Drama unfolds during the Netherlands' game in the Nations League. Hungary's assistant coach Adam Szalai collapses. The game is interrupted. Immediately after the restart, Holland's Wout Weghorst scored a penalty. In the rush of happiness he shows little sensitivity.
The seventh minute in the Netherlands' game against Hungary. There is a medical emergency on the Hungarian bank. The doctors rush over immediately, and several players clap their hands over their heads.
As it turns out, former Bundesliga professional and current Hungarian assistant coach Adam Szalai had collapsed. Hungarian players had formed a circle around Szalai, and Dutch players also integrated themselves into the human visual barrier. Hungarian media reported that the 36-year-old had to be resuscitated. He is currently being examined in an Amsterdam hospital.
The game in the Johan Cruyff Arena was resumed after the emergency after just over twelve minutes – with a penalty. After studying the video, Jesus Gil Manzano recognized an unfortunate handball by Hungary midfielder Tamas Nikitscher. He gave a penalty, which Holland striker Wout Weghorst converted.
Given the recent drama surrounding Szalai, restraint would probably have been appropriate. Quiet joy, without much fanfare, something like that. The former Wolfsburg striker celebrated his goal to make it 1-0 exuberantly. He ran into the audibly cheering fan corner of Amsterdam's Johan Cruyff Arena and slid across the lawn on his knees.
Criticism by van der Vaart
His lack of sensitivity caused him a shitstorm on the Internet. Jeroen Kapteijns, a reporter for the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, wrote on X: “These reactions are understandable. In any case, it would have been good for Weghorst if he had celebrated the goal a little more cautiously after there had just been a medical emergency.”
While Bond coach Ronald Koeman was not of the opinion that Weghorst's celebration after his opening goal was inappropriate, Dutch expert Rafael van der Vaart saw it fundamentally differently. . “When you score a goal like that and celebrate, (…) it gives me a stomach ache. A little more restraint would have been appropriate,” said the former HSV director.
Weghorst admitted after the 4-0 win that he should have reacted differently to his goal. “I didn’t think about it for a moment,” said the Ajax Amsterdam attacker after the game. “Bas Ticheler came into the locker room (Press officer of the Dutch team, editor's note) to me and then I realized it. In retrospect, I think it would have been more respectful not to do it that way. Let's be clear: my success is completely secondary to this assistant's life. Hopefully there will be no doubt about that.”
Weghorst reported how focused he was and how tense he was, “because I heard that there would probably be a penalty when the game restarted. Then you start to warm up a little. That takes four or five minutes again. Then you sit again for four or five minutes with tension in your body. Then you feel relieved and relieved that you did it. Looking back, I could have cheered more subdued, but in that moment you're so focused and it's pure relief. Maybe in retrospect I should have done it differently.”
For Szalai, however, there were many well-wishes from his former adopted home. “It shocked me at first, of course. I hope that he's doing well, that there's nothing bad,” said Szalai's former teammate Oliver Baumann after the German team's 7-0 win against Bosnia-Herzegovina in Freiburg. He was close to tears. The national goalkeeper played with the 36-year-old for several years at TSG Hoffenheim. “The greatest asset we have is health.”
Szalai reported himself on social media a few hours after the medical emergency: “Thanks for all the messages, I'm fine,” was the message posted on his personal Instagram channel shortly before midnight. It had a red heart on it.
“I'm thinking more about him than the game right now. I'll talk to him on the phone. I hope he gets back on his feet now. “Then we’ll make sure we play a good game and hopefully Adam will be there again,” said Germany national coach Julian Nagelsmann. At that time, Szalai himself had not yet contacted us. “First of all, I hope he’s doing well. He is a former player of mine with whom I have a very good connection,” said Nagelsmann. The Hungarians will be opponents and hosts of the German team next Tuesday (8:45 p.m., in the WELT sports ticker).
Szalai, who played 276 Bundesliga games for Mainz, Hoffenheim, Schalke and Hannover, played for Hungary until two years ago, most recently as captain. His former clubs sent well-wishes via the X portal, among other things. In the summer of 2023, Szalai ended his active playing career. It was only in October, in the first leg against the Netherlands, that he served as assistant coach of the Hungarian national team for the first time.
