Dominik Szoboszlai
Country: Hungary
Age: 26
Club: Liverpool F.C.
League: Premier League
Position: Attacking midfielder
Major honours: 4 × Austrian Bundesliga (Red Bull Salzburg: 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21), 3 × Austrian Cup (Red Bull Salzburg: 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21), 2 × DFB-Pokal (RB Leipzig: 2021–22, 2022–23), 1 × EFL Cup (Liverpool: 2023–24), 1 × Premier League (Liverpool: 2024–25).
Club History: FC Liefering (2017–2018) → Red Bull Salzburg (2018–2021) → RB Leipzig (2021–2023) → Liverpool (2023–present).
Maciej Rogowsk | Alamy
Dominik Szoboszlai: The boy forged by his father’s rigorous experiment, who became the architect of a new era at Liverpool.
For decades, Hungarian football has been searching for its "new Ferenc Puskás" a player capable of shaking up the European football elite and carrying the national team on his back. Today, that burden rests on the shoulders of Dominik Szoboszlai, born in 2000. However, his path to the summit was not merely a story of natural talent; it was the result of iron discipline and an unprecedented experiment by his father.
Many people know that Dominik’s father, Zsolt Szoboszlai, was a former professional footballer; however, few are aware of the methods he used to raise his son. Believing that Hungary’s football academies were not rigorous enough, Zsolt founded his own club, ‘Főnix-Oxy’.
Young Dominic’s father trained him using not only a ball but also... plastic cups. He would have Dominic hold plastic cups in his hands while running and dribbling, ensuring that the cups did not get crushed. The goal was simple: Dominic was not to use his hands to grab opponents or to maintain his balance—he learned to control his balance using only his body and his feet.
Furthermore, his father forbade the purchase of oversized football boots. To this day, Szoboszlai has relatively small feet—size 41, despite his height of 186 cm. His father believed that a smaller foot provided better aerodynamics and greater accuracy when striking the ball.
Austrian Laboratory: From Salzburg to Leipzig
In 2017, Dominik joined the Red Bull Salzburg system, first at their feeder club, FC Liefering, and later with the main team. It was in Salzburg that a group of young stars—Erling Haaland, Takumi Minamino, and Dominik Szoboszlai—came together.
Erling Haaland later recalled those days, noting: "When I first met Dominik in Salzburg, I realized immediately that he was a player on a different level. His right foot is practically a weapon—his shooting technique is such that it strikes fear into any goalkeeper. We even joke that playing against him in training required stricter safety measures."
His time at Salzburg paid off: in 2020, playing for the Hungarian national team, Szoboszlai scored a historic goal. In the 92nd minute of a match against Iceland, his precise and powerful strike sent Hungary to the European Championship—earning him the status of a living legend among his people, despite the fact that he was still very young at the time.
Following this came a move to the German club RB Leipzig, where—despite a severe pelvic injury that caused him to miss almost the entire season—he won the German Cup (2022, 2023) and established himself as one of the most dynamic midfielders in the Bundesliga.
Liverpool and the Bid to Conquer the Premier League (2023–Present)
In the summer of 2023, Jürgen Klopp decided to revamp Liverpool’s midfield, and the club paid his £70 million release clause without hesitation. Upon his arrival at Anfield, the Hungarian was immediately handed the iconic number 8 shirt. Klopp spoke enthusiastically about the signing:
"Szoboszlai is an absolute powerhouse. It’s hard to tell where his physical capabilities end and his technical skill begins—he runs and drives the team forward for the entire 90 minutes; it’s truly remarkable."
His debut at Anfield thrilled the fans. Szoboszlai drew attention not only with his creative ability and stunning long-range strikes, but also with an incredible work rate—he was often the player who covered the most distance during the match.
"Szoboszlai is a real powerhouse. He is a player who can run non-stop for 90 minutes, possesses fantastic technique, and is, at the same time, incredibly tactically disciplined. His potential is limitless."
-Jürgen Klopp
Szoboszlai has a tattoo on his arm featuring a famous quote by Gerrard:
"Talent is a blessing from God, but without incredible willpower and hard work, it is nothing."
He got this tattoo before learning of Liverpool's interest—as if his destiny had preordained his arrival at Anfield.
Although a new era has begun at Liverpool following Klopp’s departure, Szoboszlai has retained a key position in the starting lineup. Even under the leadership of Arne Slot, the Hungarian midfielder remains the central heart of the team’s tactical machinery, regulating the tempo of the game.
"Dominic’s workload is simply superhuman. A player with his level of intelligence and physical attributes is every coach’s dream. He doesn’t just read the game—he creates it."
- Arne Slot
What adds a special dimension to Szoboszlai’s Premier League career is his ability to decide difficult matches through set-pieces or powerful long-range strikes. His signature "knuckleball" shots have already become a staple topic of discussion in the English press. In matches where the opposition sits in a low block and Liverpool struggles to find space, it is precisely Dominik’s long-range efforts that often provide the key solution.
His European matches against top clubs from across the continent and the Premier League are particularly memorable; in these games, his long-range shots and vision of the pitch effectively dismantle the opposition's defensive lines. The English press often compares him to great midfielders from the Premier League’s past, though Szoboszlai himself strives to forge his own unique style.
His tactical discipline—a legacy of his father’s rigorous training—enables him to operate flawlessly in the most demanding area of modern football: the center of midfield.
The Captain’s Armband and the National Burden
While Dominik conquers peaks in England, his name is also inextricably linked to the Hungarian national team. When Marco Rossi entrusted him with the captain’s armband at the age of 22, it was far more than a mere formality. In a dressing room that included far more experienced players, Szoboszlai earned his leadership naturally—through his actions both on and off the pitch.
It is impossible to imagine the Hungarian national team playing today without Szoboszlai. He serves as both the "brain" and the "anchor" of the team—a player who takes free kicks and penalties, and who, even in the final minutes of a match, continues to run with the same energy he displayed in the very first minute.
He was the primary architect of Hungary’s success, both in the qualifying rounds and at the 2024 European Championship itself. His displays of emotion alongside the fans after matches , often singing the national anthem with tears in his eyes—demonstrate just how much defending his country’s honor means to him.
The Birth of a Legend in the Present Day
Today, when millions of fans in the stands at Anfield chant his name, and his powerful strikes are the talk of the town—from the Premier League to arenas across Europe—it is easy to forget where it all began.
Dominik Szoboszlá is not just another expensive star in modern football. He is living proof that greatness is not born by chance – it is translated into the care of the plastic cups arranged in his father’s living room, the relentless intensity of training sessions at Austrian side Salzburg, the pain of injury on the German pitch and the iron character that made him captain of the Hungarian national team at the age of 22 and the main heart of the Liverpool mechanism.
The words of Steven Gerrard tattooed on his arm — "Talent is a blessing from God, but without incredible willpower and hard work, it is nothing" — are no longer just a quote. They represent Szoboszlai’s very way of life. And whenever the ball touches his right foot, the football world knows: after the legendary Ferenc Puskás, this young man is writing a new chapter in history—becoming a legend of his own era.
Written by Nini Giorgadze (04.11.2026)
