Gábor Csapó

Gábor Csapó was initially fascinated by tennis and soccer, but he soon ended up in the pool, first as a swimmer and then as a water polo player. From 1959-72 he played for Újpesti Dózsa and after one season moved to Szeged, where he began studies at the University of Law. Starting in 1975, then with Vasas, he won nine consecutive national championships, two European titles (1979, 1984), and two Hungarian Cups (1981, 1983). In the mid-80s, Csapó signed a contract in Italy, where he first worked as a player and then as a coach for Syracuse Palermo. He returned to Hungary in the 1990s, coaching Vasas, UTE, and Ferencváros.

Csapó joined the national water polo team in 1970 but was not nominated for the München Olympics. A year later, the first World Championship was held in Beograd, where the Hungarian national team, with Csapó, won its first international competition in nine years. In 1974, he and Hungary finished first at the European Championships in Wien (Vienna), adding a silver at the 1975 World Championship. He continued to help Hungary as they won the 1976 Olympic gold medal, the 1977 European Championship, and the 1979 World Cup. He also added a silver medal at the 1978 World Cup, and an Olympic bronze at Moskva in 1980. Csapó earned 272 international caps with the Hungarian water polo team.

Csapó graduated from the University of Law in 1977 and, after his active sports career, practiced as a corporate lawyer. In the 1990s together with his former teammate, Tamas Faragó, he founded a waterpolo school, where later champions such as the brothers Dániel and Dénes Varga started their careers.