Fehérvár Football Club is a professional Hungarian football club based in Székesfehérvár, Hungary.
1940s Founded in 1941 as Székesfehérvári Vadásztölténygyár SK by the defense manufacturing company Székesfehérvári Vadásztölténygyár, the club was made up of workers of the local factory in its early years. The team first entered the Fejér County Championship in 1942–43 and went on to win the championship. In 1948, the club was broken into three teams, with one team playing in the Nemzeti Bajnokság III (third Division of the National Championship), one in the County Championship and the third one in the Second division of the County Championship. In 1950, the workers of the factory assembled their own team in the hope of achieving better results, and the club was renamed Vadásztölténygyári Vasas on 10 March. Later on they eventually agreed on 3 January 1956, that all teams would join forces in a unified team built on Vadásztölténygyár. In that season the team won the County Championship by a very wide margin, and, after winning the following year's County Championship Winners Trophy, qualified for the Nemzeti Bajnokság II (second Division of the National Championship) for the 1957–58 season.
1960s The first opportunity to play in Hungary's highest league came along only a few years later. In the 1961–62 season the team finished in third position – barely qualifying for the first division. Known then as VT Vasas, the dream finally came true in 1967 when the team finished second in the second division and was promoted to the top league.
On 22 January 1968, the club was renamed Videoton SC, due to a sponsorship agreement with the electrical goods manufacturer Videoton. The first season in the top league wasn't very successful. The team won 9 games but lost 18 matches, finishing in 15th place, which resulted in them being relegated.
However, the following year, Videoton bounced back and won the second division. The next five years saw the club consolidate its position in the first division by finishing tenth, seventh, fifth, fourth and again fifth. Then in the 1975–76 season the team achieved the best position in its history by finishing second.
Videoton went on to produce modest results in the ensuing years, failing to finish in the top three on four occasions. Finally, in 1982, the Fehervar club reached the final of the Hungarian Cup, but were defeated 2–0 by Újpest. This was the beginning of the club's golden age. In 1984, the team finished third with the same number of points as ETO Győr, who finished second, but due only to a superior head-to-head performance. That season saw, József Szabó become the top goal-scorer in the 1st division with 19 goals.
1980s
The club caught international attention when it reached the 1985 UEFA Cup Final during a campaign under the management of Ferenc Kovács. In the 1984–85 UEFA Cup season Videoton overcame Dukla Prague (1–0, 0–0) in the first round, Paris Saint-Germain (4–2, 2–0) in the second round, FK Partizan (0–2, 5–0) in the third round. They then had further success in the quarter-finals where Videoton played against Manchester United. At Old Trafford, Manchester United beat Videoton by a 1–0 scoreline with the only goal coming from Frank Stapleton. The return leg in Székesfehérvár saw Videoton beat the English team 1–0. In the penalty shootout Videoton won 5–4. In the semi-finals Videoton played Yugoslav Željezničar. In the first leg in Fehervar, Videoton won 3–1 and it proved enough to overcome their Yugoslavian opponents after losing 2–1 in Sarajevo. In the final they came up against Spanish team Real Madrid. The first leg match was played at a packed out stadium in Székesfehérvár, which saw Videoton lose 3–0 in front of a record 38,000 spectators at the Sóstói Stadion. Ferenc Kovács' side then flew out to Madrid for the return leg at the Bernabéu Videoton beat Real Madrid by 1–0 but lost 3–1 on aggregate. The only goal of that memorable match was scored by Lajos Májer in the 86th minute. In the Hungarian domestic championship Videoton once again finished in third place.
1990s After the golden era, Videoton continued to be a mainstay in the first division. However, they failed to achieve any significant results. The 1998 season saw them barely escape relegation, which surprised many. Finishing the season in 16th place, the club had to win a play-off against Sopron to remain in the top flight. They managed to do this by winning both games 2–1 and 3–0. Relegation came the following year ending a run of 29 years in the first division.
2000s
This was the beginning of a period for the club, which saw them go upwards and develop. After winning the Second Division and gaining promotion in 2000, the teamed once again reached the cup final in 2001, losing 5–2 to Debrecen. This led to the team's only participation in the Intertoto Cup, where they were defeated by Marek Dupnitsa in the first round. In 2005, the club changed its name to FC Fehérvar. The next year saw the club's most successful domestic year. After a third-place finish, the first in 21 years, the team finally won the Hungarian Cup for the first time by defeating Vasas 6–5 in a penalty shoot-out, after the match had finished 2–2 after extra time. A brand new main stand was erected and handed over in 2004. Videoton were close to bankruptcy when businessman István Garancsi rescued the club. He brought financial stability and a resurgence in fortunes on the pitch. 2008 saw the team win the first ever League Cup by defeating Debrecen 3–0 on aggregate (Home 1–0; Away 2–0). They won the League cup again in 2009, this time beating Pécsi 3–1 in the final.
Videoton FC entered into a joint working relationship with the Puskás Academy in Felcsút.
At the beginning of the Hungarian National Championship 2009–10 season, the club reassumed the Videoton name.Videoton history
In 2010 Videoton FC were leading the Hungarian National Championship I 2009–10 for many weeks, but in the end their rivals Debrecen won the championship. The team finished second, and qualified for the Europa League.
2010s
In the first half of the 2010–11 season Videoton climbed to the top of the league, and remained there until the end. The end of the season saw the club reach its peak by winning the Hungarian League title for the first time in its history. They debuted in the UEFA Champions League by entering UEFA Champions League 2011–12 season. Videoton FC played their first ever match in Klagenfurt, Austria against Sturm Graz. Videoton lost 2–0 the first leg of the match. In the second leg of the match Videoton beat Sturm Graz 3–2 which resulted the farewell from the international turf.
The 2012–13 season started with the triumph in the Hungarian Supercup against Debrecen, the champions of the 2011–12 season. Videoton defeated the Hajdús on penalties after a 1–1 draw at home. On 29 July 2012 Videoton started the 2012–13 season of the Hungarian League with a 1–1 draw against Pápa. On the international turf, Videoton entered the second round of the UEFA Europa League 2012–13 season against the Slovak Slovan Bratislava. The first leg was played in Bratislava and ended in 1–1 draw. The second leg ended with a goalless draw which resulted Videoton's qualification for the third round. In the first leg of the third round Videoton beat the Belgian KAA Gent 1–0 at the Sóstói Stadion. The only goal was scored by Nikolić in the 78th minute. The second leg was won by 3–0 by Videoton at the Jules Ottenstadion. The goals were scored by Oliveira and Nikolić (2). At the play-off stage of the Europa League 2012–13 Videoton played the first leg against the Turkish Trabzonspor at the Hüseyin Avni Aker Stadium. The match finished with a goalless draw. On 30 August 2012 Videoton received Trabzonspor, the result was a goalless draw after extra time and the penalty shootout was won by Videoton 4–2. Videoton thus reached the group stages of the UEFA Europa League 2012–13. On 20 September Videoton played their first Europa League group match against KRC Genk at the Cristal Arena in Genk, Belgium. Videoton's inexperience at the European level was ruthlessly exploited by Genk and the Belgian club won the match by 3–0. On 4 September 2012 (the 2nd matchday) Videoton hosted the Portuguese Sporting CP in the Europa League, which was very exciting due to the fact that Videoton have Portuguese a manager as Sousa and former Sporting players such as Caneira and Renato Neto. In the first half Vinícius, Oliveira and Nikolić scored and after a goalless second half the team celebrated one of the biggest triumphs in Videoton's modern history. On 25 October 2012 Videoton defeated FC Basel 2–1 at home therefore they extended their unbeaten European run in Székesfehérvár to nine matches. On 28 October Videoton beat reigning Hungarian League champions Debrecen 3–1 at home. On 8 November Basel beat Videoton at the St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland. The only goal was scored in the 80th minute by Streller. On 22 November Videoton hosted KRC Genk and lost to the Belgian club by a goal in the 19th minute by Barda. The last group match was due to be played on 6 December, however due to heavy rain it was postponed and played the day after on 7 December. At the Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon, Portugal, Sousa's team lost to 2–1 to Sporting CP, Sporting took the lead in the 65th minute by a goal from Labyad which was equalized by Sándor in the 80th minute. However, just after 2 minutes Sporting took the lead again by a goal from Viola. The final result meant that Videoton was eliminated from the 2012–13 season of the Europa League. All in all, Videoton could gain 6 points in 6 matches.
In the 2012–13 Nemzeti Bajnokság I, Videoton finished second. Therefore, they were eligible for entering 2013-14 UEFA Europa League. On 4 July 2013 Videoton hosted Mladost Podgorica in the first round of the UEFA Europa League 2013–14 season. The first leg ended in a 2–1 victory for the home team. In the second leg Videoton lost to 1–0 which resulted their early exit from the European contest.
Videoton won the 2014–15 season of the Hungarian League. Consequently, Videoton could enter the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League. In the second round, Videoton beat the Welsh The New Saints F.C. 1–0 at the Park Hall in Oswestry, Wales on 14 July 2015. In the second leg, played at the Sóstói Stadion, Székesfehérvár on 22 July 2015, Videoton was stunned by a TNS goal just ten minutes before the final whistle, and with a tie on aggregate, the sides went on extra-time, where Gyurcsó managed to bring the score to a 1–1 tie and Videoton qualified for the next phase with a 2–1 on aggregate. In the third round, Videoton drew with BATE Borisov at Sóstói Stadion on 28 July 2015. The first goal was scored by Karnitsky in the 56th minute, while the equalizer was scored by Vinícius in the 89th minute securing a draw for the home side. In the second leg, BATE Borisov beat Videoton by 1–0 at the Borisov Arena, Borisov, Belarus on 5 August 2015. The only goal was scored by Nikolić in the 82nd minute into his own net. After the farewell from the UEFA Champions League, Videoton were eligible to enter the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League play-off round. On 20 August 2015, Lech Poznań beat Videoton 3–0 at the Stadion Miejski, Poznań, Poland. In the second leg, Lech Poznań beat Videoton 1–0 at the Sóstói Stadion, Székesfehérvár on 27 August 2015. The Polish club qualified for the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League group stage, while Videoton were eliminated.