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Bolton resident can’t wait to help soccer players when the time is right

April 22, 2021   ·   0 Comments

By Robert Belardi 

It’s never easy to find a soccer player but for Bolton resident John Horvath, he knows exactly what to look for. 

“If I want to represent them, the first thing [is] I have to look into their eyes and I have to look into their heart to see if they have the heart,” Horvath said. “You have to have the heart first in order to be a pro player.” 

Second comes the mind and third comes the talent. It’s a quick, three-step examination within yourself to know if you have what it takes to make it as a pro. Soccer isn’t the easiest of sports to make it into. On the bright side, there are plenty of opportunities. 

And for a guy like Horvath, his expertise on the sport isn’t quite like other players. He has been surrounded by soccer his entire life since his family escaped the revolution in Hungary in 1956.

He emigrated to London and after the passing of his father Janos when he was 10, Horvath began to dive deeper into his father’s soccer career and he made some very interesting discoveries. 

“I found out through old friends he had, one guy told me, ‘Your father played for a second division team called Kispest Textile.’ Sure, enough lo and behold, there was this one website in Hungarian that has every stat since 1901.” 

Through his search, he found his father played a friendly match against the Hungarian team in 1954. He went up against one of soccer’s most formidable talents at the time and his childhood friend Ferenc Puskas. 

That lead him to become a pro player himself. Horvath went back to Hungary in the early 90s to play for Ujpest FC. His head coach at the time, Lazlow Nagy was honest with his 24-year-old player that continuing his career in the first division with the reserve team wasn’t going to work. So, Horvath, hung up his boots. 

Shortly after, he received a call from Detroit and became a volunteer Office Administer at the FIFA World Cup in the USA in 1994. He met media requirements at events, he handled interviews and completed follow ups for the general public. 

When he returned to London, everything fell right into place. He received a job with Rogers TV and hosted his own soccer show. 

He was working out in London in the soccer scene before moving to Bolton in 2006. He has worked in the construction of turf field projects, he’s refereed for the Bolton Wanderers club, he was a consultant for the Bolton Wanderers as well and even worked downtown Soccerworld at the Docks. 

His influence across many other soccer clubs led him to create his own business called World Soccer World Management which he runs on the side today as a Soccer Advisor and Consultant.

“Ever since I did that it’s good. I’ve helped a lot of people, grown a lot of projects. I hope to grow the business and get the staff that I need,” Horvath said. 

“I see a lot of coaches that are looking out for themselves and not the player. That’s the problem we’re having. The player is promised everything and the player gets nothing. He didn’t even get scouted. He gets stuck in the gutter. That’s why I like to stress that each club moving forward (after COVID) should get one agent or one manager to sell them abroad so the club can get a development fee.” 

Horvath, wants to be a part of that and ensure that players are being handled properly. With the Canadian Premier League and Major League Soccer right next door it’s only fitting young and upcoming talents have that right. 

Horvath just wants to give them the right keys to the right car to travel down the right road. 

As an employee with Porter Airlines, Horvath has plenty of free time on his hands now. If you know anyone that is interested in seeking advice from someone who has travelled the world and met some of soccer’s biggest stars such as Raul and Andrea Pirlo, you may reach Horvath at mrworldsoccer@hotmail.com. 

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