# 1998–99 Nemzeti Bajnokság I

The 1998–99 Nemzeti Bajnokság I, also known as NB I for short, was the 97th season of top-tier football in Hungary. The league is officially named Professzionális Nemzeti Bajnokság (PNB) for sponsorship reasons. The season began on 24 July 1998 and ended on the weekend 16 June 1999. Újpest are the defending champions, having won their 20th Hungarian championship at the end of the 1998–99 season.
MTK won their 21st national title, finishing 19 points above Ferencváros, and 20 points above defending champions Újpest. MTK were already leading the table before the winter-break by 11 points. By Gameweek 26 they had extended their lead to 14 points. MTK's championship was confirmed on Gameweek 30, after defeating Gázszer 2-0 at Hungária Körút. Sándor Egervári's men only lost two home games throughout the season, and won 10 consecutive league games between November and April.

## Teams

Tiszakécskei FC, Előre FC Békéscsaba and Stadler FC finished the 1997–98 season in the bottom three places of the table and thus were relegated to their respective NB II divisions. Békéscsaba ended a 6-year and Stadler 4-year stay in the top league, while Tiszakécske were relegated after just one year in the league.

### Stadium and locations

| Club | Short name | City | Stadium | Capacity |
| BVSC-Zugló FC | BVSC | Budapest | Szőnyi Street Stadium | 9,000 |
| Debreceni VSC-Epona | Debrecen | Debrecen | Oláh Gábor utcai stadion | 9,640 |
| Diósgyőri FC | Diósgyőr | Miskolc | DVTK Stadion | 11,300 |
| Dunaferr SE | Dunaújvaros | Dunaújváros | Stadion Eszperantó Út | 12,000 |
| Ferencvárosi TC | Ferencváros | Budapest | Albert Flórián Stadion | 18,100 |
| Gázszer FC | Gázszer | Akasztó | Stadler Stadium | 12,000 |
| Győri ETO FC | Győr | Győr | ETO Park | 16,000 |
| Haladás-Milos | Haladás | Szombathely | Rohonci úti stadion | 12,000 |
| III. Kerület FC-AT | III. Kerület | Budapest | Hévízi Street Stadium | 3,000 |
| Kispest-Honvéd FC | Honvéd | Budapest | Bozsik Stadion | 10,000 |
| MTK Hungária | MTK | Budapest | Hidegkuti Nándor Stadium | 12,700 |
| Nyírség-Spartacus | Nyíregyháza | Nyíregyháza | Városi Stadion | 16,500 |
| Siófok FC | Siófok | Siófok | Révész Géza utcai stadion | 10,500 |
| Újpest FC | Újpest | Budapest | Szusza Ferenc Stadion | 13,500 |
| Vasas DH | Vasas | Budapest | Illovszky Rudolf Stadion | 12,000 |
| Dunakanyar-Vác FC | Vác | Vác | Stadion Városi Vác | 10,500 |
| Videoton FC | Videoton | Székesfehérvár | Sóstói Stadion | 15,000 |
| Zalahús ZTE FC | ZTE | Zalaegerszeg | ZTE Aréna | 9,000 |

### Personnel and kits

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| BVSC | József Tajti | Oleksandr Bondarenko | Nike | InterCity |
| Debrecen | Lajos Garamvölgyi | Zoltán Böőr | Adidas | Epona, MÁV Rt., OTP Bank |
| Diósgyőr | Miklós Temesvári | István Téger | Adidas | Borsod Brewery |
| Dunaújváros | Ferenc Ebedli | Gábor Zavadszky | Umbro | Dunaferr |
| Ferencváros | Marijan Vlak | András Telek | Adidas | |
| Gázszer | Gábor Hartyáni | István Kövesfalvi | Diadora | |
| Győr | István Reszeli Soós | Gábor Vayer | Adidas | Rába |
| Haladás | István Mihalecz | Csaba Balog | Hummel | Steffl Bier |
| III. Kerület | Lajos Schróth | Balázs Tordai | Umbro | Auto Trader, Rocco Jeans |
| Kispest | György Gálhidi | János Dubecz | Umbro | Ibusz |
| MTK | Sándor Egervári | Csaba Madar | Nike | Fotex |
| Nyíregyháza | Tibor Őze | Zoltán Szatke | Adidas | Taurus |
| Siófok | József Mészáros | Zsolt Posza | Toti | |
| Újpest | Péter Várhidi | Szabolcs Bíró | Joma | Espon |
| Vasas | Imre Gellei | Tamás Mónos | Lotto | Danubius Hotels |
| Vác | János Csank | Péter Horváth | Adidas | Zollner |
| Videoton | József Verebes | Árpád Milinte | Uhlsport | Videoton |
| ZTE | László Strausz | Géza Vlaszák | Adidas | Zalahús |

#### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Replaced by | Date of appointment |
| Haladás | László Dajka | Sacked | 17 September 1998 | 16th | István Mihalecz | 17 September 1998 |
| Videoton | Ferenc Csongrádi | Mutual agreement | 16 October 1998 | 14th | József Verebes | 16 October 1998 |
| Debrecen | András Herczeg | Sacked | 20 October 1998 | 13th | Lajos Garamvölgyi | 20 October 1998 |
| Ferencváros | Tibor Nyilasi | Mutual agreement | 17 December 1998 | 7th | Marijan Vlak | 29 December 1998 |
| III. Kerület | Ralf Wilhelms | Mutual agreement | 18 December 1998 | 16th | Lajos Schróth | 12 February 1999 |
| BVSC | István Sándor | Sacked | 22 December 1998 | 18th | Dragan Seklulić | 3 January 1999 |
| Diósgyőr | Barnabás Tornyi | Resigned | 5 January 1999 | 3rd | Gábor Szapor | 7 January 1999 |
| BVSC | Dragan Seklulić | Sacked | 10 February 1999 | 18th | József Tajti | 10 February 1999 |
| Diósgyőr | Gábor Szapor | Sacked | 14 April 1999 | 7th | Miklós Temesvári | 14 April 1999 |
| Siófok | László Nagy | Resigned | 4 May 1999 | 16th | József Mészáros | 4 May 1999 |
| Dunaújváros | Zoltán Varga | Resigned | 12 May 1999 | 6th | Ferenc Ebedli | 12 May 1999 |

## Overview

It was contested by 18 teams, and MTK Hungária FC won the championship.

## League standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | MTK Hungária (C) | 34 | 27 | 2 | 5 | 77 | 26 | +51 | 83 | Qualification for Champions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | Ferencváros | 34 | 19 | 7 | 8 | 61 | 40 | +21 | 64 | Qualification for UEFA Cup qualifying round |
| 3 | Újpest | 34 | 20 | 3 | 11 | 58 | 40 | +18 | 63 | Qualification for UEFA Cup qualifying round |
| 4 | Győr | 34 | 16 | 11 | 7 | 53 | 39 | +14 | 59 | |
| 5 | Dunaferr | 34 | 17 | 6 | 11 | 54 | 46 | +8 | 57 | |
| 6 | Vasas | 34 | 15 | 10 | 9 | 51 | 44 | +7 | 55 | Qualification for Intertoto Cup first round |
| 7 | Zalaegerszeg | 34 | 15 | 8 | 11 | 43 | 37 | +6 | 53 | |
| 8 | Diósgyőr | 34 | 14 | 9 | 11 | 56 | 54 | +2 | 51 | |
| 9 | Debrecen | 34 | 14 | 7 | 13 | 53 | 39 | +14 | 49 | Qualification for UEFA Cup first round |
| 10 | Vác | 34 | 13 | 10 | 11 | 51 | 49 | +2 | 49 | |
| 11 | Gázszer | 34 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 37 | 40 | −3 | 44 | |
| 12 | Kispest Honvéd | 34 | 11 | 9 | 14 | 38 | 50 | −12 | 42 | |
| 13 | Nyíregyháza | 34 | 10 | 9 | 15 | 46 | 52 | −6 | 39 | |
| 14 | Haladás | 34 | 10 | 6 | 18 | 39 | 54 | −15 | 36 | |
| 15 | Siófok | 34 | 7 | 9 | 18 | 32 | 49 | −17 | 30 | |
| 16 | Videoton (R) | 34 | 7 | 9 | 18 | 36 | 54 | −18 | 30 | Relegation to Nemzeti Bajnokság II |
| 17 | BVSC (R) | 34 | 7 | 6 | 21 | 34 | 53 | −19 | 27 | Relegation to Nemzeti Bajnokság II |
| 18 | III. Kerület (R) | 34 | 4 | 6 | 24 | 40 | 93 | −53 | 18 | Relegation to Nemzeti Bajnokság II |
* ↑ The winners of the 1998–99 Hungarian Cup competition will qualify for the second qualifying round of the 1999–2000 UEFA Cup.

### Positions by round

| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 |
| MTK | 7 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Ferencváros | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Újpest | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Győr | 10 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 |
| Dunaferr | 11 | 12 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 |
| Vasas | 2 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Zalaegerszeg | 16 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Diósgyőr | 3 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 8 |
| Debrecen | 1 | 6 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 9 |
| Vác | 8 | 11 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 |
| Gázszer | 9 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
| Honvéd | 6 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 12 |
| Nyíregyháza | 18 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 |
| Haladás | 13 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 |
| Siófok | 12 | 13 | 15 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 |
| Videoton | 15 | 16 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 |
| BVSC | 17 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 |
| III. Kerület | 14 | 14 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 |
* Leader
* 1999–2000 UEFA Cup Qualifying round
* Relegation to 1999–2000 Nemzeti Bajnokság II

## Results

| Home \ Away | BVS | DEB | DIÓ | DUN | FTC | GÁZ | GYŐ | HAL | KER | HON | MTK | NYÍ | SIÓ | UTE | VAS | VÁC | VID | ZTE |
| BVSC | | 0–1 | 1–3 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 |
| Debrecen | 3–1 | | 5–0 | 1–2 | 6–1 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 5–0 | 2–0 |
| Diósgyőr | 2–1 | 0–0 | | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 5–1 | 5–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| Dunaferr | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–3 | | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 6–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 |
| Ferencváros | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–4 | 1–3 | | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 7–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 4–0 |
| Gázszer | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | | 0–2 | 4–0 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 |
| Győr | 1–1 | 3–1 | 5–4 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 3–3 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 |
| Haladás | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | | 5–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 |
| III. Kerület | 0–0 | 1–5 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 3–3 | 3–1 | | 1–1 | 1–5 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 2–3 | 1–4 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 0–2 |
| Kispest Honvéd | 1–5 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | | 0–2 | 4–3 | 3–0 | 2–3 | 0–4 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 |
| MTK Hungária | 3–2 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 2–4 | 5–0 | 3–0 | | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 |
| Nyíregyháza | 1–0 | 4–2 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 3–3 | 3–0 | 1–3 | | 3–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 3–4 | 4–2 | 2–0 |
| Siófok | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | | 0–2 | 2–3 | 2–4 | 0–0 | 0–2 |
| Újpest | 3–1 | 3–2 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 |
| Vasas | 3–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–4 | 5–0 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 |
| Vác | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 4–3 | 1–1 | | 2–1 | 2–2 |
| Videoton | 4–1 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 4–4 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 5–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 3–2 | | 1–2 |
| Zalaegerszeg | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 4–2 | |

## Statistical leaders
### Top goalscorers

| Rank | Scorer | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Béla Illés | MTK Hungária | 22 |
| 2 | Nicolae Ilea | Debreceni VSC-Epona | 18 |
| 3 | Gábor Egressy | Diósgyőri FC | 17 |
| 4 | Attila Korsós | Újpest FC | 13 |
| 5 | Róbert Waltner | Videoton FC | 12 |
| 5 | Zoltán Pál | Vasas SC | 12 |
| 5 | Krisztián Kenesei | MTK Hungária | 12 |
| 5 | István Borgulya | Kispest Honvéd FC | 12 |
| 5 | Imre Szabics | Ferencvárosi TC | 12 |
| 5 | Ferenc Lengyel | Dunaferr SE | 12 |
| 5 | Gábor Zavadszky | Dunaferr SE | 12 |