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Liverpool star Dominik Szoboszlai explains how Pep Guardiola is behind Hungary nickname

Pep Guardiola
-Credit: (Image: Michael Regan - The FA/The FA via Getty Images)


Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola may have been unintentionally responsible for Dominik Szoboszlai's nickname in Hungary's camp at the Euros.

Back in November, Guardiola spoke about the midfielder before Manchester City's clash with Liverpool in the Premier League. In a press conference, he praised Szoboszlai for his start to life at Anfield.

After mentioning Mohamed Salah as an attacking threat, Guardiola name-checked both Ryan Gravenberch and Szoboszlai in his answer, but struggled to pronounce the latter's name. Reds supporters were left stunned at the time, as one said: "Pep Guardiola’s pronunciation of Szoboszlai is absolutely mental." Fast forward a few months and the midfielder has been constantly reminded of Guardiola's mispronunciation.

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Speaking to ITV Sport ahead of their clash with Scotland on Sunday evening, the Reds star explained the nickname. "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."

Szoboszlai has caught the eye during Hungary's Euro campaign so far, and Brentford boss Thomas Frank was full of praise for the midfielder. During his punditry duty on Hungary v Germany for BBC Sport, he said: "Fantastic first half for him. Everything is going through him.

"For me his all round game – he is intercepting a pass, his dynamic runs in general have been fantastic. Another thing I like is that it looks like Szoboszlai needs to close down [Tony] Kroos when he can, which is helping Hungary. He has that quality. He is the star man. Everything so far is coming from him."

Hungary sit bottom of Group A after losing to both games against Germany and Switzerland. They will take on Scotland on Sunday (8pm).