István Kozma signed for Liverpool 32 years ago today and has unwittingly become shorthand for his difficult times at Anfield. Dominic Szoboszlay’s powerful header against Chelsea in midweek was another sign that his debut season at Liverpool is continuing.
The midfielder was not the first Hungarian footballer to make waves at Anfield, but he was more positive than his predecessor. Graham Souness is the first to admit that his tumultuous time as Liverpool manager has been marred by too many bad decisions in the transfer market.
Perhaps one of his greatest performances came during one of the best moments of his reign. The Reds lost the first leg 2–0 to Auxerre in the UEFA Cup in November 1991, but won the second leg 3–0. Enfield. After the match, French legend Michel Platini knocked on his door.
“He came in and said: ‘I have a player for you. He is a real problem in France, but he is very talented and would be great for your club.’ Souness recalled in 2020: “I said, ‘Hey Michelle.’” I’m here right now, putting out fires, trying to get the resistors out the door, fighting in the locker room. “The last thing I need is another controversial figure.” That player was Eric Cantona who, instead of moving to Anfield, moved to Leeds United and was on trial at Sheffield Wednesday before moving to Manchester United 12 months later.
But Souness knew he needed reinforcements and decided to take a chance on a player who caused Rangers problems in his previous job in Scotland 32 years ago. Unfortunately, Istvan Kozma never achieved the same level of success as Cantona in the Premier League and unexpectedly became a symbol of the downfall of the team that claimed the title two years ago.
Liverpool spent £300,000 to sign the Hungarian from Dunfermline, where he was a firm favorite in David Moyes’ squad. That didn’t happen at Anfield. Kozma made his debut as a second-half substitute in a goalless FA Cup fifth-round draw at Ipswich Town, before making his first start in the competition at Norwich City the following week. He was substituted after 74 minutes as Liverpool lost 3-0. In fact, in his three appearances for the club, United did not score a single goal.
Kozma made just seven appearances for the Reds in his first season, coming off the bench late on in the Charity Shield loss to Leeds at the start of the following season.Then came his big break. varied.Kozma answered the call when Liverpool lost 3-0 at home to fourth-placed Chesterfield in the second round of the League Cup, with youngster Phil Charnock coming on at half-time.
The crowd of just 12,533, excluding capacity restrictions due to the pandemic, will remain the lowest Anfield attendance in 40 years. Hungary harassed the left side of the Chesterfield defense and saw Ronnie Rosenthal fire over Mark Wright as he went. The Reds are down a ridiculous 4-4.
This was comparable to the Premier League, even though Kozma preferred to play in central midfield rather than outfield. Four days later, Kozma played the last eight minutes of a 3–2 home defeat to Wimbledon and was never seen again. A lack of minutes meant he refused to work the following year and was given a free transfer to Uypest in his native Hungary, a club for whom he enjoyed a brilliant career at Anfield.
However, there were some happy reviews. Kozma later moved to APOEL in Cyprus, where he won the national double and another league title before returning to Ujpest, before spending seasons with Videoton and Tatabanya FC before ending his career at the club with a fourth. And his son Dominik, born in Dunfermline, became a swimmer and represented Hungary at three Olympic Games. However, Kozma’s time at Liverpool was not without reward as he was part of the non-playing squad that won the FA Cup Final against Sunderland in May 1992.
“It was still the old Wembley, it was full,” he recalled in 2021. “I was behind the bench. The next day we returned home to Liverpool and the big celebrations began. First we toured the city on an open floor bus where they threw many towels at us. It was a really cool experience. “I still keep a few things.” Of course, Chesterfield will be with him.
