Pál Dárdai

Pál Dárdai (born 16 March 1976) is a Hungarian retired footballer who played mainly as a defensive midfielder, and the current coach of German club Hertha BSC.
In a 20-year professional career he played for over a decade in the same team, Hertha BSC in Germany. With 286 Bundesliga appearances, he is the club's most capped player.
Dárdai gained 61 caps for Hungary in 12 years, and also worked as the country's manager.

Club

Hungary

Born in Pécs, Dárdai started his professional career with local Pécsi Mecsek FC, moving in January 1996 to BVSC Budapest.

He helped his new club finish second in both the league and cup.

Hertha BSC

Dárdai playing for Hertha in 2009

In January 1997 Dárdai signed with Germany's Hertha BSC, appearing in ten games for the second division side before the end of the season as it eventually promoted. In 1998–99 he contributed with 21 matches (only six starts however) to a final third position, only trailing vice-champions Bayer 04 Leverkusen by one point.

On 13 November 2008, Dárdai marked his 250th Bundesliga appearance during the 1–0 win against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. Following the match, he thanked "the team and the fans".

On 16 January 2009, Dárdai damaged his meniscus during training. He was operated by Gert Schleicher after returning to Berlin from Marbella in Spain, where Hertha spent their winter training camp.

Hertha extended Dárdai's contract by a year on 28 May 2009, and he became the club's longest-serving player. He expressed his wish to further extend his link, stating: "I can imagine that I will end my career here in Berlin, but before I return to Hungary I want to fulfil my ambition and that is to win the championship and the cup"; Dieter Hoeneß responded by saying the club would also like to keep him.

Dárdai helped The Old Lady qualify several times for the UEFA Cup, appearing sparingly from 2004 to 2006 (33 games combined) but featuring heavily in the following years. From 2009, his appearances became less and less frequent: after only one match in the 2010–11 campaign – with eventually returning to the top level – and also being demoted to the reserve team, the 35-year-old retired from football, having appeared in 297 league contests.

International

Dárdai began playing for Hungary with the under-21s, in 1996. He made his senior debut in a friendly against Slovenia on 19 August 1998, and scored his first international goal on 10 October in an UEFA Euro 2000 qualifier against Azerbaijan, in the 58th minute of a 4–0 triumph.

Often cast as starting central midfielder alongside Krisztián Lisztes, under managers Bertalan Bicskei and Imre Gellei, Dárdai captained the national side seven times during 2006, netting twice. On 15 November 2006 he was not included in Péter Várhidi's provisional 25-man squad for the Euro 2008 qualifying phase, but featured in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign as Hungary was now managed by Erwin Koeman.

2012–present: Hertha BSC

Early career

In 2012 Dárdai started working as a coach at his last club, his assistants at the under-15 team being Admir Hamzagic and Jochem Ziegert. On 5 February 2015, he was appointed interim manager of the main squad, his first game in charge being a 2–0 victory over 1. FSV Mainz 05 two days later. On 29 May 2015, Dárdai signed a permanent contract with Hertha.

2016–17 season

Hertha started the season by getting knocked out of the Europa League in the third qualifying round by Brøndby. Hertha won the first leg 1–0 and lost the second leg 3–1.

2014–15: Hungary

On 18 September 2014, Dárdai was appointed as interim manager of the Hungarian national team. He turned down an offer from the Hungarian Football Federation to manage the side on a permanent basis, with the former's president Sándor Csányi confirming the latter would be in charge of three Euro 2016 qualifying matches for free.

On 23 September 2014, Zsolt Lőw, assistant coach of FC Red Bull Salzburg, was not allowed by his club to join Dárdai's coaching staff in the same capacity. The latter's debut took place on 11 October against Romania, and the game ended with a 1–1 draw in Bucharest. Three days later he managed his first win, 1–0 in the Faroe Islands, and the manager said after the second game that "the minimum aims were to get the three points".

Former international István Sallói said in an interview with Nemzeti Sport in October 2014 that "Dárdai is the only chance for Hungarian football". The former was appointed by the latter as the aid to map the opponents of the national team, and further stated: "In the last ten days it became incredible clear what type of work I have to do".

On 14 November 2014, Dárdai-managed Hungary won their first home match by beating Finland 1–0 thanks to Zoltán Gera's 84th-minute goal in the Euro 2016 qualifier at the Groupama Arena in Budapest. The following month, the Hungarian Federation announced he would remain on the bench until 30 November 2015, and he admitted that his son influenced him in making the decision by saying "You have to return because without you they are not going to win".

After returning to Hertha, Dárdai was replaced by his former mentor Bernd Storck. In November 2015, Storck-led Hungary qualified for the European Championships after 44 years, and Dárdai stated in an interview with Hertha's official website that he built the base of the team, while his successor added his part to reach the finals.

Dárdai is married and has three sons: Pál, Márton and Bence. On 20 July 2002, Balázs Dárdai, his brother and a midfielder for FC Barcs, died during a tournament after an artery burst when he jumped for a ball. Their father, also named Pál and the club's coach, was watching the game when it happened; Balázs was only 23 years old.

Club

International goals

International goals

	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	10 October 1998	Tofiq Bahramov, Baku, Azerbaijan	Azerbaijan	1–0	4–0	Euro 2000 qualifying
2	7 September 2002	Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland	Iceland	2–0	2–0	Friendly
3	20 November 2002	Üllői úti, Budapest, Hungary	Moldova	1–1	1–1	Friendly
4	30 May 2006	Old Trafford, Manchester, England	England	1–2	1–3	Friendly
5	6 September 2006	Bilino Polje, Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina	Bosnia and Herzegovina	3–0	3–1	Euro 2008 qualifying

Managerial record

As of 29 January 2017

Club

Budapesti VSC

• Hungarian Cup: Runner-up 1995–96

Hertha

• 2. Bundesliga: 2010–11
• DFB-Ligapokal: 2001, 2002; Runner-up 2000
• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2006

Individual

• Hungarian Footballer of the Year: 2006

• "P. Dárdai – Trophies". Soccerway. Retrieved 24 September 2014. 
• "Dárdai Pálé a Magyar Aranylabda" [Dárdai Pál is Hungarian Golden Ball] (in Hungarian). Sport Geza. 14 November 2006. Retrieved 14 November 2006.