Tamás Hajnal

Born in Esztergom, Hungary, Hajnal started playing football at the local Zoltek SE in his hometown Nyergesújfalu.

Ferencváros and Dunakanyar Vác FC

At the age of nine, Hajnal joined Ferencváros. He played two matches in the Hungarian National Championship I for Ferencváros. In the same year, he moved to Dunakanyar-Vác FC as part of an exchange deal. He did not play any matches in the Dunakanyar-Vác FC. Next year he headed for the German Bundesliga.

Schalke 04

Dunakanyar-Vác FC made a lot of money by quickly selling him to Schalke 04. He found it hard to make the breakthrough with the Royal Blues, and after a mere seven Bundesliga appearances he moved to Belgium in 2004.

Sint-Truiden

He joined Sint-Truidense V.V. in 2004. In the 2004–05 Belgian First Division season he scored six goals in 29 matches. In the next season he played 20 matches and scored five goals.

1. FC Kaiserslautern

In 2006, Hajnal moved to the Bundesliga to join 1. FC Kaiserslautern. He played 32 matches and scored seven goals in the 2006–07 2. Bundesliga season.

Karlsruher SC

In 2007, Hajnal transferred to Karlsruher SC. He played 32 matches and scored eight goals in the 2007–08 Bundesliga season.

Borussia Dortmund

In July 2008, he moved to Borussia Dortmund for a fixed transfer fee of €1.3 million. His performance in Dortmund's 4–0 win against Frankfurt on 15 November 2008—scoring once and assists for three goals—earned him a place in the…

On 9 October 2004, Hajnal played his first match for Hungary in Solna against Sweden and on 17 October 2007, he scored his first international goal in a friendly match against Poland. The final result was 1–0 to Hungary. Hungary finished a disappointing sixth in their qualifying group for UEFA Euro 2008 and have been out of the running for a place in Austria and Switzerland next year since the beginning of the qualification period. The competition from Greece, Norway and Turkey was simply too strong for Hajnal and his team mates, who nevertheless beat Bosnia-Herzegovina home and away during the campaign. Hajnal scored twice against Montenegro in the Puskás Ferenc Stadium in a friendly match. The final result was 3–3. During the FIFA World Cup 2010 qualifying he scored against Malta in Budapest. The final result was 3–0. This goal was the first goal scored in a qualifier. During the management of Sándor Egervári (2010–present), Hajnal played his first match in the Wembley Stadium against England. Hajnal scored a goal against Azerbaijan on 9 February 2011. Hungary defeated Azerbaijan 2–0 in a friendly match.

Club

Schalke 04

DFB-Ligapokal runner-up: 2001, 2002 Ferencváros

Nemzeti Bajnokság I: 2015–16 Hungarian Cup: 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17 Hungarian League Cup: 2014–15 Szuperkupa: 2015 Individual

Hungarian Footballer of the Year: 2007, 2008 Named in the 2007–08 Bundesliga all-star team (bundesliga.de) Pro Urbe Prize: 2008