At the age of 22, Dominik Szoboszlai is already the captain of the national team, playing for Liverpool and wearing the number 8 shirt of legendary Steven Gerrard. A lot of pressure is placed on the Hungarian player’s shoulders, but he is still shouldering it all with his well-trained bravery.

“The divine Magyars” is how the fans called the Hungarian national football team of the 50s of the 20th century. With great stars like Ferenc Puskas, Gyula Grosics, Sandor Kocsis… Hungary had a generation great gold, performing football that conquers the arena and is one of the greatest generations of teams in history even though they have never won a World Cup or Euro title. Hungary’s playing style at that time was considered the forerunner of “Total Football” that the Dutch would later use.

However, later, Hungarian football increasingly declined. On the international level, they can no longer repeat the groundbreaking performances of their predecessors. In terms of individuals, this football industry lacks outstanding, top-class figures in the world.

But now, Hungarians have a figure to trust: Dominik Szoboszlai, the new hope of Central European football. At the age of 22, Szoboszlai was captain of the national team, playing for Liverpool and wearing the number 8 shirt of legendary Steven Gerrard. A lot of pressure is placed on the Hungarian player’s shoulders, but he is still shouldering it all with his well-trained bravery.

To achieve success, every football background needs a symbol. That person is both a source of professional and spiritual inspiration to push the whole team forward. In Hungary, that responsibility is being placed entirely on Szoboszlai. With Szoboszlai’s performance in the Liverpool shirt up to now and his very young age, the Hungarian player has an open future ahead to break through to the ranks of the world’s top stars.

In an interview not long ago with the Telegraph, coach Jesse Marsch – Szoboszlai’s former teacher at Red Bull Salzburg and RB Leipzig – called the 22-year-old player “the David Beckham of modern times”. 

“When the ball is in his right foot, he can take it anywhere. The accuracy and speed of the ball are amazing. And I use the word ‘modern times’ because he is more mobile than [Beckham]”, the American military leader shared.

Versatility is Dominik Szoboszlai’s weapon. Coach Julian Nagelsmann once commented: “Dominik can play in many positions. He can play as an attacking midfielder in the left position or operate in the left wing striker’s area. Additionally, he can do the same on the right wing. At Salzburg, he often plays in the ‘number 10’ role and also plays in the ‘number 8’ position on the left.”

In the 2022/2023 season, the Hungarian player is regularly used as a right winger and leads Leipzig in many parameters. According to The Analyst’s statistics, in the Bundesliga last season, Szoboszlai led Leipzig in participation in the live ball аttаck chain (6 situations/90 minutes) and ranked 4th in the entire tournament in participation in the аttаck chain. leading to a live ball shot (163). A noteworthy point is that last season only Leroy Sane had more shots from outside the penalty area in the Bundesliga than Szoboszlai (37 and 36 shots, respectively). 

Meanwhile, this season after joining Liverpool, he is being arranged by Jurgen Klopp as the “number 8” central midfielder in a 3-man midfield. Confidence when having the ball, the ability to handle the ball smoothly, high activity frequency and positivity in supporting defense help Szoboszlai begin to become a new idol at Anfield. Not only that, his long-range shooting habit is starting to take effect, specifically his goal against Leicester City in the recent Carabao Cup.

High figҺting spirit, ability to fire rockets into the opponent’s net, confident demeanor, number 8 shirt and good looks, it is not without reason that the audience began to compare Dominik Szoboszlai with Steven Gerrard . The Hungarian midfielder himself also tattooed on his body the quote of the British legend: “Talent is a gift from heaven, but without humility and extraordinary will, talent has no value.”

That is how Dominik Szoboszlai always reminds himself to never stop learning, stop improving every day. Szoboszlai’s passion and awareness of football training were instilled by his father since he was young. The desire to progress is constantly maintained by the Hungarian player. Mr. Zsolt Szoboszlai, father of the Liverpool midfielder, revealed that his son practices free kicks about 100-200 times a day. And in the 7 goals that Dominik Szoboszlai scored for the national team, 3 were from direct free kicks. During the pаndemic, he also hired a coach to maintain and improve his physical condition.

Szoboszlai’s seriousness, along with receiving “an outstanding football education” as Jurgen Klopp said about his student, help him truly be the top prоspect today. Hungarians have waited too long for a new global football icon after the era of Puskas, Kocsis… Liverpool fans have been waiting for someone worthy of succeeding Gerrard’s iconic number 8 shirt. 

And then Dominik Szoboszlai appeared.