A Hungarian star
Lajos Detari is widely regarded as one of the first real celebrities of the German game. A colourful character whose name was never far from the headlines - though not always for the right reasons - Detari was hero-worshipped by the Eintracht supporters until his sudden departure from the club in the summer of 1988. Despite the manner of his exit, the blonde-haired Hungarian holds a permanent place in the hearts of Eagles fans for his achievements during the 1987/88 campaign. A technically gifted player in the mould of SGE legend Jürgen Grabowski, Detari etched his name in the history books with his match-winning free-kick in the 1988 DFB Cup final.
A goal worthy of winning any final
“We’ll head back for kick-off, it’s definitely going in,” shouted Detari’s team-mate Frank Schulz in the 81st minute of the clash with VfL Bochum in Berlin. Schulz, of course, was referring to the free-kick from which Detari scored the game’s only goal - a strike right out of the top drawer. The man himself still has fond memories of the goal that sealed the Eagles’ fourth DFB Cup triumph. “I scored many free-kicks in my career,” said the 55-year-old, who was signed from Budapest Honved for just €1.8m (3.6m Deutschmark) and sold to Olympiacos a year later for approximately €8.7m. “I don’t think it was my best goal, but it was probably my most important.”
Returning to Berlin
Now retired, Detari lives back in his home city of Budapest. His coaching career never really took off, but he still runs a football school for children and follows SGE closely on TV, online and in the newspapers. His allegiance to the Eagles wasn’t the only reason he was rooting for them against Schalke 04 in the semi-final, though. Last season, all Eintracht’s cup heroes from down the years were invited to Berlin for the final but Detari had to pull out at the last minute. “There was something wrong with my plane ticket and I couldn’t come,” he explained. Detari is determined not to miss out this year, though. And who knows? Maybe his presence at the Olympiastadion will inspire one of Eintracht’s current crop of stars to follow in his footsteps.
