How do you remember the moment when you decided it was time to plan your future off the pitch?
It was more of a process than a specific moment. It almost happened by itself. I had a very long and bumpy road ahead of me before I was 100 percent sure that I would become a professional footballer. I always had a vision of where I wanted to go in football, but I also had a plan B and C, of course. Throughout my career, I always thought that once I achieved a goal, the next step should always be an achievable goal. For example, I did not want to be a goalkeeper for Manchester United or Barcelona, I just had the desire to become a good goalkeeper. I am very self critical, in my youth I was even more so – perhaps even too much – but it was a way of improving myself, and so I always wanted to achieve excellence. At the age of 25 or 26, I did not know when I would end my career, but I started thinking about what I would do once it would be over.
What previous business knowledge and experience did you have to decide which direction to take after hanging up your goalkeeper gloves?
My experiences off the pitch meant that I had several paths set out for me. A lot of my fellow players opened cafés and restaurants at the end of their careers, but I figured those were stand-alone professions that I could not necessarily be the best at, or I would have to learn a lot of additional skills to be able to add value to the business.
I had been surrounded by athletes, coaches, office professionals and pitch workers all my life. In a football club, I was not just the goalkeeper who comes to training and goes home. I was in contact with the groundsmen, the finance department, and the marketing people. I was interested in the work of all of them because they are also employees of the club, like me. They represent the club, just not on the pitch but behind the scenes. The more clubs I played for, the more experience I gained over the years. My teammates often smiled at me back then and said, what do I care what happens? It will be decided anyway. But I like to plan ahead, I need to see where the road goes and that is my motivation.
„I have always sought for the most difficult paths, because conquering them is a greater achievement than to take the easy ones”
Many footballers become coaches or sports directors, and later stay in football and work for clubs. How did you get the idea to start your own business?
I have always sought for the most difficult paths, because conquering them is a greater achievement than to take the easy ones. That is why I did not think of playing for well-known teams, although I had the opportunity. There, I would not have felt I contributed so much to winning because I would have been surrounded by such good players that the team would have won a championship in a way I had almost nothing to do with. I would have been there only to lift the trophy.
In the Premier League, for example, I was the second-best goalkeeper behind Petr Cech, whose team Chelsea won the league and we were relegated. I always chose the more difficult job because I like to work for success. Not everyone wants to do that. If someone wants to follow in my footsteps, they have no idea how difficult it is and how many problems it brings. Success, it is not easy to have, but if you keep going for it and achieve your goal, you can be unique.
What difficulties did you face when you were a professional footballer and could focus less on your existing business?
I founded the company in 2003 and then ran it for twelve years without being present in Hungary. There was no pressure on us to perform. That is why we did not call ourselves a youth development club, because that would have required us to be here every day, implementing the structure that I represent. When we opened the facility, we received a big electricity bill after the first month, but then we managed to reduce our energy costs by 80 per cent in six months.
I regard this business as my own and build it up so that it is self-sustaining. Sport is a major expense in some ways, including travel, competition, training, food and equipment, and we tried to make it economically sustainable.
He first moved abroad from Haladás to the German club Hertha Berlin SC.
(Photo: herthabsc.de)
How have conditions changed since your company was founded?
At that time, the big football grounds were bought up by shopping mall developers and sport was sidelined. It was a completely different infrastructural situation and our facility was created as an additional training facility, which was unique at that time.
Anyway, I was not necessarily thinking of starting a private club, but rather where I could make the best use of my experience from abroad. I have always been very close to Haladás, but the club has changed hands quite frequently. That made me feel insecure. So I figured that it is better to start my own business and if I make a mistake I do not have to point the finger at someone else.
Our aim was to establish a youth football club where the children receive good education in social and sporting skills, and when they leave us, they are seen as having received a good education. We made very good progress in that. Later, external sports development opportunities, provided by the government, were added when outside observers also saw that what we were doing was working.
Throughout your playing career you have shown perseverance and patience. How much does that transfer to business?
I am not under pressure, I prefer to do good, so I always think in the long term. I want to provide stability so that there is a system that someone else can carry on when I am no longer around in 50 years. It is not the person but the system itself that is important.
What do you bring specifically from Germany and what from the UK that you have learned in business?
Both countries have their own business and sports policies, and each club has a different business philosophy. Everywhere the goals determine who does what. It was amazing to me how much I had learned first-hand in my 18-year career abroad.
At 1860 Munich, for example, there were insolvency proceedings that affected not only the management but also the players. We had a duty to do well on the pitch, because that creates a happy atmosphere and the fans are not depressed. In this situation, we also experienced a chairman who moved into his office for 8 days and said he would not come out until he saved the club. We had a match from which we arrived back home at around 3 am. There was not a single soul in the training centre, but the lights were on in the chairman’s office because he was working around the clock.
After eight days he came out of the office and said, „I have done something that could possibly save the club, but nothing is certain yet.” It was amazing to witness the process, the tension and the background of the decisions. There were certain things the club had to let go and it hurt, but it ensured survival.
This president also supported our organization because we had the same philosophy. He was a very respectable man, incredibly intelligent, unfortunately he is no longer with us. This president did not own the club, but he put his heart in it. These are the important decisions – if you accept them, you take them. You have to work very hard, there is no possibility to go in a different direction after two years, you have to continue the same way. We know where we want to go, we do not stop when we see a mistake or an obstacle, we learn from them and continue, and try to reach our goals.
„I like to lead, pave and show the way to my colleagues”
One of the most important skills of entrepreneurs is the ability to endure stress and uncertainty. To what extent has your career helped you develop these skills at a high level and apply them in the business world?
I have no fear. I know that some partial results may be negative or positive, but I will not be diverted from the path I have set for myself.
I am a workaholic, I always plan, I always move forward and I try to educate and guide the public.
As a leader, you must show the way. There is „Leader” and there is „Boss”. The latter directs and dictates, the former leads and you follow. I am more of a leader because I like to lead the way. I show you how to do it, explain it and then hand it over to you. The biggest challenge is to pass on the mentality and the will. That is the biggest task. I believe that if I can do something, it is not impossible for someone else either. I realise that sometimes we have limited options, but then we have to use a fitting method to achieve our goal. During goalkeeping training, you do not have to just give instructions, but you have to create situations from which the children can learn. They will make mistakes but they will start noticing things that make them avoid those mistakes the next time.
During his time at Crystal Palace, Király was the second best goalkeeper in the English Premier League
(Photo: goal.com)
Has the fact that you have been team captain countless times in your career shaped your leadership character?
I think it is a question of personality. I will never forget Dieter Hoeness, sports director of Hertha, saying, „Gábor, at 26 you have to be a leader, you have played a lot in the Champions League and the Bundesliga”. I asked him, how? It is a development process, it is not like you press a button and from there you are a leader. You have to earn it, you have to fight for it, there is a process that you have to learn.
The goalkeeper sees the whole playing field, the whole team, so he thinks as a team. He has the defenders in front of him, and a good goalkeeper manages the defense so well that he has nothing to do for almost the whole game, because that means that he communicates well.
If I am of that nature, I will probably focus on these values in the business world as well, because I know that what led to success in sport will do the same in the business world – you just have to find a way to apply these concepts.
Gábor Király also tried his hand at coaching goalkeepers.
(Photo: kapus.eu)
„I have always told my children that it does not matter if you dress poorer or fancier, if your personality does not change, you remain the same person”
You mentioned earlier that, especially in English football, many footballers give priority to materialistic things like cars or clothes. For many of them this is an important measure of success. You, on the other hand, represent the exact opposite. Has this attitude changed since you returned to your home country?
I have not changed all my life. For me, it is not important what kind of car I have, what matters is that the car gets me from A to B. I can live in a small house or a castle, I do not care about the size, I always focus on the quality of the work. I tell my children that it does not matter if you wear poorer or fancier clothes, if your personality does not change, you remain the same person. If I have to wear a suit and tie as a manager, I can dress like that, but it is not necessarily my favourite outfit because I prefer a sporty look. But at a business event, looking good is a must because I represent the whole company. Even though this part is a bit distant from me, you have to learn it and do it because it is part of what you have achieved. But apart from that, my values have not changed. I do not take what I have achieved for granted. You should always appreciate what you have and not mourn about what you do not have.
Gábor Király, the businessman.
(Photo: kapus.eu)
Do you think it is a Hungarian characteristic that we do not appreciate enough what we have?
There are such people abroad too, so I would not generalise. In Hungary, there are great values that we must realise. To give you a simple example: I was born in Szombathely, I moved to Germany when I was 21 and I regularly visited the local attractions, mostly beautiful buildings. After a year, I came back home in the summer and realised how beautiful Szombathely is, where I grew up. It is full of nice buildings. When I went to other countries, I noticed myself walking around and marveling at the buildings, and then at home I wondered why I had not looked at them earlier in Szombathely. It also helped me to improve my values and appreciate what we have.
What advice would you give today’s athletes on why it is worth investing in Hungary and building a life after a professional career?
Hungary has great potential and good opportunities. Of course, there are also emotional aspects to investing here. I played and studied abroad for 18 years, but I brought the knowledge home because I am Hungarian. If you are interested and looking for a partner, I can help you. For me, it is always good feedback when people can develop and succeed through these tips and believe in them themselves.
What are your plans for the coming years, for the near future?
I always look ahead to the next one and a half to two years. For this period of time, I know what will happen and what I want to achieve. Of course we will refine the details in the coming months. Now, we are finalising the development of our facility. We will move into it, and we will start working on it more intensively. We have set up the business model and we will also work hard to integrate foreign contacts. We will go down that road and when these things are up and running, we will have to look at the extent to which we can continue to promote quality players and where we can improve.
This interview is also available in Hungarian via this link.