Hungary teammates give new nickname to Liverpool star Dominik Szoboszlai in Euro 2024 camp after being inspired by viral Guardiola mistake
Squad members of the Hungary national team have given a new nickname to Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai at their EURO 2024 camp. Notably, they nicknamed him "Svolzai" after being inspired by his name being mispronounced by Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola.
Back in November 2023, the legendary treble-winning head coach was speaking ahead of City's clash with Liverpool in the Premier League. While speaking about the Merseysiders, he discussed players like Mohamed Salah, Ryan Gravenberch, and Dominik Szoboszlai. However, Guardiola mispronounced the Hungarian's name in a funny, unexpected way.
The match eventually ended in a 1-1 draw, with Erling Haaland and Trent Alexander-Arnold finding the target for their respective sides. It was the mispronunciation that went viral though:
Now, the midfielder is still ribbed about his name being mispronounced, with his teammates at EURO 2024 calling him "Svolzai". The Liverpool man spoke to ITV Sport about the nickname (via Sport Bible):
"Before a game against Manchester City, Guardiola didn't manage to say my name properly. He pronounced my name like, 'Svolzai'. I'll be called this for a while because Andras Shafer liked it a lot."
They won't be focused on laughing about his nickname currently, though, as Hungary get set to face Scotland in their final group stage game at EURO 2024 (June 23). Magyarok currently sit at the bottom of their group, and they will need to produce a strong performance if they are to progress to the Round of 16.
Dominik Szoboszlai's antics at EURO 2024 questioned by BBC One pundits
Hungary have lost their opening two games at EURO 2024, against Switzerland and Germany. They sit dead last with zero points to their name, as captain Dominik Szoboszlai has been unable to inspire them so far.
The 23-year-old Liverpool midfielder looked to be a frustrated man in their most recent game against hosts Germany. After the referee blew the whistle late in the game, Szoboszlai kicked the ball away and got a yellow card for his troubles, which led to questions from BBC One pundits. Guy Mowbray said (via HITC):
“A yellow card is shown for kicking the ball away to Dominik Szoboszlai. I don’t think the yellow card was for the challenge. I think it’s because Szoboszlai then just launched it. There he is.”
Hungary were losing at this point, which made it odd for the midfielder to deploy time-wasting tactics. This got Martin Keown also asking:
“You wonder whose time is he wasting there? It qualifies for a booking.”
While their time in EURO 2024 looks to be all but over, the midfielder will hope to put a poor tournament with Hungary behind him and focus on Liverpool. He will be playing under new manager Arne Slot next season and will hope to thrive under the Dutchman.