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Countries around the world were stepping up efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic – Daily updates – March 17

coronavirus-Hungary

Countries around the world were stepping up efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic amid a rising caseload in the past 24 hours, with the tally of cases and deaths outside China exceeding that inside China.

The number of COVID-19 cases outside China had increased by 13,874 to 86,434 in the past 24 hours as of 10 a.m. CET (0900 GMT) Monday, with 3,388 deaths, according to the daily situation report released by the World Health Organization.

The report showed a total of 167,511 cases and 6,606 deaths were reported globally as of Monday.

In Europe, the epicenter of the pandemic, around 56,000 cases were reported by over 50 countries and regions as of Monday.

In Italy, the worst-hit country in Europe, the total count rose to 27,980 with 2,158 deaths on Monday.

The tally of confirmed cases in Spain has risen to 8,744 on Monday, while death toll climbed to 297. The country is considering extending the State of Alarm imposed on Saturday beyond two weeks.

France has reported 6,633 infections and 148 deaths by Monday evening.

Starting from Tuesday noon and for at least two weeks, people across French cities can only move out for reasons of work, health needs or shopping of necessities.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Monday she had proposed a temporary restriction on non-essential travel to the European Union (EU). The proposal is expected to be discussed by leaders of EU member states during a video conference on Tuesday. Read more HERE: EU proposes travel restriction as escalation seen in both virus cases, measures

Iran’s Ministry of Health and Medical Education said Monday that the novel coronavirus has affected 14,991 people in the country, of whom 853 people have died. Shiite shrines in the religious cities of Mashhad, Qom and Shahr-e-Rey have been closed.

South Korea reported a double-digit growth of 74 cases in the 24 hours as of midnight Monday local time, raising the total to 8,236. The country on Monday expanded tighter immigration procedures to people from all European countries.

The United States had reported 4,068 cases as of Monday afternoon local time with 69 deaths, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday the country could be coping with COVID-19 until July or August and the its economy “may be” heading toward a recession.

Sad and shocking! Hungarian father of two disappeared in the Atlantic Ocean!

Hungary Atlantic ocean disappear

The man and his daughter were on holiday on the Canary Islands, and a wave took them away. The child could be rescued, but the man disappeared, and authorities have been unsuccessfully searching for him for days.

Spanish newspapers say that the accident happened last Sunday on the beach of Guayedra in the North-Eastern part of Gran Canaria. The two young people who rescued the man’s 5-year-old daughter said that a Hungarian family of four, with two young girls, was on the beach that morning, Szeretlek Magyarorszag reported. The man and his daughter

went to the nearby rocks to take some photos when a huge wave took them away.

The young people watching the accident immediately jumped into the water, but the current was so strong that they could only rescue the young girl, and they could not see the man anywhere. They were not able to swim out, so they waited in the water until help came. All were carried into the local hospital.

Local authorities have been searching for the man in the last few days not only with boats but also with drones, helicopters, and coast guards but were unable to find him as of yet.

Interestingly, we wrote HERE that

less than a year ago, a Hungarian man died near one of the beaches of Gran Canaria

where he was hiking together with his friends. However, he slipped on the wet rocks and, to avoid hitting himself on the cliffs, he jumped into the water. But the waves were so huge that he was unable to get out. Unfortunately, since he went on the beach with his friends, nobody had a cell phone.

Therefore, it took some time until one of his friends found a Hungarian couple and tried to get in touch with the ambulance by calling 112. In the beginning, nobody was picking up the phone, and when somebody did, the line got disconnected. Later, the police said that due to the many forest fires in the neighbourhood, the lines were very busy at the time of the accident. Finally, a rescue helicopter arrived and took the body of the boy out of the ocean. They tried to resuscitate him for 20 minutes, but unfortunately, they were not successful.

Orbán cabinet not aware of any cases of new virus in Hungary

hungary-government-coronavirus-info

The government is still not aware of any cases of the new virus being present in Hungary, Gergely Gulyás, the head of the prime minister’s office, told a press conference on Wednesday.

Gulyás noted coronavirus is spreading in Europe, adding that there was little chance Hungary could avoid COVID-19.

He said the government knew of two Hungarians who had contracted the virus: a woman living in Vienna and a man on a boat in Japan. He added that Hungary was prepared to offer immediate help to any affected Hungarian individual no matter where they were in the world. Those who asked have been transported from Wuhan back to Hungary. The Hungarian authorities also monitor any developments connected to the Hungarian man on the Japanese boat and if necessary, returning Hungarians will be provided with a quarantine.

The press will be immediately informed if any person in Hungary is identified to carry the virus, he said.

“There’s no room for spreading fake news, which is anyway a criminal act,” he added.

In response to a question, Gulyás said an operative board would decide whether a quarantine had to be set up anywhere. Considering that currently there are no reported cases in Hungary, there is no need for such a decision to be made but once a high number of cases are reported from anywhere, there will be a quarantine established, he added.

Gulyás said that for the time being, the effect of the epidemic of the Hungarian economy cannot be assessed.

Gulyás said

there were five Hungarians among the thousand people quarantined in a hotel in Tenerife.

According to the latest information, they are well and the foreign ministry keeps in touch with them, he added.

Gulyás said all air passengers arriving from China, South Kores and northern Italy were being checked for high body temperature.

Spokeswoman of the operative board Kinga Láng-Bognár said

even if the virus appears in Hungary it is no cause for panic and it does not automatically represent an epidemic.

The board continues to advise against visits to infected areas, including northern Italy, and asks state-run primary and secondary schools not to organise trips to such areas, spokeswoman Láng-Bognár said.

Those who cannot avoid going to northern Italy are asked to register with the consulate or the operative board, she added. Staff in hotels and other accommodation facilities along main travel routes are asked to cooperate in screening cases of infected individuals, she said. Disinfectants and thermometers will be made available on international rail services operated by MÁV and GYSEV and train conductors will get special training, she added.

The public media has been instructed to introduce extraordinary procedures in case the coronavirus appears in Hungary, she said.

The board is asking all individuals returning from infected countries to immediately contact their GP by phone if they notice signs of the virus and to avoid visiting public places.

She said stricter controls have been introduced at public road border crossings, with special regard to those arriving from Italy. Screenings at the airports are also maintained for travellers arriving from China, South Korea and Italy, she added.

A dedicated website and a Facebook page have been set up for disseminating information, she said.

Human Resources Minister Miklós Kásler said

Hungarian procedures in connection with the new virus were slightly stricter than those generally applied in Europe.

On Tuesday all GPs received the current, third version of the Hungarian procedure connected to the COVID-19 virus, Miklós Kásler told a press conference. This details how coronavirus can be identified, who must be contacted if there is a suspicion of infection and where the patient must be forwarded to, he added.

The minister said

the Hungarian procedure has been adjusted to the current situation.

If anybody arrives from an infected area and appears likely to be infected, then they must go into quarantine, but if the suspicion of infection is low, then they must be kept under observation only, he said.

Kásler said the measures tip away from overreaction while keeping measures for worst-case scenarios on the table.

In response to a question, the minister said the symptoms can be diverse and many people do not even notice them. The Hungarian in Japan can return home once his test is negative, he added.

Hungarian suspected of contracting coronavirus quarantined – UPDATE

coronavirus-Hungary-border

Another Hungarian national suspected of carrying the coronavirus has been quarantined, a government official said on Tuesday.

The truck driver recently returned from Italy’s Lombardy region, foreign affairs state secretary Tamás Menczer said, adding that though the individual in question does not have a fever, they have reported feeling unwell.

The truck driver is already being transported to hospital, he said.

Meanwhile, citing Hungary’s honorary consul in Tenerife, Menczer said there were Hungarian citizens staying at a hotel on the island that was recently locked down after a coronavirus case was identified there. A consul from Madrid is set to travel to the island and if necessary, Hungary will send more officials to Tenerife, he said.

The hotel with around 1,000 guests and staff members had to be quarantined after an Italian guest was diagnosed with coronavirus.

coronavirus-Hungary-border
Read alsoHungarian suspected of contracting coronavirus quarantined – UPDATE

Concerning the Hungarian crew member of the Diamond Princess cruise ship stranded off the coast of Japan, who has also tested positive for the virus, Menczer said the individual has been taken to hospital.

If another coronavirus test comes back positive, the Hungarian national will be taken to an observation unit, he said, adding that the patient is reportedly feeling fine and is symptom-free.

As regards the situation in China, Menczer, citing consular information, said there are 172 Hungarian citizens in the country. The 20 of them who are in Hubei province are all reportedly feeling fine, he added.

In Europe, 11 countries have been affected by the virus, the state secretary said, adding that the Hungarian government was doing all it could to make sure that the disease does not reach Hungary. So far there have been no confirmed coronavirus cases in Hungary, but the emergence of the virus cannot be ruled out, Menczer said.

Meanwhile, he said

the high school students who returned from northern Italy on Sunday night and were subsequently quarantined were also symptom-free.

Menczer rejected accusations from the opposition that the government was not communicating openly about the coronavirus situation.

Hosszú, Nadal named best European athletes of 2019!

hosszú katinka 2019

Hungarian swimmer Katinka Hosszú, a three-time Olympic champion, became Europe’s best female athlete of 2019, elected by the sports journalists of Europe, Hungarian news agency MTI reported on Wednesday.

“Hosszú won the title for the third time, winning both in 2016 and 2017.

Italian skier Dorothea Wierer finished at the second place, while British world champion sprinter Dina Asher-Smith finished third,” MTI announced.

In the men’s category, Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal was elected the best male athlete of 2019.

Winning in both Roland Garros and the US Open in 2019, he obtained the title for the second time since 2008. He beat Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese star of the Juventus football team, and Lewis Hamilton, the British Formula One World Champion, according to MTI.

Sports journalists from 43 countries participated in the 37th AIPS Europe vote. The International Sports Press Association (AIPS) is the professional body representing the international sports media, with more than 9,500 members worldwide.

Katinka Hosszú
Read alsoKatinka wins second gold in 400m medley! – Hungary finishes at the top of the medal table of the FINA World Aquatics Championships

ASEM Asia-Europe Meeting in Madrid – Close economic cooperation in Europe’s interest, says Hungarian FM

asem-madrid hungary

Building the closest technology investment and business cooperation with Asia is crucial for Europe to improve its competitiveness, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó told a session of his counterparts in the ASEM Asia-Europe Meeting in Madrid on Monday.

Concerning Hungary’s cooperation with Asia, Szijjártó told MTI that in 2019, for the first time, South Korean investments in Hungary surpassed those of any western country.

To promote cooperation between Europe and Asia, the Hungarian government urges closer cooperation between the European Investment Bank, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Budapest-based International Investment Bank, Szijjarto said.

For the West and Europe, Asia is now the source of new technologies that determine the global economy’s development.

Ten years ago, 77 percent of global investments were funded by Western capital. Now 47 percent of that funding comes from the East, he said, adding that the role of Asia in shaping global economic processes is increasingly important.

Hungary, largely an exporter, wants the new European Commission to speed up the slow pace of free trade talks with Asian countries, he said.

Szijjártó noted he also discussed in Madrid further increasing Hungarian food exports with the foreign ministers of Laos, Thailand, Kazakhstan and the Philippines.

Also, he told them that

African swine fever affected all European countries, and in Hungary the virus had only been identified in the wild.

He requested that Hungarian pork imports should not be subject to any kind of restrictions.

Further, the minister announced that Hungary is providing 2,100 scholarships to Asian students as part of ASEM cooperation.

beijing china
Read alsoChina-EU relations standing at new historical starting point, says Chinese FM

UN climate change conference COP25 opens with focus on challenges

united nations logo

The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP25) opened here on Monday, where delegates are discussing measures to implement the 2015 Paris Agreement amid unclear prospects and challenges to multilateralism.

The opening ceremony began with a warning from Hoesung Lee, chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC): “If we continue as we are doing, we run the risk of increasing the temperature of the planet and that will have an effect and terrible consequences for humanity and threaten our existence.”

“We are not doing enough and we are not even getting close to what we need to do to control this situation,” he said.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said that 

the world would need “solidarity and flexibility to win the war against climate change.”

Guterres explained that there is only one way to control the temperature of the planet and that was “limited use of fossil fuels. If we don’t do that we will end up in a catastrophic situation,” he warned, before praising the work of young climate activists.
“Young people are telling the leaders that they need to fight against the climate emergency,” commented the UN chief.

The conference is hosted by the Spanish capital after Chile, which presides over the event, had to step down as host due to social unrest.

Acting Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez welcomed delegates to Spain, saying

“Madrid will be the world capital of the fight against the climate emergency … But above all we want to be the capital of dialogue between nations united against a common enemy for all humanity.”

He said that although the event was being held in Spain, it is being presided over by Chile. “This is Chile’s COP: it is Chile that has organized the leadership and that has worked for an alliance against climate change and the success of this event will belong to Chile.”

TIME FOR ACTION

The major task for the delegates is to discuss Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, the measures to promote voluntary international cooperation by paying a price on carbon, emission trading schemes and other market mechanisms.

The conference comes as global efforts to mitigate climate change are on the brink of failure.

“The global contributions to climate change fall far short,” said Berthold Kuhn, an expert on sustainable development with the Free University of Berlin and senior advisor to the Dialogue of Civilizations Research Institute.

According to a UN Environment Programme report on the emissions gap published last week, countries have collectively failed to stop the growth in global greenhouse gas emissions, meaning that deeper and faster cuts are now required.

The report says that emissions have gone up by 1.5 percent per year in the last decade. In 2018, emissions totaled 55 gigatonnes of CO2 equivalent. This is putting the Earth on course to experience a temperature rise of 3.2 degrees Celsius by the end of this century, rather than the 1.5 degree goal set in the Paris Agreement.

This critical situation has prompted the conference, which will last till Dec. 13, to choose “Time for Action” as its motto.

Kuhn believes that market mechanisms should be well designed to stimulate investment in projects like reforestation and other climate-friendly economic activities. Therefore, COP25 is of great importance to implement the Paris Agreement.

Hungary celebs nude
Read alsoHungarian celebrities standing up against the fur industry by posing nude

COOPERATION CRUCIAL

The event comes after the United States formally initiated its withdrawal from the Paris Agreement earlier last month, impacting global cooperation on climate change with its unilateral move.

“It will be more difficult for the world to stop climate change by reducing the annual emissions effectively to zero without the United States,” said Bob Ward, policy and communications director at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

World leaders and experts are using COP25 as a venue for promoting multilateralism. Ursula von der Leyen, the new president of the European Commission, joined the event on Monday, saying that “if we work together, we will go faster and we will be as ambitious as possible in the COP negotiations.”

Lu Xinming, deputy director general for climate change with China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment, told reporters on Sunday that China will try hard to conclude negotiations on the details of the implementation of the Paris Agreement.
“One of the most important points is that China opposes any kind of unilateralism and safeguards the authority of multilateralism,” said Lu, adding that China will work with other parties to help make the conference a success.

Bükk forest
Read alsoWOW! 100 million trees will be planted in Hungary in the next years!

Hungary plans to send astronaut to space in 2024 – UPDATE

space-shuttle astronaut

Hungary plans to send an astronaut to space in 2024, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said at a European Space Agency ministerial conference in Seville on Wednesday.

“The space industry is becoming one of the most important industries,” he told the conference dubbed Space19+.

“This will be another opportunity for Hungary to develop and push forward, focusing on the training of the second Hungarian astronaut to be sent to the International Space Station — which we consider a realistic plan for 2024 — in cooperation with Russia’s Roscosmos,” he added.

He told the conference that this week the second and third satellites of Hungary’s space industry will be launched from New Zealand, and these will initially be used for measuring electromagnetic smog in the stratosphere.

Future goals include Hungary sending an independent satellite to orbit the Earth, he said. Additionally, in cooperation with Russia, Hungarian scientific and measuring devices will be sent to the International Space Station by 2024. Also, a space weather mission is in a preparatory phase, involving building a micro-satellite fleet, he said.

Hungary’s new foreign economic and political aspirations include once again participating in the peaceful use of space, Szijjártó said.

He said

Hungary will next year celebrate the anniversary of the first Hungarian astronaut’s journey to space in 1980,

and Budapest will host a space research conference on the occasion.

csilla ari neurobiologist
Read alsoHungarian researcher in NASA’s underwater laboratory – PHOTOS

One of two Hungarians missing in Mallorca found dead – UPDATE

Contrary to Spanish and Hungarian press reports, a search for two Hungarian tourists who had gone missing on the island of Mallorca last week has been expanded, rather than suspended, a state secretary of the Hungarian foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

Spanish authorities who have been conducting an intensive search for the two Hungarians since Oct. 23 are now inspecting a larger area in the ocean with currents considered underneath, Tamás Menczer said on his Facebook page.

A local newspaper said last weekend that two Hungarian siblings, an 18-year-old man and a 30-year-old woman, had been reported missing from their hotel of the Cala d’Or resort on the south-east of the island..

The report came two days after witnesses saw that in stormy weather two people were swept into the sea by a huge wave.

Last Wednesday, there was torrential rain on the Balearic Islands and Catalonia. Two people died and six have been registered as missing.

UPDATE

The body of a Hungarian tourist, one of two people reported missing in Mallorca last week, has been found, a foreign ministry official said on Tuesday.

State Secretary Tamás Menczer said that the body of a man was identified by local police in Mallorca based on personal documentation found in the dead tourist’s backpack.

Tragic: a Hungarian young man died in the Canary Islands

Spanish authorities searching for missing Hungarian tourists

mallorca spain

Spanish authorities have been searching intensively since Wednesday for two Hungarian tourists gone missing on the island of Mallorca, local newspaper Diario de Mallorca said at the weekend.

The paper said the two Hungarian siblings, an 18-year-old man and a 30-year-old woman, had been reported missing from their hotel of the Cala d’Or resort on the south-east of the island.

The identities of the two have not been officially confirmed by the authorities.

The report came two days after witnesses saw that in stormy weather two people were swept into the sea by a huge wave.

The authorities said the coast guard’s patrol boats, divers, the helicopter of the gendarmerie as well as volunteers had been involved in the rescue effort, so far with no success.

On Wednesday, there was torrential rain on the Balearic Islands and Catalonia. Two people died and six have been registered as missing

Hungary’s chief consulate in Barcelona is in contact with the local police and the family regarding the missing Hungarian tourists, state secretary of the Hungarian Foreign Ministry Tamás Menczer said on his Facebook page on Sunday, adding that his colleagues are at the disposal of the family and the police.

One of the biggest Spanish newspapers calls Tokaji wines world class!

Tokaji Aszú

El Mundo, one of the biggest Spanish-language newspapers in the world, has stated Hungary’s Tokaj wine region produces some of the best sweet wines in the world.

Located in North-eastern Hungary near the borders of Slovakia, Ukraine and Romania, the Tokaj region was declared a World Heritage Site in 2002. But why, El Mundo asks?

The reason is simple. The wines from this region, especially, the sweet ones, are as good as France’s sauternes and Portugal’s ports. Louis XIV even described Tokaji wines as “The wine of kings, the king of wines”.

Covering an area of 7000 hectares and encompassing 28 municipalises, the Tokaj wine region started producing wine as early as in the 12th century. According to El Mundo, the most famous wine from Tokaj is the furmint, followed closely by the hárslevelű.

The wine is fermented by a fungus called Botrytis cinerea, which is responsbile for its sweet taste by converting all the liquid in the grapes to concentrated sugar. The article notes the unique puttonyos unit, which is used to measure the amount of sugar that is added to the wine.

El Mundo highlights the Oremus winery in Tokaj, as it is owned by Spanish wine company Vega Sicilia. They produce a range of wines that can be purchased in Spanish stores. One particular, Eszencia, can cost as much as €300, a price worthy of the Sun King…

We gave you 6+1 reasons to discover Hungarian wine. We also wrote about the Szekszárd wine region.

Featured image: www.facebook.com/tokajiaszushop/

Tragic: a Hungarian young man died in the Canary Islands

canary islands beach

Unfortunately, the family does not have enough money to pay the cost of the repatriation of his mortal remains. Now, they are trying to collect the money needed through social media.

He was working in Germany but did not have passenger insurance during his travel. So, now, his mother has to pay the cost of the repatriation of his mortal remains which, according to the local Hungarian Consulate, can reach 1.5-2 million HUF (EUR 4,750 – 6,300), szeretlekmagyarorszag.hu wrote based on a report by RTL Klub. 

The accident happened near one of the beaches of Gran Canaria where the Hungarian guy was hiking together with his friends. However, he slipped on the wet rocks and, to avoid hitting himself on the cliffs, he jumped into the water. But the waves were so huge that he was unable to get out, and he presumably drowned. Since he went on the beach with his friends, nobody had a cell phone. Therefore, it took some time until one of his friends found a Hungarian couple and tried to get in touch with the ambulance by calling 112. In the beginning,

nobody was picking up the phone, 

and when somebody did, the line got disconnected. Later, the police said that due to the many forest fires in the neighbourhood, the lines were very busy at the time of the accident. Finally, a rescue helicopter arrived and took the body of the boy out of the ocean. They tried to revive him for 20 minutes, but unfortunately, they were not successful. 

Since he did not have passenger insurance, now, his family has to pay for his body’s repatriation, but they are very poor, so they started to collect money on Facebook.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ocean’s Eleven in Hungary

casino

The man walked into the vault, put the money in his clothes, pretended to be sick, then got away with the cash – although unlike in the Ocean’s movie, he was caught.

Gyula V. was caught and brought back from Spain and is being prosecuted for a suspected robbery of 80,000,000 forints (€245,697) from a casino in Budapest in 2013, refers hvg.hu to the Police Headquarters of Budapest in their report.

As an employee of the casino, the 52-year-old man had access to the vault room used to store the money, where he hid the money in his clothes, then left the building by pretending to be sick.

The police assumed that he had escaped abroad, so they put out an international arrest warrant.

The man was caught in a hospital in Leon, where he was identified during the medical examination, then arrested and brought back to Budapest on Wednesday.

For more news and articles like this, click HERE or check out the Related Articles section down below!

New fabulous hotel opens in the heart of Budapest – PHOTOS

barcelo budapest sky bar

Spainʼs Barceló Group has opened the 179-room, four-star Barceló Budapest on Király utca after two years of development. The Spanish hotel group has signed a 25-year tenancy deal with developer the Sunbelt Group, owned by Hungarian investors.

The Barceló Budapest connects visitors with the lively Hungarian capital thanks to its unparalleled location in the Terézváros district VI, right in the historic centre of the city.

The hotel is surrounded by museums, art galleries, cafés and restaurants, as well as being close to the city’s nightlife area.

Its exclusive design and modern facilities make it the best option for enjoying a few days of relaxation in one of the most impressive cities in the world, full of history and iconic buildings and surrounded by the magic conjured up by the majestic River Danube that divides in the city into two totally different areas.

This new hotel has 179 comfortable and carefully designed rooms and suites offering maximum relaxation, with all the necessary amenities to create a unique atmosphere.

Some of them are located on the roof of the building, with large terraces and fabulous views of the city.

It has a bar in the lobby and a buffet restaurant with a varied choice of cuisine, allowing guests to enjoy different cooking styles and discover the most traditional Hungarian flavours.

It also has facilities for meetings and events and a fitness studio open 24 hours a day.

At the Barceló Budapest, guests have the opportunity to enjoy all the activities offered by this beautiful city on the shores of the Danube, a place worth discovering which has also been named Best European Destination 2019 in the European Best Destinations (EBD).

As we wrote few days ago, the Hungarian capital realised a new prestigious achievement in the European tourism competition. Accordingly, based on the analysis of the European Cities Marketing association which examined tourist turnover in 119 cities from London to Eisenstadt – Budapest ranked among the best ones considering foreign tourist nights’ growth rate, details HERE.

barcelo budapest
Photo: Barceló Budapest
barcelo budapest
Photo: Barceló Budapest
barcelo budapest
Photo: Barceló Budapest
barcelo budapest
Photo: Barceló Budapest

Exciting! first Hilton Garden Inn opens in Hungary

Can Frenkie De Jong be the answer to Barcelona’s struggles in Champions League away fixtures?

The Catalonians in their long lost struggle to end their away game curse in the Champions League for more than four years, have now landed the Dutch prodigy Frenkie de Jong after a month long Transfer News Saga. De Jong made great strides during his early days in Ajax, his exceptional show of versatility and utility with Ajax over a couple of seasons. 

He might have been placed with the second team initially after his move from Willem II it was during this time that he developed much of the versatility that he exhibits in his playing style today. Including his appearances for the second team, the youngster played a total of 42 matches, featuring as a centre-mid, attacking-mid and defensive-mid. 

While almost half of his matches were spent in his regular position as a defensive midfielder, De Jong certainly impressed in his five-match stint as an attacking midfielder. He managed to score two goals and bag three assists, thus indicating his attacking prowess from an early stage.

De Jong’s ability to play at multiple roles depending on the situation of the game made him make it to the Ajax first team in the 2017/18 season.

It was at this time, he got his taste of Champions League football. De Jong’s excellent ball reading in defensive roles with the ability to make a stealthy pass out of nowhere to change the tide of play made him Eric Ten Hag’s favourite choice for the role of a defensive midfielder with the ability to advance down the pitch when needed. 

De Jong has been instrumental in Ajax’s fairytale Champions League journey in the 2019-20 season. He played every single minute of the Ajax’s Champions League Fixtures against Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Juventus and put up an exceptional performance with the perfect blend of patient play, touch and go passing along with soaking in the pressure. The youngster has just about the perfect traits in versatility, one of the likes FC Barcelona desperately are hunting for. However, De Jong’s entry to the team would not be a cakewalk as ideally, he shares his position with Sergio Busquets, from whom he has to learn and eventually succeed which looks highly unlikely of his playing style extremely similar to the general tactics of the esteemed La Masia Football Academy. 

De Jong will provide the perfect solution to supplement Busquets and bail out the side in some close contexts with his superior attacking mindset.

With Phillipe Coutinho and Arthur Melo in the side, it would not be easy for De Jong to get the mantle of the attacking role. Other than the attacking role, the youngster will also have his defensive duties to fulfil, primarily the reason Barca brought him at the first place. Perhaps, a final solution to the consecutive second-leg defensive drubbing, the Blaugranes are caught-up in the Champions League for at least four seasons now.

Photo: facebook.com/FrenkieDeJong21/

Magnificent! FC Barcelona to launch soccer academy in Budapest

barca academy

FC Barcelona, one of the world’s largest professional football clubs, will start a football academy in Budapest for training children aged between 4 and 14 throughout the year.

In line with the agreement,

the academy in Budapest will operate under a professional director from FC Barcelona.

All coaches working for the academy will be expected to use the training methods of the Catalonian club.

The best players at the academy will get a chance to join Barcelona FC in the future because the Catalonian club will have a pre-emption right for footballers trained in Budapest.

As the official website says:

Our goal was to bring a national football club of international quality to Hungary, which was realized with the co-operation of one of the top teams of world-class football, Barcelona.

We are confident that, under the guidance of our professional leadership, we will bring up world-famous players who reach and even surpass the results of their predecessors, László Kubala, Zoltán Czibor, Sándor Kocsis. As the Barça hymn is saying, no matter where we come from, the flag unites us!

BUDAPEST TO ERECT STATUE OF ‘MIGHTY MAGYAR’ SÁNDOR KOCSIS

Hungarians clean up the Canary Islands: Video

hungarians-canary-islands

It is a widely held belief that Hungarians can be found anywhere. Indeed, an article by cafeblog.hu reported the litter clean-up operation conducted by the local Hungarian community on the Canary Islands.

 

“I thought that this team task was a good idea as it unites people from all ages. During the day, 25 of us collected 52 sacks of litter. Unfortunately there is a lot of littering and young people are some of the main culprits. It is very common on the island to dump rubbish illegally at certain sites. Luckily, the local government helped us by transporting away the fruits of our labour to dispose of the litter collected in a safe and legal manner” Medea Medi, a local community leader told cafeblog.hu.

They are also planning to organise a similar event on the 6th of May in Puerto de la Cruz, a town on the northern shore of Tenerife where a few Hungarians live.

This event could be considered part of the wider #trashtag movement. Originating in the US, it aims to encourage communities to collectively clean up their local area and share the results on social media.

Here is a video of the clean-up shared by Medea Medi:

https://www.facebook.com/312227042735801/videos/801260763590621/ 

 

According to the 2011 Spanish Census, nearly 1500 Hungarians live on the Canary Islands. If you live on the island or planning to move there, make sure you check out their Facebook group.

“Our community is relatively big, and in the past we have taken part in numerous charitable missions. For example, in addition to raising funds for the treatment an ill horse last August, we have also adopted and paid for the medical care of a stray German Shepherd, which now lives happily with its new Hungarian owner” said Medea Medi.

In addition to the Hungarian community on the Canary Islands, we have also written about Hungarians living in London and Phoenix (AZ) as well.

Featured image: https://www.facebook.com/juanluis.hernandezhernandez.18

Budapest to erect statue of ‘Mighty Magyar’ Sándor Kocsis

kocsis footballer hungary golden team

The city of Budapest will erect a statue in tribute to footballer Sándor Kocsis, a prolific scorer of Hungary’s legendary Golden Team in the 1950s, Mayor István Tarlós said on Monday evening, marking the 90th anniversary of his birth.

As Kocsis originally played for Ferencváros,

the statue will be set up near Groupama Aréna, the club’s home, Tarlós said.

Citing his personal memories, the mayor said that Kocsis had been his favourite player.

“The game was everything [for him] and he never complained or faked injury.”

An Olympic champion and world championship silver medalist, Kocsis scored 75 goals in 68 appearances for Hungary, producing the highest all-time average of 1.103 goals/game. He finished the 1954 World Cup as top goalscorer, scoring 11 goals including two hat tricks.

Kocsis played for Ferencváros TC, Budapest Honvéd, Young Fellows Zürich and FC Barcelona as a striker.

During the 1950s, along with Ferenc Puskás, Zoltán Czibor, József Bozsik and Nándor Hidegkuti, he was a member of the Mighty Magyars.

After the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, Kocsis moved to Spain where he became a striker of the FC Barcelona team of the late 1950s.