his market value has increased due to the international attention alone—Ádám rightfully might feel that right now he has better career opportunities than sitting on the bench of the Korean champions.
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