Georges Leekens is a Belgian former footballer and coach who has served as head coach of several national teams, including Belgium, Algeria, Tunisia, and Hungary. At club level, he worked in Belgium, Turkey, Tunisia, and Saudi Arabia.
Although he was appointed head coach of the Hungarian national team in October 2017, Leekens only coached his first match in the spring of 2018. For this reason, it is worth revisiting and summarizing his short but significant tenure at the end of the year.
Looking at his career, it is hard to find another foreign coach in Hungary over the past 30 years with such a rich and diverse professional background. Clubs such as Club Brugge, Anderlecht, Lokeren, Roda JC, and Gent highlight the level of experience he brought with him.
During his brief time in charge of the Hungarian national team, several new players were introduced into the squad. This process helped draw the attention of his successor, Marco Rossi, to footballers who had previously been overlooked.
Leekens took over the team during an extremely difficult period. The squad was in disarray, a full generational transition was underway, and numerous injuries made squad selection especially challenging. On the Hungarian side, his work was supported only by Gábor Bekeffy (Bekeffy Football Consulting) and Endre Varga.
At the age of 70, the task was far from easy. Nevertheless, the groundwork laid during Leekens’ tenure contributed to the later success of the national team under Marco Rossi.
