Miklós Fehér's death has shocked football followers in Portugal and Hungary (©empics)
Sad farewell to Fehér
Monday, 26 January 2004
It was a day of mourning in Portugal and Hungary after the death aged 24 of SL Benfica's Hungarian international striker Miklós Fehér.
Unexpected tragedy
Fehér collapsed during Sunday night's televised Portuguese SuperLiga game against Vitória SC in Guimarães. He was seen smiling at the referee after being cautioned, leaning over then slumping on to the pitch. He had suffered a heart attack in the closing minutes of the match. He was carried from the field in an ambulance and club doctors made attempts to revive him. He later died in hospital.
Glowing tributes
Head of the Hungarian Football Federation, Imre Bozóky, led the tributes. "The whole country is in deep sadness. He was always a silent and modest player and quickly became an example to young Hungarian footballers," Bozóky said. "He had ambitions to go as far as he could, and was on his way to becoming a top European player. It is a loss to the Hungarian football family." A memorial service was held next to the Ferenc Puskás stadium in Budapest.
Bright prospect
Born on 20 July 1979, Fehér's short career began in Hungary with Györi ETO FC when he was 17. He quickly made the Hungarian youth team, and played in the UEFA European Under-19 Championship.
International highlight
Known to have an eye for goal, he moved to Portugal to join FC Porto and then Benfica. At international level he also showed promise, scoring seven times in 25 appearances. A memorable moment was a hat-trick against Lithuania in a FIFA World Cup qualifier in October 2000. Considered one of his country's finest young talents, he had started to find consistency at Benfica following loan spells at SC Salgueiros and SC Braga during his time with Porto.
'Black night'
The magnitude of events was not lost in Portugal. President of the Portuguese Football Federation, Dr Gilberto Madaíl, called it a "black night", while Benfica's head of communications, António Cunha Vaz, said all of Benfica was "in mourning" and "deeply shocked".
Deep significance
Imre Gellei, the former Hungary coach, who realised more than most Fehér's potential, pointed to the significance of such tragic events. "If someone dies on the field it means he has become a martyr of sport." Fehér's death follows the passing of Cameroon's Marc-Vivien Foé in similar circumstances in June 2003.
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for those who have not seen feher's collapsing video, I would advise do not. it is truly heart breaking, trust me on this.
I saw the tribute they made for him, and I really pitied his fiance and the baby. They (Feher and his fiance) were supposed to get married in June.
RIP Feher.
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