EXCLUSIVE: Dominik Szoboszlai helps ex-teammate's Liverpool dream come TRUE

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Anfield Watch

·21 September 2024

EXCLUSIVE: Dominik Szoboszlai helps ex-teammate's Liverpool dream come TRUE

Patrik Réti and Dominik Szoboszlai both fell in love with football in the same place - the training pitches of Fehérvár FC.

As young kids, they were teammates during their formative years in the game. But back then it was not Szoboszlai who was dreaming of gracing the Anfield turf. It was Réti.

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“For my whole life, I dreamt about playing at Anfield," Réti tells Anfield Watch. "Liverpool has been more than a passion for me. I know I'm not from the city but I feel like one of the people."

Just like Szoboszlai, Réti was a promising young player in Hungary, coming through the ranks at Fehérvár and hoping to one day don the red shirt of Liverpool and follow in the footsteps of his favourite player, Steven Gerrard.

He made his debut in the country's top flight at just 19 years old before all his dreams were shattered by a shocking diagnosis.

At the age of 21, Réti found out he had a rare chronic bone marrow disease called PNH. His body was becoming anemic, which led to rapid exhaustion and fatigue and ultimately his retirement from the game at just 21 years old.

This condition could have also escalated to leukaemia had Réti not undergone a life saving bone-marrow transplant.

For someone so young, the news was life shattering. Réti went from spending most of his time on the training pitch doing what he loved most to lying on hospital beds.

Being a Liverpool fan, he turned to the club's famous anthem for inspiration.

“You'll Never Walk Alone has been my favourite song since I was a little kid. Even before I knew what the lyrics meant, I was singing along to it around the house driving my parents nuts," he says.

“As the years went by, I started to learn what the lyrics meant. I remember when I first found out about the meaning of the song, it made even more sense to me.

“It gave me the strength to keep going on during the darkest days of my illness. There were days when I was in hospital and I was listening to YNWA because it gave me strength.

“The part where you walk through the storm to get to the golden sky. That’s how I was thinking about my illness during the worst times."

Thankfully, that golden sky is now on the horizon for Réti. After the successful transplant, he now works for his former club as an assistant video analysis coach.

During his spare time, he has managed to return to playing the game again. Réti joined Főnix Gold FC last year. The club was founded by Szoboszlai's father, Zsolt and has recently risen through the ranks of amateur football in the country.

Last season, with the club close to gaining promotion to Hungary's third tier (the first semi-professional competition) Réti and his teammates were made a promise by Liverpool's no.8.

Gain promotion and you will be invited to Anfield to watch a game next season.

That was all the incentive Réti and his teammates needed. They won their play off comfortably and have made a promising start to life in Hungary's third tier.

"It was a very kind gesture from him," Réti says. "He told us in the spring that he would do it and he kept his promise."

Szoboszlai's promise came true earlier this month when he invited the whole Főnix Gold FC team to Anfield for the Reds' game against Nottingham Forest.

15.06.2024, Fussball Europameisterschaft, UEFA EURO, EM, Europameisterschaft,Fussball 2024, Ungarn - Schweiz, Gruppe A, Köln Stadion, v.l., Dominik Szoboszlai Ungarn gibt Anweisungen, gestikuliert, mit den Armen gestikulieren gives instructions, gesticulate *** 15 06 2024, European Football Championship, UEFA EURO 2024, Hungary Switzerland, Group A, Cologne Stadium, v l , Dominik Szoboszlai Hungary gives instructions, gesticulates, gesticulate with arms gives instructions, gesticulate Copyright: HMBxMedia

“Not every player of the status of Dominik remembers where they came from. Some players get swept away by the fame and the money but how I know Dominik he has completely managed to keep his feet on the ground," Réti says.

“Of course you need a bit of ego to play for Liverpool, but he has remained a human, and that was brilliant to experience. Even though he wears the no.8 shirt at Liverpool, he is a completely normal guy."

Réti and his teammates not only got to watch Szoboszlai in action at Anfield, they also got to spend a considerable amount of time with the Hungarian captain after the game.

For Réti, there was even a memorable post-match encounter with Trent Alexander-Arnold in the Anfield dugout.

"We were just walking around Anfield after the game waiting for Dominik in the lounge and we walked through the tunnel and walked past the pitch," Réti recalls.

“I saw Trent talking to some people, and I asked him to take a photo, and he said ‘of course.’ He was a great guy.”

It was a dream come true for Réti, who two years ago could never have fathomed how his life would turn around.

"I owe everything to my family," he says. "My parents and my sister, they were there with me the whole time. My brother was my donor. He saved my life."

Their support has helped Réti to dream again. A future move to Liverpool perhaps may now be out of sight, but he hopes to continue playing the game and going as far as he can.

"My life has taken me on a different path, and it has perhaps made me a stronger and better person," he adds.

"I hope to continue to play and maybe get back to the level I was. I have to be careful with my condition, but you never know. I always use Jamie Vardy as an inspiration. He was playing in the sixth tier when he was the same age as me."

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