Hungary's 'absolute unit' plays for Korea’s top club. Who is Martin Adam?

Fans over the weekend dubbed Martin Adam an “absolute unit,” with posters comparing him to an actor in a Viking movie or a bouncer at a nightclub among other troupes that went viral online. He's also one of the best goal scorers in Korea.

Hungary forward Martin Adam reacts after losing their Euros opener against Switzerland 3-1 at the Cologne Stadium in Cologne, Germany on Saturday. [AFP/YONHAP]

A weekend of action at the Euros predictably drummed up a rush of viral social media moments, including plenty of attention for the large bearded man who came on as a substitute for Hungary in their 3-1 loss against Switzerland on Saturday — Martin Adam of K League 1 side Ulsan HD.

Fans over the weekend dubbed Adam, whom multiple football statistics sites have down as 191 centimeters (6 feet 3 inches) tall and at about 86 kilograms (190 pounds), an “absolute unit,” with posters comparing him to an actor in a Viking movie or a bouncer at a nightclub among other troupes that went viral online.

A cadre of social media users appeared to poke fun at Adam for being “overweight” and looking more like a rugby player than a footballer.

Switzerland defender Leonidas Stergiou, left, fights for the ball with Hungary forward Martin Adam during their Euros group stage match in Cologne, Germany on June 15. [AFP/YONHAP]

"The posts? Of course one or two get to me, I usually have a laugh about it,” Adam said in an interview with Hungarian outlet M4 Sport, translated by English-language platform EuroFoot. "I was born this way, I have this body shape, I'm not saying that I was this big when I was born, but I have a basic, physique, genetics, I can't change that."

While the seemingly obscure Hungary sub went viral for his build, Korean football fans were quick to point out that the 29-year-old forward is actually a familiar face in Korea — as a regular starter and top goal scorer for the highest-ranked club in the top-tier K League 1.

What has he done in Korea and where did he come from?

Two championships in two years in Ulsan

Adam joined K League 1 side Ulsan HD, formerly known as Ulsan Hyundai, in the middle of the 2022 season — which the club would end as champions. He has yet to play a season in Korea without winning a title, as Ulsan lifted the league trophy again in 2023.

Ulsan HD's Seol Young-woo, right, celebrates with striker Martin Adam after an AFC Champions League match against Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors on March 12. [NEWS1]

The club paid a $1.2 million transfer fee to bring Adam over to Ulsan from the top-tier Hungarian league’s Paksi FC in July 2022. It remains the most the club has spent on a foreign player since the K League established its current two-tier format in 2013.

Adam made his Ulsan debut in August 2022, starting as a center forward and clocking 52 minutes on the pitch in a 1-1 draw with FC Seoul.

But it didn’t take long for Adam to get on the scoresheet. The very next time he set foot on the field, he came away with a goal and an assist — lifting Ulsan to a 4-0 win over Daegu FC. And he scored both goals in Ulsan’s 2-1 win over Gimcheon Sangmu the game after that.

Ulsan HD striker Martin Adam, center, cheers after scoring the winning goal in a 2-1 match against Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors on Oct. 8, 2022. [K LEAGUE]

Ulsan won the 2022 K League 1 title in their penultimate match of the season, with Adam scoring a goal and notching an assist for Ulsan to beat Gangwon FC 2-1 in just 23 minutes to seal the deal, coming on as a sub in the middle of the second half.

He ended the 2022 K League campaign with nine goals and four assists over 15 appearances across all competitions.

There was a bit of a struggle for space in Ulsan manager Hong Myung-bo’s starting XI with the return of Joo Min-kyu, who also plays as a center forward, from Jeju United in 2023.

But Adam still managed to end the 2023 K League season with seven goals and four assists, despite starting half of his games as a sub.

He’s scored three goals and recorded one assist over 10 appearances in the 2024 K League 1 season, which began in March.

AFC Champions League hat-trick

One of Adam’s most memorable moments during his time in Korea came last September, when he became the first player to score a hat-trick in the 2023-24 AFC Champions League, now renamed the AFC Champions League Elite, in a 3-1 win over Singaporean club BG Pathum United in their first game of the group stage.

He scored a brace in Ulsan’s final group stage game to draw 2-2 with J1 League side Kawasaki Frontale and played a total of 456 minutes in their 2023-24 run, which ended in the semifinals.

Goal rush in Hungary

In his final season in the NB I, Adam scored 31 goals and recorded four assists for Paksi. There were only seven games in which Adam did not make a contribution of some kind to the scoresheet.

Adam made his professional football debut in Hungary with NB II side Vasas FC, where he came up as a youth player, in the 2012-13 season. He spent the next decade moving between the first and second divisions with a handful of Hungarian clubs before moving to Ulsan in 2022.

He earned his first cap for the senior Hungarian national team in 2022 and has scored three goals over 23 appearances, in qualifying matches for the UEFA Nations League and the team's Euro 2024 run.

Hungary next play Germany at the Euros on Wednesday, and Ulsan meet K League 2 side Gyeongnam FC in a Korea Cup match the same day.

BY MARY YANG [mary.yang@joongang.co.kr]