HU
The club played its first season in the top division with plenty of hope.
There was a change to the name of the football club. The board meeting decided on the 22nd January that they would be known as Videoton SC. There was a mixed reaction from the supporters.
Changes to the team - The Hungarian FA slows down transfers
The team kicked off the new first division season under manager Bela Karpati and his assistant Lajos Nemeth. The Hungarian FA decided that there would no longer be quick transfers taking place and brought in a new procedure. That meant that it would become that much more harder to entice good players to the football club.
Defender Laszlo Kovacs and Gabor Fejes joined the club in 1968. Keeper Istvan Horvath and forward Laszlo Pinter were further arrivals. Players leaving the squad included Szabo, Temesvari and Monoki. Nehez, Sarkozi, Kerek and Beko as well as forward Ispaics would go on to continue their careers elsewhere.
The season kicked off with high hopes
Two friendly games were arranged against foreign opposition. Videoton beat Austria Salzburg 4-1 and followed that up with a a 1-0 win over Zaglebie. There was hope from the pre-season games that the team would do well in the season ahead. The first division season kicked off in Budapest at the home of Vasas. There was a heavy 6-1 defeat, which was a real slap in the face. The first ever NB1 goal for Vidi came in the 63rd minute from Laszlo Csukovics.
The games that followed did not bring too much joy either. There were just 3 wins against Diosgyőr, Győr and Tatabanya. Two drawn matches added to the points collection. Karpati and his assistant were replaced after week 12, despite the fact that there were just 3 games left until the summer break. The team closed the first half of the season in bottom place with 8 points from the 3 wins, 2 draws and 10 defeats. The team slip out of the division by a whisker The autumn season started well with 3 consecutive wins. Csukovics scored the only goal in a 1-0 win over Szeged. Kovacs and Balogh netted in the 2-1 victory over Honved. A Csukovics double and a goal from Kasai secured a 3-0 win against Haladas. There was a 1-1 draw with Vasas and defeats to Diosgyőr (2-0) and a win against Dunaujvaros. A long run of matches came next without wins. The team failed to win the next 5 matches as they remained in the battle against relegation. Despite winning 2 of the final 4 games (2-0 over MTK and 1-0 against Csepel), the team could not avoid the drop and ended the season in relegation position. Just 3 points were missing to survive the first year in the NBI. A total of 21 points meant 15th place and 9 wins, 3 draws and 18 defeats. The team negotiated 3 rounds of the MNK cup. A 9-1 win over Merszfev and a 3-1 success against Nagykanizsa ended with a 1-0 defeat to BVSC. (Fotók: ismeretlen szerző)
Author: David Rechnitzer
