New Al Wahda star Dzsudzsak still has plenty to prove

Sport360 staff 22:54 10/08/2016
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  • Dzsudzsak caught the eye of many at Euro 2016.

    It’s hard to work out whether Balazs Dzsudzsak loves football or whether he just sees it as a way to make money.

    During his 12-year career we’ve seen him at his passionate, rip roaring best. Yet we’ve also seen him so often at his disinterested, frustrating worst.

    This is the conundrum for Al Wahda, after the Arabian Gulf Cup holders completed the winger’s intriguing signing.

    Dzsudzsak made his debut for Hungary aged 20 while playing for Debrecen in his home country, and has been a stalwart ever since.

    Though he has suffered some unfortunate times playing for Hungary – like the time he was booed by his own fans after a humiliating loss to Romania in 2013 – he has often been fantastic in the red Magyar shirt.

    The recent European Championship was a showcase of the wideman’s finest talents; drifting in from the flank, beating men on the inside or outside, shooting with his wicked left foot, crossing with his trusty right and scoring vital goals.

    His performances epitomised his time as a Hungary player, his passion and hard work was there for the world to see on the biggest stage.

    Passion and hard work which would’ve certainly left fans of Anzhi Makhachkala, Dinamo Moscow and Bursaspor scratching their heads.

    It’s fair to say Dzsudzsak certainly hasn’t left a mark on the club sides he’s played for since leaving PSV Eindhoven in 2011.

    At the time of his departure from the Dutch giants, the then 24-year-old was being linked to the biggest sides across the continent but Dzsudzsak eventually went with the money option and chose the oil-rich Anzhi. This was a move which left a real bitter taste in the mouth of the Hungarian fans back home, a decision which he has never been forgiven for.

    At PSV in just over 150 games, Dzsudzsak scored 54 goals and created 50 assists from the wing which really does show how he good he was and can be.

    At Anzhi he played eight games before being transferred to Dinamo Moscow for a January 2012 record fee of €19 million (Dh56.5m).

    At Dinamo, off-the field trouble – including the time he was shot at with a paintball gun by Dinamo fans protesting at the foreign players at the club – meant he never really found any lasting form and often looked disinterested on the field despite playing more than 100 games and scoring 13 goals for the club during three years.

    In the summer of 2015, he moved to Bursaspor for just €1.6m (Dh7.5m) where he struggled in a poor side. After being sent off in December, he started just six of the remaining 19 games and spoke incessantly of his desire to leave the Turkish club.

    Now 29, and after five years of being unappreciated and unloved at club level, he has the chance to redeem himself somewhat.

    Many in Hungary see this as another money move but in truth there was little option for him to move elsewhere.

    His wage demands put off the Bundesliga clubs sniffing around, and he was never going to stay in Turkey any longer.

    If things start well, Dzsudzsak really could take the UAE by storm, though his chequered past should warn against too much giddy optimism.

    Tomasz Mortimer is a Hungarian freelance journalist who has appeared on BBC World Service, Sky Sports, ESPNFC and World Soccer. He is the founder of HungarianFootball.com.

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