Gazdag’s Philly arrival delay born of loyalty

Daniel Gazdag fielded plenty of interest, but he had business to attend to before leaving Budapest.

Honved, the club he’d joined at 14, was mired in a rare relegation battle in the Hungarian first division, the Nemzeti Bajnoksag. Even when it became clear amid his European interest that the Philadelphia Union would be his destination, a transfer would wait until the denouement of Honved’s survival battle.

Thanks to 13 goals from

Gazdag, the Lions survived, in 10th place in the 12-team league, four points clear of the drop zone. And Gazdag can now embark on the next phase of his career abroad.

“The reason why I chose MLS is, although I had multiple other opportunities in Europe, I think MLS is a very developing league,” Gazdag said via a translator on Zoom Thursday, two days after the Union signed him to a multi-year contract. The services of the 25-year-old reportedly cost in the neighborhood of $1.8 million.

Despite his team’s struggles, Gazdag finished third in the league in scoring. Union sporting director

Ernst Tanner alluded to the intrigue of the season as to why the deal took so long to compete. Both the player and club are hopeful that logistical hurdles can be cleared to have Gazdag in Philadelphia and playing one of the two remaining games in May (the 23rd at D.C. United or 30th against Portland) before he goes back to Hungary to likely be part of the national team for the European Championships.

It’s a busy way to transition to his first club abroad and first new club in more than a decade. But Gazdag is up for the challenge.

“It’s going to feel, I’m sure, a little strange, a little weird the first couple of days,” he said. “At the same time, I’m excited about this opportunity and I’m looking forward to working with the team.”

Tanner has been tracking Gazdag since before his breakout 2020-21 campaign, one where he was thrust into a more offensive role. He’s a natural midfielder, saying he’s most comfortable at the No. 8 or No. 10 spots, but his scoring record shows he can flourish as a second striker. After four goals in his first five seasons with Honved, he accounted for five in 2019-20 before the 13 this year.

“He was a rising star of the last season, even the second-to-last season in the Hungarian league,” Tanner said. “I think it’s a great opportunity for him to come over to the United States in a new environment. … With his versatility and in particular his scoring ability, he can really be a contributor to our success.”

Plumbing an under-theradar league like Hungary is, as Tanner said, a necessity for a club of the Union’s modest means. Tanner is familiar with Hungarian soccer from his time in Europe. One of Honved’s three coaches, Tamas Bodog, coached at Red Bull Leipzig while Tanner managed the Red Bull Salzburg academy, providing insight.

Hungarian players have excelled in MLS. Second in the NB in scoring was former Chicago Fire striker Nemanja Nikolic. Gazdag relied on his friend and Sporting Kansas City forward Daniel Salloi and long-time Honved teammate Botond Barath, who spent the last two years with SKC, for advice about the league.

“I spoke with Daniel and he told me good things, and I also spoke with Botond, he told me the league is strong,” Gazdag said. “I saw the last year, Philadelphia won the Supporters Shield, and I think Philadelphia is a good team, so I’m happy to join them.”