Who is Martin Ádám, the internet’s new favourite Hungarian footballer?

Anyone following the European Football Championship has surely come across the name of Martin Ádám, but he may even be familiar to those who are not fans of the tournament, as in recent days, posts, articles and memes about the footballer have flooded every corner of the internet.

Who is the new internet star, Martin Ádám?

The Hungarian striker Martin Ádám was born in Szeged in 1996, and during his career, he played for Hungarian clubs such as Vasas, Kaposvár and Paks. In July 2022, he joined the South Korean top team Ulsan Hyundai.

In March 2022, Hungary’s national captain Marco Rossi invited him to the 24-man squad of the Hungarian national team. On 14 June 2022, he came on as a substitute in the 68th minute of the 4-0 win over England in the Nations League and assisted 2 goals. He scored his first goal for the national team in a 1-0 win over Estonia in a pre-season match on 23 March 2023. He also scored the winner goal in a 3-0 European Championship qualifying match against Bulgaria on 27 March 2023. He was given the nickname ‘Viking’ because of his looks.

Articles, memes and social media posts about Martin Ádám, the ’Hungarian Viking’

The Hungarian footballer played only eleven minutes at the European Football Championship in Germany, but after the Hungary-Switzerland match, perhaps no other footballer in the tournament received more attention than him. His looks have made him the king of memes and the hero of many, and he was featured in American, British and German newspapers, Magyar Nemzet reports.

Marco Rossi, the national team captain, only sent on Martin Ádám in the second half of the group match against Switzerland, which they lost 3-1. The 29-year-old striker came on at 2-1, but he could not help the Hungarian team score either, instead, the Swiss scored another goal. Ádám still got a lot of attention, even though the only thing he had to do was to show up during the match. Viewers immediately noticed that his physique was not typical of a professional footballer, and thousands of memes spread across the internet, making him a fan favourite.

Photo: PrtScr from X / @FootyHumour

Photo: PrtScr from X / @The FPLFan

First, the US news agency ESPN published an article about the Hungarian striker, saying that he was “a fan favourite already at the tournament after his short cameo”.

On Tuesday, David Squres’ comic, published by the Guardian, featured the figure of the footballer with the following caption: “Hungary disappointed in their defeat to Switzerland, but may present more of a challenge to Germany, especially if Martin Ádám can get someone to cover his shift at the microbrewery.”

However, the Finnish news agency Helsingin Sanomat had a slightly different take on the situation. In their article, they clearly state that the Hungarian striker was body-shamed by people on the internet.

He reacted to the memes at a press conference held on Sunday: “The posts? Of course, one or two get to me, I usually have a laugh about it. I was born this way, I have this body shape. I’m not saying that I was this big when I was born, but I have a basic physique. Genetics, I can’t change that,” Magyar Nemzet reports.

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