The history of Újpest FC begins with its founding in 1885. The club have won the Hungarian League 20 times and the Hungarian Cup 8 times.
Early years The club was founded on 16 June 1885 by school teacher János Goll in Újpest, a separate city in those times, just next to the borders of Budapest under the name Újpesti Torna Egylet. It was formed first as a general athletic club, performing gymnastics and fencing, and its motto was "Soundness, Strength, Harmony" (). In 1899, a football club was formed in the city of Újpest under the name Újpesti FC and with the same colours, purple and white. The first official match of Újpesti FC was a 1:1 draw on 29 April 1900 against III. Kerületi TVE. In 1901 the two clubs (UTE and Újpesti FC) merged and formed the football division of Újpesti TE and the club joined the second division of the newly formed Hungarian League. Újpest is ever since one of two teams in Hungary that have never missed a season since the beginnings of league games in the country.
Újpest were promoted to the first division in 1904 and they have managed to play on top flight ever since except for the season of 1911–12 when they finished as champions of the second division after a one-year relegation.
The first golden era
The club built the new Megyeri úti stadion in 1922, which marked the opening of a new era of medal collection. The legendary "Fogl-gate" (Fogl-gát in Hungarian), a massive defending formation of brothers Károly Fogl II and József Fogl III for both the national team and Újpest was the key point for the club's successes. From 1926, after the introduction of professional football in Hungary, the football team was playing under the name Újpest FC. The late 1920s and 30s brought the first golden age of the club, marked by finishing on top of the Hungarian first division 5 times and international cup success, including two Mitropa Cup titles in 1929 and 1939, and also the Cup of Nations title in 1930. In the 1938–39 season, Béla Guttmann coached the team to wins of the Hungarian League and the Mitropa Cup (the precursor to the European Cup). The team finished on one of the first three positions in every season between 1926 and 1942, and played in five cup finals during the 1920s and 30s.
Újpest gave 5 players for the World Cup of 1938 to silver medalist Hungary including György Szűcs, Antal Szalay, István Balogh I, Jenő Vincze, and the rising star of Hungarian football, Gyula Zsengellér.
After World War II The first years after World War II saw the second golden era of Újpest, and saw the club on the top of the championship three times in a row, once even giving 9 players to the Hungary national team. Players like Ferenc Szusza, Béla Egresi, Sándor Balogh II, István Nyers or Mihály Nagymarosi were setting records of winning 30 consecutive games, or scoring 187 goals in one single season. Béla Guttmann in early 1947 rejoined Újpest FC, then known as Újpesti TE, and won another Hungarian League title.
In 1950 the communist government chose Újpest as official club of the police and renamed them Budapesti Dózsa (after György Dózsa), a fairly common practice in Eastern Bloc countries (except that in other places "police clubs" were typically named Dinamo/Dynamo) and two decades of moderate league and cup success followed. In 1951, defender Sándor Szűcs, after being executed by the communist government for high treason during a secret pre-arranged trial, became a martyr of the club. As a result of the less successful years, Mihály Tóth was just one of two Újpest players in 1954 World Cup squad, and the only one to play in the final. During the 1956 revolution, the club renamed itself Újpesti TE; however, after the revolution was pulled down by the Soviets, the Hungarian government – unlike for FTC or MTK – didn't let the club use their old name. This resulted the name Újpesti Dózsa, which was referring both to the district and to the police. After 13 years without a league title, Újpest became champions of Hungary in 1959–60, and reached the Cup Winners' Cup semi-final in 1962 with the help of the new star, János Göröcs.
1960s Újpest won the 1959–60 season of the Hungarian League. Therefore, Újpest were eligible to enter the European Cup 1960-61 season. On 28 September 1960, Újpest beat Red Star Belgrade 2–1 at the Jugoslavenska Narodna Armija in Belgrade. On 12 October 1960, Újpest beat Crvena Zvezda 3–0 at the Megyeri úti Stadium. In the first round, on 6 November 1960, Újpest were beaten 6–2 by Benfica at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon. On 30 November 1960, Újpest beat Benfica 2–1 at the Népstadion.
In the same season, Újpest entered the 1960–61 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. In the first round, on 16 October 1960, Újpest lost 3–2 to Birmingham City at the St Andrew's, in Birmingham, while in the second leg, played on 26 October 1960, Újpest lost 2–1 at the Megyeri úti Stadium.
Újpest entered the 1961–62 European Cup Winners' Cup. In the first round Újpest beat Floriana F.C. 5–2 at the Independence Ground, Floriana, Malta. In the second leg, Újpest beat Floriana F.C. 10–2 at the Megyeri úti Stadium. In the second round, Újpest lost to Ajax Amsterdam 2–1 at the Olympic Stadium. In the second leg, Újpest beat Ajax Amsterdam 3–1 at the Megyeri úti Stadium. In the quarter-finals, Újpest beat 4–3 Dunfermline Athletic F.C. at the Megyeri úti Stadium. In the second leg, Újpest beat Dunfermline Athletic F.C. 1–0 at the East End Park, in Dunfermline, Scotland. In the semi-finals, Újpest lost 2–0 to ACF Fiorentina at the Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence, Italy. In the second leg, Újpest were beaten by ACF Fiorentina 1–0 at the Megyeri úti Stadium. Reaching the semi-finals of the 1961–62 European Cup Winners' Cup has been the biggest international achievement of Újpest until now.
Újpest entered the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 1968-69 season. In the first round, Újpest walkovered US Luxembourg. In the second round, Újpest beat Aris 2–1 at the Kleanthis Vikelidis Stadium, Thessaloniki, Greece. In the second leg, Újpest won 9–1 at the Megyeri úti Stadium and qualified for the third round. In the third round Újpest beat Legia Warsaw 1–0 at the Polish Army Stadium, Warsaw, Poland. In the second leg, Újpest drew with Legia Warsaw (2–2). In the quarter-finals, Újpest beat Leeds United F.C. 1–0 at the Elland Road, Leeds, England. In the second leg, Újpest won 2–0 and qualified for the semi-finals on 3–0 aggregate. In the semi-finals, Újpest beat Göztepe A.Ş. 4–1 at the İzmir Atatürk Stadium, İzmir, Turkey.
Újpest won the 1969 season of the Hungarian Cup by beating Budapest Honvéd FC 3–2 in the final. Therefore, Újpest were eligible to enter the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 1969-70 season. In the first leg Újpest lost 2–1 to FK Partizan in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. The second leg was won by Újpest 2–0 at the Megyeri úti Stadium. In the second round, Újpest lost 5–2 to Club Brugge KV in Bruges, Belgium. The second leg was won by Újpest 3–0 which meant the qualification for the third round on away goals rule. In the third round, Újpest lost 1–0 to FC Carl Zeiss Jena at the Ernst-Abbe-Sportfeld, in Jena, East Germany. The second leg was also won by FC Carl Zeiss Jena (3–0) which resulted the farewell of Újpest.
1970s
The year 1967, when manager Lajos Baróti was signed by the club leaders, marked the start of a new golden era. After two silver medals, Újpest won the league in 1969 and played in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup final in the same year (and lost with a result of 2–6 on aggregate against Newcastle United). The team started seven wins in a row in the league, Újpest won all the seasons from 1969 to 1975, setting incredible post-war records like scoring exactly 500 goals in the seven seasons or losing only 4 home matches in 10 seasons. The club enjoyed success in the other domestic competition, winning the Hungarian Cup for the first time in 1969, and also in 1970 & 1975. On international level besides the Inter-Cities Faris Cup final, Újpesti Dózsa reached the European Cup quarter-finals in three consecutive year after 1972 and once even played in the semi-final in 1974, where only the later winners Bayern Munich could put a stop to the campaign. The club was considered one of the best teams in Europe beating such teams like English champions Leeds United in 1969, Spanish champion Valencia CF in 1971, Scottish champion Celtic Glasgow in 1972, or Portuguese top team Benfica in 1973.
The 'landmark' of the team – as always for Újpest – was goal scoring. The Fazekas – Göröcs – Bene – Dunai II – Zámbó attacking formation, invented and led by manager Lajos Baróti, scored dozens of goals, attracted thousands of football fans both in Hungary and outside the country. Bene became the top scorer of Hungary 5 times, and Dunai II and Fazekas won the Silver boot award for scoring the second most goals in the continent.
After Göröcs, Bene and Dunai left the team, András Törőcsik and László Fekete joined Újpest to reach two more league titles in 1978 and 1979 with former player Pál Várhidi as the head coach. Törőcsik was considered a "magician" by the fans of the club, making unbelievable dribbles, scoring amazing goals and getting unexpected assists to teammates, while Fekete also won the European Silver boot.
Újpest won the 1970 season of the Hungarian Cup by beating Komlói Bányász SK 3–2 in the final.
Újpest won the 1970 season of the Hungarian League. As a consequence, Újpest were eligible for entering the European Cup 1970-71 season. In the first round, Újpest beat Crvena Zvezda 2–0 at the Megyeri úti Stadium on 16 September 1970. On 30 September 1970, Crvena Zvezda beat Újpest 4–0 at the Crvena Zvezda Stadium, Belgrade, Yugoslavia.
Újpest won the 1970–71 season of the Hungarian League. Therefore, Újpest entered the European Cup 1971-72 season. On 15 September 1971, Újpest beat Malmö FF 4–0 at the Megyeri úti Stadium. On 29 September 1971, Újpest lost to Malmö FF 1–0 at the Malmö Stadion, Malmö, Sweden. In the second round, Újpest faced with the La Liga 1970-71 champion, Valencia CF. On 20 October 1971, Újpest beat Valencia CF at the Estadi de Mestalla, Valencia, Spain. On 3 November 1971, Újpest beat Valencia CF 2–1 at the Megyeri úti Stadium. In the knockout phase, Újpest lost 1–0 to the 1970–71 Scottish Division One-winner Celtic F.C. at the Megyeri úti Stadium on 8 March 1972. On 22 March 1971, Újpest drew with Celtic F.C. (1–1) at the Celtic Park, Glasgow, Scotland, which resulted the farewell of Újpest.
Újpest won the 1971–72 season of the Hungarian League. As a consequence, Újpest could enter the European Cup 1972-73 season. On 13 September 1972, Újpest beat FC Basel 2–0 at the Megyeri úti Stadium in the first leg of the first round. On 27 September 1972, Basel beat Újpest 3–2 at the St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland. However, Újpest qualified for the second round on 4–3 aggregate. On 25 October 1972, Újpest lost 2–1 to the 1971–72 Scottish Division One-winner Celtic F.C. at the Celtic Park, Glasgow, Scotland. On 8 November 1972, Újpest beat Celtic F.C. 3–0 at the Megyeri úti Stadium, Budapest. In the knockout phase, Újpest drew (0–0) with Juventus FC at the Stadio Olimpico di Torino, Turin, Italy on 7 March 1973. On 21 March 1973, Újpest drew (2–2) with the Serie A 1971-72-champions and were eliminated from the European Cup 1972-73.