Kamila Beregszasziova

Kamila Beregszasziova (born May 3, 1980, in Košice, Slovakia) (born May 3, 1980, Košice) is a former Slovak football representative^[1] who made her debut at a very young age, held several records,^[2] and became the first Slovak woman ever nominated for the prestigious FIFA World Player of the Year award in 2001.^[3][4][5]

Kamila is known for her fighting spirit and goal-scoring instinct, which have often led the media to compare her to famous strikers.^[6][7][8]

What's interesting about her football beginnings is that while other girls were playing with dolls, she was already kicking a ball around with the boys in her hometown of Sokoľany.

In elementary school, she was almost like a secret weapon for the

boys' teams. She later said that they took her in quite naturally: "Yes, I played with them from a young age. They just treated me as part of the group, and today they might even be a little proud that I also play for the national team."

The turning point came in 1995, when a well-known striker, Alojz Martinček,^[10] who held a goal-scoring record in the Czechoslovak league, discovered her in a park in Košice and brought her to Olympia, where she quickly became a mainstay.^[11]

Kamila Beregszásziová spent her entire club career with Olympia Košice, playing from August 1995 until the end of 2001. She made her debut on August 26, 1995, at the age of 15 under the guidance of coach Martin Benko. Her first league goal came on October 2, 1995, in a victory against Čadca,^[12] and later, in November, she scored her first two goals in a single match against Rimavská Sobota.

In June 1996, representing the Košice City Selection, she won the Slovak high school football championship (SAŠŠ) and was named the top scorer.^[13] In the 1995/96 season, she became the club's top scorer with 13 goals, finishing fourth in the league despite being only 16 years old. Thanks to these achievements, she was called up to the senior national team in August 1996 and soon made her debut in the U-18 team as well.^[14]

In the 1996/97 season, she recorded her first hat-tricks ^[15] and even a four-goal haul,^[16] and in one match she scored as many as six goals, becoming only the second player in the league's history to achieve such a feat. Beregszásziová became the second top scorer of the first league with 24 goals at just 17 years old.^[14]

For her performances, she was named to Slovakia's Women's Team of the Year in January 1997 at just 16 years old, which was quite a remarkable honor.^[18][19] At that time, the newspaper Korzo wrote: "A little star has shone at Olympia."^[20]  months after this recognition, in February 1997, a major club—AC Sparta Prague—noticed her at an international women's indoor football tournament in Hradec Králové, where she won the award for the most likeable player of the tournament.^[21]

From the perspective of goal scorers, she became Olympia's top scorer from the time she arrived in the summer of 1995, over a span of six and a half seasons: 1995/1996, 1996/1997, 1997/1998, 1998/1999, 1999/2000, and 2000/2001 . In the top Slovak national league, she finished second in scoring three times (1996/1997, 1998/1999, and 2000/2001) and once finished third (1999/2000).^[22]  made it into Slovakia's Women's Team of the Year four times, in 1996, 1999, 2000, and 2001.^{[23][24][25][26][27]} 1998, she did not make the team of the year despite scoring four goals in that year's European Championship qualifiers. When sports media asked her why the number one striker hadn't been included, Beregszásziová replied, "Time will tell." ^[28] In the following years, she continued scoring goals, helping Olympia Košice to win the runner-up title twice (in 1998/99 and 2000/2001)^[29][30][31] and a bronze once (in 1999/2000).^[32]

She is generally considered one of the best strikers of the women's first football league of all time, having achieved many successes at both the club and international levels. In addition, she studied at the Technical University of Košice and was considered one of the most likeable players in Slovakia, also gaining recognition on the international stage. Her name was known not only in Košice but throughout Slovakia. As Slovakia's then-best footballer Szilárd Németh remarked in 2000: "Eleven women's football names in Slovakia? Ladies, don't be offended, I don't know eleven of your names. But I do know who Beregszásziová in Košice is."^[33]

In 2001, she reached her 100th league goal ^[34] and became the second-highest scorer of the 2000/01 first league season. She ended her career in November 2001, having scored a total of 131 league goals for Olympia. In March 2002, at the age of 21, she announced her retirement from football, leaving a big gap in the team.^[35] Olympia Košice's coach Miroslav Pilčík remarked in May 2002, "Unfortunately, we are missing a scorer; with Kamila Beregszásziová's departure, we lost our attacking strength. Kamila was Kamila—opponents respected her not only in Slovakia but also abroad." ^[36] Similarly, VIX Žilina's coach Ladislav Németh added in September 2002, "Beregszásziová will be hard to replace." ^[37] Coaches and the media acknowledged that replacing such a player would be very difficult.^{[38][39][36][40]}  Nevertheless, after ending her career, Beregszásziová was still called up to the Slovak national team for a FIFA Women's World Cup 2003 qualification  against Hungary.^[41]

Beregszásziová played a total of 32 matches for the Slovak national team,^[1][2] and scored 18 goals, 13 of them in competitive matches and 5 in friendlies. From the age of 16, she was among the youngest and most productive strikers in Slovakia, setting several records. In World Cup and European Championship qualifiers, she became one of Slovakia's top scorers, often as the only teenager scoring in qualifying matches. For instance, at 17 years and 122 days old, she scored her first she scored her first competitive goal against Bosnia and Herzegovina and became the youngest scorer in a qualifying match, contributing to Slovakia's historic 11-0 victory. Just a few days later, she also scored her first goal for the   under U-18 team in their first-ever friendly match against the Czech Republic and was named the best player of the Slovak team for her performances.^[42]

In her teenage years, on April 1, 1998, she managed to score two goals in a single match against Israel, becoming the youngest and only underage player to ever do so.^[46] Additionally, on May 1, 1998, she opened the scoring against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the second minute, recording the fastest qualifying goal in Slovak history. Overall, by the age of 17 years and 363 days, she had scored four qualifying goals.^[47]

In the qualification for the 1999 World Cup in the USA, she became Slovakia's third-best scorer with four goals in seven matches at just 17 years old. Later, in the Euro 2001, she scored 5 goals in 6 matches and became Slovakia's second-best scorer at the age of 20. And in the qualification for the 2003 World Cup in the USA , she scored 4 goals in 4 matches, further solidifying her place among the best.

She gradually added more goals and records, including scoring four goals in a single match at the age of 21 years and 105 days,^[49] which according to the Bosnian press agency earned her the title of the best player of the match.^[48] According to the Slovak press agency, she also achieved a pure hat-trick in that same match.^[50] And it was precisely her exceptional performances that eventually earned her a nomination for the prestigious FIFA World Player of the Year award, where she placed 20th in the world. In doing so, she made history as the first Slovak female footballer ever to be nominated for this prestigious award.

She made her debut for the senior team at just 16 years old against Finland in the starting lineup, and this record as the youngest forward in a qualifying match still stands today.^[53][2] After her debut, she kept a regular spot on the senior national team and also played for the under-18 national team. In November 1996, when she was 16, she also debuted for the under U-18 national team in their first ever friendly match against Poland, where she started in the lineup.^[54] She ended her career in 2001 without a single red card, with many honors and records that no one has surpassed to this day.

Beregszásziová played a total of 32 matches for the senior national team and scored 18 goals, including friendly matches, which represents an average of 0.56 goals per match. In competitive matches, she scored 13 goals in 21 appearances, with an average of 0.61 goals per match.

As of the match played October 13, 2001, against Turkey.^[55]

Slovakia score listed first, score column indicates score after each Kamila Beregszasziova goal.

As of the match played October 13, 2001, against Turkey.^[55]

Olympia Košice

• 1st Slovak Women's Football League::
  • Slovak Vice-Champion::
    •  Silver in the 1998/99 season^[56][57]
    •  Silver in the 2000/01 season^[31]
  • Bronze Medal:
    •  Bronze medal in the 1999/00 season^[32]

• Slovak Women's Team of the Year:
  • Team of the Year: 1996 ^{[54][24][20][19]}
  • Team of the Year: 1999 ^[24]
  • Team of the Year: 2000 ^[58]
  • Team of the Year: 2001 ^{[26][59][60][61]}
• Top Scorer of the 1st Slovak Women's Football League:
  • In the 1996-1997 season, she was the second-best scorer with 24 goals.
  • In the 1998-1999 season, again the second-best scorer with 20 goals. (20 gólov) ^[62]
  • In the 1999-2000 season, she was the third-best scorer with 18 goals.
  • In the 2000-2001 season, again the second-best scorer with 20 goals.
• Best Scorer of the Slovak Championship Final Tournament:
  • In one tournament, she scored 4 goals and became the top scorer of the final tournament.^[63]

• FIFA World Player of the Year award in 2001  - 20th place in the world.^[64][65][5]

^[66][67]

• The youngest player to debut for the Slovak senior national football team in a competitive match, at the age of 16 years and 103 days.^[68]
• The youngest player to score 6 goals in a single match in the top Slovak football league, at the age of 16 years and 190 days.^[69]
• The first and youngest forward to be included in the poll for the best Slovak Football Eleven of the Year, at the age of 16.^[24]
• The youngest and the only player under 18 to score a goal for the senior Slovak national football team in a competitive match, at the age of 17 years and 122 days.^[43]
• The first player to score a goal for the Slovak under-18 national team in their first ever friendly match against the Czech Republic, at the age of 17 years and 128 days.^[42]
• The youngest and the only player under 18 to score two goals in a single match for the senior Slovak national team in a competitive match, at the age of 17 years and 332 days.^[70]
• The first player to score the fastest goal for the senior Slovak national team in a competitive match, in the second minute, at the age of 17 years and 363 days.^[71]
• The only underage player with four goals for the senior national team in competitive matches, scoring her fourth goal at the age of 17 years and 363 days.^[43][72][73]
• The first and still the youngest player to score four goals in one match, including a pure hat-trick, for the senior national team in a competitive match, at the age of 21 years and 105 days.^[74][50]
• The first and only player from Slovakia to be nominated for the FIFA World Player of the Year 2001 award, at the age of 21 years.^[75][76][5]

Source:^[77]

• "Kamila Beregszásziová". futbalsfz.sk (in Slovak).
• "Kamila Beregszásziová". sportnet.sme.sk (in Slovak).
• 20th in an poll FIFA World Player 2001 (pdf)
• 20th in an poll FIFA Women's World Player 2001
• FIFA:191877