Adam Szalai

Adam Csaba Szalai (born 9 December 1987) is a Hungarian professional footballer who plays for Swiss club Basel and the Hungary national team as a forward.

He spent most of his career in Germany, signing in 2004 with Stuttgart and going on to represent Mainz 05, Schalke 04, 1899 Hoffenheim and Hannover 96 in the Bundesliga. He also played three years in Spain, with Real Madrid Castilla.

A Hungarian international since 2009, Szalai was part of the squad at two European Championships, scoring once in each tournament.

Club Career

Early years and Stuttgart

Szalai started his career in his hometown of Budapest, playing for Budapest Honved FC and Ujpest FC. In 2004, he moved to Germany to complete his development, spending two years at the youth academy of VfB Stuttgart.

Szalai made his senior debut in the 2006–07 season, playing with the reserves in Regionalliga Sud.

Real Madrid Castilla

In August 2007, Szalai was transferred to Real Madrid Castilla, the reserve team of Real Madrid, for approximately €500.000.

In his second season in Segunda Division B – the only tier in which he competed during his spell in Spain – he scored 16 goals in 37 games, but the side could only rank sixth, thus missing out on the playoffs.

Mainz

On 9 January 2010, Real Madrid loaned Szalai to 1. FSV Mainz 05 until June. He made his Bundesliga debut seven days later, coming on as a 63rd-minute substitute in a 4–2 away loss against Bayer 04 Leverkusen.

Szalai scored his first goal for Mainz in a 1–0 home win over Borussia Dortmund on 10 April 2010. He netted his second against FC Bayern Munich on 25 September in a 2–1 away victory, with a powerful shot into the top corner in what was the Rhineland-Palatinate club's sixth consecutive win of the season, in an eventual run of seven.

This page also has a version in other languages :  Адам Салаи (russian)