Nicknamed Loki, the team was founded in 1948 as a department of the multi-sports club Debreceni VSC. Seven years later, they have won their first ever Hungarian championship title after beating two of their three opponents in the championship final, including title holders Csepeli SK. However, this achievement remained the lone success of the club for a long time, after they got relegated in 1959 and spent the subsequent twenty years in the second division.[2]
Promoted back in 1979, their brightest period came under the management of Ákos Komáromi, between the late eighties and mid-nineties, during which time they won the Hungarian championship, five Hungarian cups, and two consecutive EHF Cups. The latter one is an exceptional success; no other teams have ever defended their title in the EHF Cup.[3]
In the following years, the club lost many of their key players and their financial options narrowed as well, which resulted a significant setback. The team was on the brink of bankruptcy, when András Gellén, a businessman and die-hard DVSC fan took over the club in May 2009.[4]
Gellén had his own conception, that built solely on Hungarian players and promoted the youngsters. To fulfil the club's long-term plans, he also invested into a new arena for the handball academy, which was finished in January 2011 and cost around €1.4 million.[5]
In the second part of 2011, however, DVSC faced a heavy financial crisis as Gellén could not pay the wages, and as a result, many of the first team players left. Gellén eventually sold his 63.3% share to the city of Debrecen for a nominal fee of 10 Hungarian Forint, that now owns 96.4% of the club. The city worked out a long-term project, which similarly to the club's former intention wants to build on home-grown players. The budget in the first season is expected to be around 100 million Forint (approximately €330,000), which may grow to 150–180 million (€500,000–600,000) in the coming years to ensure Debrecen to achieve a podium finish and to qualify to a European cup again. Balázs Makray took the chairman duties, who faced the similar situation in 1999 when he took over the local football club, and for the 2000s he made Debreceni VSC one of the dominant team in the Hungarian league.[6][7]
Crest, colours, supporters
Kit manufacturers and Shirt sponsor
The following table shows in detail Debreceni VSC kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors by year:
