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Callum Styles' unlikely path to Euro 2024 with Hungary… via Barnsley

Published

2 years ago

June 12, 2024

Callum Styles' unlikely path to Euro 2024 with Hungary… via Barnsley

Sitting down for a routine pre-match interview with the in-house media team at Barnsley a few years back, Callum Styles decided there was something he was going to drop into conversation.

It was, in the football reporter’s lexicon, a come-and-get-me plea.

But this one, in October 2020, was different. Rather than fluttering his eyelashes at suitors in the transfer market, Styles, a promising young English midfielder, wanted to make it known that he was eligible to play international football for Hungary or Ukraine — “just putting it out there,” he recalls to The Athletic, “and hoping something comes of it”.

For weeks, nothing did. “And then… you know how everything spreads these days with social media?” he says. “That’s basically how it was. It caught fire.”

The story was picked up by a sports website in Budapest. The Hungarian FA got in touch with Barnsley and was put in contact with Styles’ agent, who verified the story and gave more details of the player’s ancestry. Hungary started to monitor him — remotely at first, due to Covid-19 travel restrictions — and then, suitably impressed, started to explore further.

Styles imagined the first step would be a call-up to Hungary’s under-21s. But once the various administrative hurdles were cleared, he was drafted straight into the senior squad, making his international debut against Serbia in Budapest in March 2022. Three months later, he was part of a Hungary team that thrashed England 4-0 in the Nations League — “a unique moment where you kind of have to pinch yourself afterwards and be like, ‘Wow, did that actually happen?’.”

Callum Styles vies with Conor Gallagher during Hungary’s win at Molineux (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Now 24, having spent the past season on loan to Sunderland, he has 22 caps for Hungary. Everything, he said, has worked out very nicely. He is firmly in contention to start their opening game against Switzerland in Cologne on Saturday, having overcome an injury scare in their final warm-up against Israel last Saturday (a 3-0 win).

He loves playing for Hungary. He cannot wait for the Euros. But he is not going to pretend he grew up eating goulash and listening to tales of Ferenc Puskas while Franz Liszt’s rhapsodies played in the background.

On the contrary, he grew up without knowing about any links to the country he is now proud to represent.

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Growing up in Middleton, Greater Manchester, Styles was aware that his mother’s parents, Jan and Magdolna, had originally been from somewhere in Eastern Europe. But he didn’t know where.

“As a kid, I didn’t really look at any of that,” he says. “I was just playing and enjoying life. You’re playing with your toys or you’re out with your friends. None of those conversations really happened until later.

“I always used to go round to my nan’s house because she only lived around the corner from my mum and dad. I would go around twice a week and she would always be cooking a chicken noodle soup. But she passed away when I was just at the end of primary school.”

He was a professional footballer in his late teens, making a strong impression in Barnsley’s first team, by the time he started to find out more about how Jan and Magdolna had moved to the UK from Ukraine and Hungary respectively “in their early twenties”. Details of Jan’s past in Ukraine were sketchy — “we couldn’t find his old passport” — but more was known of Magdolna.

Styles and his girlfriend wanted to visit Hungary during the international break in March 2020. But that plan was scuppered by the pandemic. By the time he finally made it to Budapest two years later, his first time on Hungarian soil, it was to join up with the national team.

It was daunting at first, particularly since he could not speak a word of Hungarian (something he has since begun to rectify on Duolingo). But his new team-mates welcomed him from the start. They didn’t expect him to know the national anthem — he can sing it now — but were impressed when, during an initiation ceremony, he performed Candy Shop by 50 Cent.

He wasn’t the only player in the squad who had qualified via dual nationality; Hertha Berlin winger Palko Dardai was born in Germany, as the son of former Hungary international Pal Dardai, who played for and coached Hertha); RB Leipzig defender Willi Orban was born in Germany but had a Hungarian father; Le Havre full-back Loic Nego played for his native France from under-16 to under-20 level but became a Hungarian citizen after more than five years playing there; and Bournemouth full-back Milos Kerkez was born in Serbia but, like Styles, had a Hungarian grandmother.

“And our manager (Marco Rossi) is Italian,” Styles says. “He explained to me about the welcome he received even though he wasn’t Hungarian or having Hungarian roots. And a lot of the meetings are in English, which helped me a lot. The lads talk to me and they’re really welcoming.

“But just going to the country for the first time was a beautiful experience. Making my debut made it even better. Settling in was a lot easier than I thought it might be. I felt at home straight away.”

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For much of the recent past, a player discovering he was eligible to play for Hungary would still have had little or no chance of competing in a major tournament.

One of the giants of world football in the ‘Magical Magyars’ period of the 1950s and 1960s, Hungary’s appearance at the 1986 World Cup was their last in a major tournament for three decades.

But this will be their third consecutive European Championship. Qualification has been made easier by the competition’s expansion to 24 teams, but Hungary’s upturn in performance is undeniable. They won their qualifying group without losing a game. In total, they had gone 14 matches without defeat until they were beaten 2-1 by the Republic of Ireland in their penultimate warm-up game.

When UEFA launched its Nations League competition in 2018, Hungary were in the third tier with, among others, Estonia and Lithuania. In the most recent campaign, they finished second in a first-tier group, winning away to Germany (1-0) and beating England home (1-0) and away (4-0). Qualification for the Euros was secured with a stoppage-time equaliser in Bulgaria. They flew back to Budapest, headed into the city centre and partied all night — players and supporters alike. “Crazy,” Styles recalled.

“We’ve been doing so well as a team, improving game by game, year by year,” he says. “When we beat England, it was a bit like, ‘Wow’. The manager (Rossi) has changed a lot. There’s been a lot of progression since he started. I feel like we’re a good team.”

The team’s star is Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai. “He’s a world-class player, a leader,” Styles says. “In the camp, he’s quite chilled. But on the pitch, he brings that extra percentage, that X factor that you sometimes need when it’s a bit stale in the game and you need someone to create some magic and force a 1-0 win or whatever.

“But we’re a team. We’re not going to get carried away, but we should be quietly confident because we’ve shown we can go up against the top teams. Obviously, with the pressure of the Euros, those games can swing either way, but we’ve got a really good team. Hopefully we can progress.”

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Styles will be in the shop window in Germany, looking to build on a positive loan spell at Sunderland by securing a permanent transfer from Barnsley — who lost to Bolton Wanderers in the League One play-off semi-finals — this summer.

He enjoyed his time at Sunderland but is unsure of their plans as they are yet to appoint a new manager. If not Sunderland, then he hopes to be back in the Championship with another club.

Callum Styles spent last season at Sunderland but his long-term future is uncertain (George Wood/Getty Images)

But club aspirations are on hold. “International football is what I’m focusing on: the Euros and doing my best for Hungary,” he says. “The rest will take care of itself.”

His parents, his girlfriend and several friends will also be travelling out to Germany. Are they all learning the national anthem? “They already know it,” he says. “We’ve been singing it.”

One of his aunts, who lives in Hungary, has been to some of the home matches but he is unsure whether she will be able to get to Germany. He hopes so. Either way, Styles is looking forward to the experience — on a deeper personal level as well as professionally.

A flag of convenience? Initially perhaps, but he has embraced his second nationality. When he pulls on the Hungary shirt, he thinks of his grandmother and wonders what she would have thought of him wearing her country’s colours.

“It’s special for my mum’s side of the family to see me representing our bloodline,” he says. “It’s an honour to play for Hungary. It’s in my DNA.”

Related Topics:Barnsley championship European Championship Featured Hungary International Football League One Millwall premier league Sunderland

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Philip Rivers’ former teammate expresses one concern he has with 44-year-old’s return to Colts

Published

2 hours ago

December 12, 2025

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Philip Rivers’ former teammate expresses one concern he has with 44-year-old’s return to Colts

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There is a good chance Philip Rivers sees some action on Sunday when the Indianapolis Colts take on the Seattle Seahawks in a must-win game for the AFC South team.

Rivers, 44, joined the Colts earlier this week as the team deals with a quarterback crisis. The potential Hall of Famer hasn’t played since the 2020 season, but when the Colts needed him the most, he answered the call and dove into a playbook to get game ready.

But what can any NFL fan think Rivers is going to provide for the Colts at 44? He’s changed so much since the 2020 season, as his opponents on the field. The Seahawks also have one of the best defenses in the league.

Shawne Merriman #56 of the San Diego Chargers walks on the sideline in the game against the Seattle Seahawks on Aug. 15, 2009 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California. (Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

Shawne Merriman, Rivers’ former teammate, told Fox News Digital that he expected him to play well but was concerned about one thing.

“It’s a tough week for him to get back. But I’ll tell you this, Phil’s upside was never his athleticism. It was always his competitiveness,” he said. “He’s the most competitive player I’ve ever played with, that’s one. And two, it was his preparation and his mental and his knowledge of the game of football. Those two things would always got Philip to be that elite quarterback. It was that. So, it’s not gonna be that much different as far as him moving around the pocket.

“The concern I do have is you can’t replicate football without playing it. So, you can have a coach out there, I’m sure he was throwing the football around with his high school kids. I’m sure that he was working out, but you can’t replicate football. So, I think he’s gonna go out there and look good. I think he’s gonna go out there and actually look like he did five years ago.”

When the rumors started that Rivers was potentially going to come to Indianapolis for a workout, Merriman said he wasn’t surprised.

Philip Rivers #17 of the Los Angeles Chargers looks for an open receiver during the third quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium on Dec. 29, 2019 in Kansas City, Missouri. (David Eulitt/Getty Images)

COLIN KAEPERNICK CULTURE WAR APPEARS TO HAVE DIED OUT AS COLTS AND OTHERS FIND QB SOLUTIONS WITHOUT UPROAR

The former San Diego Chargers star said when he spoke to Rivers during Antonio Gates’ Hall of Fame induction ceremony, it didn’t feel like the quarterback was completely finished with the game.

“I wasn’t shocked. And, this is why – a couple of years ago, I put on Twitter that Phil was still ready to play and this was I think in 2023,” he said. “And everybody’s like, ‘What? Well, yeah, right.’ He’s been gone out of the game I think three years at that point and then literally a week later or two, it pops up that the San Francisco 49ers, their quarterback situation with all their injuries, that they were thinking about bringing in Philip. And I said, I told you.

“I had a conversation with Philip and he didn’t say, ‘Oh, I’m coming back to play,’ but when you talked to him, it sounded like he was ready. It sounded like he was talking about the game in the present moment.”

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Merriman said he got together with Rivers and Drew Brees during Antonio Gates’ Hall of Fame induction ceremony and it didn’t like Rivers was exactly finished with football.

“So, I’m not surprised at all and it’s the right decision by the Indianapolis Colts.”

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Ryan Gaydos is a senior editor for Fox News Digital.

Sports

UCLA’s Donovan Dent could be rounding into form just in time for Gonzaga showdown

Published

3 hours ago

December 12, 2025

Press Room

UCLA’s Donovan Dent could be rounding into form just in time for Gonzaga showdown

Sometimes even Donovan Dent needs to be told he’s Donovan Dent.

“I just keep reminding him of who he is,” Skyy Clark said of his message to his UCLA teammate who has been pushing through a tough opening stretch as a Bruin.

The most highly coveted point guard in the transfer portal, Dent arrived on campus with the pedigree of an All-American honorable mention who was expected to immediately elevate his new team. Among his many talents were strong three-point shooting and an ability to blow by defenders to the rim.

He’s been looking more like that version of himself the last few games after a slow, injury-marred first month, a trajectory the No. 25 Bruins (7-2) will need to continue Saturday night at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle if they hope to beat No. 8 Gonzaga (9-1).

“He’s been showing a lot of flashes of who he is as a person, as a player, and we’re all rooting for him,” Clark said. “I think it’s only going to get better.”

Having a week between games might help. UCLA coach Mick Cronin said he’s been working with Dent on his shooting form, which curiously has been an issue for someone who made 40.9% of his three-pointers and 78.4% of his free throws last season at New Mexico.

Those numbers have dipped considerably, Dent making just one of 13 three-pointers (7.7%) to go with 62.8% of his free throws. He barely was making half of his free throws before a recent stretch in which he’s converted 10 of 13.

Perhaps the biggest concern has been Dent’s inability to embarrass defenders like he did as a Lobo.

UCLA guard Donovan Dent drives to the basket against Oregon forward Dezdrick Lindsay, left, and center Ege Demir, right, during the Bruins’ 74-63 win on Dec. 6.

(Jessie Alcheh / Associated Press)

“In the Mountain West, he was able to get to the rim in a way that he’s not able to get to the rim at our level, it’s just not going to happen,” Cronin said. “At the high level, it’s really hard. You can’t finish on some of the big guys you could finish on in that league — maybe in the bottom half of the league, you could just take everybody to the rim. First of all, they allow you to bump the dribbler; it’s more physical the higher up you go — it just is. It’s not a knock on it, it’s just the way it is. You know, the Power Four leagues now plus the Big East, the physicality is amazing.

“And in the NBA you can’t blow on a guy, but in college, it’s physical, and that’s what people try to do is beat him up, that’s the game plan. And everybody has the same game plan, like, we know, we talk to people, be physical, beat him up, be as physical as you can with him.”

Cronin said he’s been encouraged by what he’s seen over the last two games, in which Dent averaged 15 points and 5.5 assists with 3.0 turnovers while leading the Bruins to victories over Washington and Oregon. He’s also put abdominal and lower-leg injuries behind him.

That’s not to say that Dent can’t boost his game another notch or two.

“He’s got to have more confidence in his three-point shot, his pull-up shot and focusing on his defense on the ball, using his quickness for that,” Cronin said. “So there’s just different ways he can affect the game, which is going to be [key] for him to have a [professional] career anyway. He’s been pushing through it, he’s been working on it, I thought the last couple of games his effort’s been great.”

If Dent needed a template for perseverance amid high expectations as a transfer, he could find it in Clark. After arriving from Louisville, Clark struggled with his shooting and never scored in double figures over his first nine games as a Bruin.

Then came a 15-point breakthrough against Arizona in mid-December and an 11-point, nine-rebound, seven-assist showing two weeks later in a victory over Gonzaga.

“I had a slow start last year when I first came here and then as the season went on it started to get a little [better],” Clark said. “So, I just keep telling him about that and keep sticking with it.”

Money matters

Cronin said UCLA raised more money playing in neutral-site games against Arizona, California and Gonzaga than it would have by participating in the Players Era Festival.

“They raise money for our program to buy players,” Cronin said of neutral-site games with a laugh. “I mean, everybody else can talk about recruiting, you know, write about why kids pick schools — I don’t have time for it. I’m too old, I’ve done enough, it’s comical. We’re semipro, our guys do go to school, [but] guys pick schools because they get paid, so these neutral-site games help raise money. So next spring, when we sign a guy in the portal and you go interview him and he tells you he really bonded with me, and I’ve known him for two weeks,” you’ll know why he signed.

Etc.

Cronin, on the scheduled 8:30 p.m. start time against Gonzaga: “I mean, it’s ridiculous. I mean, why don’t we just play at midnight? … My dad’s real happy about it. He’s 84, he’s gonna have to take two naps on Saturday to be able to watch us play Saturday night.” … Cronin said the Bruins would honor UCLA alumnus Dave Roberts, manager of the two-time defending World Series champion Dodgers, at a home game this season. … Six years after he uprooted his family from Cincinnati, Cronin said he would be happy to assist new UCLA football coach Bob Chesney with the logistics of moving across the country to Los Angeles: “I don’t know anything about football, but I can help him on where to live and just have his wife call us, we’ll help her.”

Sports

Sherrone Moore’s alleged mistress reportedly received massive pay raise in 2025

Published

14 hours ago

December 11, 2025

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Sherrone Moore’s alleged mistress reportedly received massive pay raise in 2025

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The alleged mistress of former Michigan football head coach Sherrone Moore received a massive pay bump between 2024 and 2025.

The individual allegedly linked to Moore, whose LinkedIn profile lists her as an Executive Assistant to the Head Football Coach at the University of Michigan, earned just over $58,000 in 2023 and 2024, according to public payroll information. In the 2025 fiscal year, though, her salary jumped to $99,000, according to a salary disclosure report from the University of Michigan.

Michigan Wolverines head coach Sherrone Moore leaves the field following the NCAA football game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan on Nov. 29, 2025. (Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images)

That’s a 70.62 percent increase year-over-year — even higher than the figure circulating social media right now via UMSalary.info.

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As OutKick’s Trey Wallace reported, Moore was fired with cause on Wednesday in his second season as the Wolverines’ head coach. The move came after an investigation surrounding Moore’s alleged “inappropriate relationship” with a staffer.

And it’s hard to imagine the massive salary bump she received didn’t raise some eyebrows within the department.

“U-M head football coach Sherrone Moore has been terminated, with cause, effective immediately,” Michigan Athletic Director Warde Manual announced on Wednesday. “Following a university investigation, credible evidence was found that Coach Moore engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a staff member. This conduct constitutes a clear violation of University policy, and U-M maintains zero tolerance for such behavior.”

Michigan football head coach Sherrone Moore reacts from the sideline during a college football game against the USC Trojans at Michigan Stadium on Sept. 21, 2024 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images)

WHO IS SHERRONE MOORE? NATIONAL CHAMPION COACH’S STUNNING DOWNFALL FROM MICHIGAN ENDS IN JAILING

Less than an hour after his termination, police were called to a residence to detain the former coach under possible assault charges. Moore allegedly threatened to harm himself and others before being taken into custody.

As of Thursday afternoon, Moore is being held at Washtenaw County Jail. No charges have been filed yet, but he is expected to appear in court on Friday to be arraigned, according to Pittsfield Township police department.

Michigan Wolverines head coach Sherrone Moore is shown on the sidelines during the first quarter against the Maryland Terrapins at SECU Stadium in College Park, Maryland, on Nov. 22, 2025. (Tommy Gilligan/Imagn Images)

OutKick reached out to the University of Michigan and its athletic department regarding the staffer’s 70 percent pay raise, but they didn’t immediately respond.

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