A mob of Hungarian Kopites crammed into Budapest's Caledonia pub on Monday night for a get together ahead of our Champions League clash with Debrecen.

Just before the party started we quizzed two of the country's most passionate Reds - Balint Ferke and Ben Frieday - about the only Hungarian ever to represent Liverpool at senior level and the impact young hopefuls like Krisztian Nemeth are having on Red support here.

First of all, talk to us about Istvan Kozma - the only Hungarian ever to play for our first team in a competitive match...
 
Balint: Istvan Kozma was never really considered a 'great' player in Hungary - he was a decent and fairly consistent playmaker. He was a full international and played regularly for a top five Hungarian club before moving to French champions Bordeaux and later he signed by Dunfermline for a club record fee. He has had a few decent seasons in the Scottish league but I think Hungarians were generally surprised by the news that Liverpool signed him in 1992. Simply, I don't think he was up for that level as a football player and he was a bit lightweight for top tier football in England.
 
These days it's all about Krisztian Nemeth, Peter Gulacsi and others - what impact are they having on support here?
 
Ben: We have some younger supporters but most of us have been supporting Liverpool since the Seventies and Eighties. We all know about Liverpool and Spain, and if Nemeth and Gulacsi break into the first team hopefully we can have a similar affinity with the club in Hungary. You can see in places like Israel what Yossi Benayoun has done for our support there. Hopefully it will be the same here.
 
Balint: To be honest, the fact that these players were signed by the Reds did not change the level of support or media attention towards Liverpool dramatically here. It is considered a great career move for them and many people would obviously like to see them getting into the first team as soon as possible. Should Nemeth make it and play regularly for Liverpool I expect more and more Hungarian kids to support the Reds and see much more coverage of Liverpool from the Hungarian mainstream media.
 
What is the level of support currently like?
 
Ben: Liverpool and Manchester United are the two most popular English clubs, though United don't have an official supporters' club here. We have got about 100 members at the moment.
 
How highly do you rate these boys we're plucking from MTK Hungaria?
 
Balint: It's great that these young players are given the chance to develop at a club of Liverpool's stature. The jury is still out on whether they will eventually make it. I believe Nemeth is a tidy little player in the Robbie Fowler mould; clever with the ball and has a great eye for goal. Gulacsi also looks very composed and mature for his age. I haven't seen too much from Andras Simon or Zsolt Poloskei to assess their potential. The Hungarian U20 team have recently won a bronze medal at the World Cup, and football fans in this country are immensely proud of their achievement. It is not very often that a Hungarian club or national team wins anything on international level and everybody is hoping that these players will be the base of a successful Hungarian national squad in a few years.
 
And tell us a little bit about what's happening tonight?
 
Ben: We've got presidents from our supporters' clubs all over Europe coming because we don't often get together. There's people from Greece, Belgium, Holland, France and many other places.
 
Balint: We are working hard to make this an enjoyable trip for the travelling supporters. We have been in touch with many Reds across the globe trying to help them with tips on travel, accommodation etc. We want to be good hosts and will welcome all fans who visit our country to support the team with open arms.