Kaposvári Rákóczi FC

Hungarian football club

Kaposvári Rákóczi FC is a football club in Kaposvár, Hungary. Their home stadium is Rákóczi Stadion. The team is named after Francis II Rákóczi, a Transylvanian prince and national hero and they are also often referred to be the nickname Somogyiak, referring to Somogy County, where the team plays.

The team was formed on 15 August 1923 as the Rákóczi Sport Club by workers of the local Mezőgazdasági Ipari Részvénytársaság sugar factory. Though they originally played as amateurs, they played their first professional match against MÁV I. the following year. From this time forward the team would bounce back between the NB III and NB II. In 1941 the team awaited the arrival of István Avar, but his debut with the team was delayed by the second world war. After the war, the team really got going in 1960, where they won the NB III under the name Kaposvár Kinizsi. In 1970 the team took back its classic name, Rákóczi, but in 1971 they were relegated back to the NB III. They would put together a successful season afterward though, and return to NB II. At this time some good young talent joined from the team's youth organization, including Bőzsöny, Savanyó, and Hegedűs the goalkeeper, and in 1973 Imre Mathesz took the helm as head coach. The team would add more key players and would finish 3 points behind Szeged for second place and the right to enter NB I. The team's first NB I. match was played against Vasas SC before 22,000 fans at Rákóczi Stadion. The Somogyiak won the match 2–0, behind two goals from Győző Burcsa. By 2006, however, Burcsa left for Székesfehérvár and the team finished the 1975–1976 campaign in 13th place. In 1976–1977 they finished 14th and by the next season they were relegated with a 17th place finish. They wouldn't have to wait long to return, however. They finished in 3rd place the following year in the NB II. and won it outright in 1979–1980 with a six point lead over Szombathelyi Haladás. The 1980–1981 season had a few noteworthy matches. On 9 August they beat Pécs 2–1 before a crowd of 12,000 at home. Later in the season they held on to a 3–3 draw against Újpest in Budapest. Nevertheless, the team would end the season in 16th place and again face relegation. They would drop as far as the third division before finally returning to the NB I. again after winning the second division in 1987. This would be their final season in NB I. until the next millennium. Besides the first NB I. match between two teams from Somogy county (a 1–3 loss against Siófok FC) the year was mostly forgettable as Rákóczi finished in last place. The rest of the '80s and '90s were spent entirely in the II. and III. divisions, though not without talent. In 1995 they won the NB III. with a goal difference of 76–11. They continued to be successful in the NB II. László Prukner became the head coach in the summer of 2003, but the team lost several key players in the same year. The fans were worried that they would again slide into the III. division.

On 10 May 2014, Kaposvár were relegated after losing 2–0 to Videoton in the 28th round of the 2013–14 Hungarian League season. After the relegation, in the 2014–2015 season, they were relegated from the NB II. And they could not start in the NB III due to license problems, therefore the MLSZ relegated them to the Somogy county first division. In the 2015–2016 season they won the league unbeaten, therefore they were promoted to the NB III. In the 2016–2017 season, they finished in third place under Tamás Artner's control. The next season Kaposvár got a new coach: Róbert Waltner in the 2017–2018 season they won the third division with him. In the 2018–2019 season, after 5 years, Kaposvár was promoted (as a rookie) to the NB I after they finished second in the NB II. In the 8th round of the 2018–19 Magyar Kupa season Kaposvár eliminated title holders Újpest FC. However, in the round of 16 Kaposvár were eliminated by Budaörsi SC on 1–2 aggregate.

On 6 June 2020, Kaposvár were relegated to the Nemzeti Bajnokság II after Paksi FC beat Mezőkövesdi SE on the 27th match day of the 2019–20 Nemzeti Bajnokság I. After the 2020–21 Nemzeti Bajnokság II season, they were relegated again to Nemzeti Bajnokság III.

Since their formation, Kaposvári Rákóczi FC has participated in 8 seasons at Hungary's highest professional level. In that time their best finish has been 7th place (in both 2006 and 2007) and they've been relegated three times. Year MP W D L GF–GA Dif. Pts Finish 1975–76 30 6 12 12 41–52 −9 24 13th place 1976–77 34 9 9 16 39–45 −6 27 14th place 1977–78 34 8 7 19 32–61 −29 23 17th place: Relegated to NB II. 1980–81 34 6 12 16 34–67 −33 24 16th place: Relegated to NB II. 1987–88 30 4 9 17 25–63 −38 17 16th place: Relegated to NB II. 2004–05 30 8 10 12 34–47 −13 34 12th place 2005–06 30 10 7 13 35–41 −6 37 7th place 2006–07 30 12 5 13 40–36 +4 41 7th place 2007–08 30 14 9 7 48–38 +10 51 6th place TOTALS 282 77 80 125 328–450 122 278