Tomorrow, on July 23, Pyunik will compete against Hungary's Debrecen in the second qualifying round of the 2026/27 UEFA Conference League. The first leg of the tie will be played in Hungary, while the return match will take place on July 30 at the Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium in Yerevan.

The club was founded in 1902 and represents the city of Debrecen, which is the second-largest city in Hungary after the capital, Budapest.

The full name of the team is Debreceni Vasutas Sport Club (Hungarian for "Debrecen Railway Sport Club"), which explains the figure in the centre of the club's logo.

Debrecen play their home matches at the Nagyerdei Stadion, which has a capacity of 20,340. The stadium opened in 2014.

Debrecen is a 7-time Champion of Hungary (2004/05, 2005/06, 2006/07, 2008/09, 2009/10, 2011/12, 2013/14), a 6-time Cup winner (1998/99, 2000/01, 2007/08, 2009/10, 2011/12, 2012/13), and a 5-time Supercup winner (2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010). The team has also won the Hungarian League Cup once (2009/10).

By this indicator, the team has become the second most successful club in Hungary since 2000, trailing only the flagship of Hungarian football, Ferencváros.

Since June of this year, the team has been led by 50-year-old Estonian specialist Gert Remmel, who previously worked on the coaching staff of the Polish club Motor Lublin. Remmel replaced Spaniard Sergio Navarro as Debrecen's head coach.

The captain and most experienced player of Debrecen is the legend of Hungarian football, 39-year-old midfielder Balázs Dzsudzsák. He has played 109 matches for the Hungary national team and is considered the all-time appearance record holder for the national side. As part of his country's national team, Dzsudzsák participated in EURO 2016, serving as the team captain during the tournament.

In June of this year, Balázs Dzsudzsák extended his contract with Debrecen for another year, until 2027.

Following the conclusion of last season, two leading players left the team: Hungary national team midfielder Tamás Szűcs and forward Donát Bárány, who moved to the Portuguese club Famalicão and the Dutch side Den Haag, respectively.

In contrast, Debrecen's squad was bolstered by Bulgarian goalkeeper Plamen Andreev (Feyenoord, Rotterdam), Israeli left-back Rotem Keller (Maccabi, Netanya), Bosnian defensive midfielder Blaž Bošković (Lokomotiva, Zagreb), 31-year-old Spanish midfielder and Barcelona academy graduate Sergi Samper (Motor, Lublin), and 22-year-old French forward Sohan Baldoni, who transferred from the French third-division side Concarneau.

Debrecen has significant experience competing in European tournaments. In the 2009/10 season, Debrecen reached the group stage of the UEFA Champions League, where they played against England's Liverpool, France's Lyon, and Italy's Fiorentina. This stands as the club's best result in European competitions.

In the 2010/11 season, the 'Railwaymen' also featured in the group stage of the UEFA Europa League, competing against Ukrainian side Metalist, Italian club Sampdoria, and Dutch PSV Eindhoven.

Notably, in the second qualifying round of the 2023/24 UEFA Conference League, Debrecen faced Alashkert Yerevan (1:0, 1:2) and managed to overcome the Armenian team's hurdle only via a penalty shootout.

Last season, Debrecen finished 4th in the Hungarian league and, after a three-year absence, secured a spot in European competitions once again.

In preparation for the new season, Debrecen held a 12-day training camp in Bad Loipersdorf, Austria, during which they played 3 friendly matches. The Hungarian side drew 1:1 with Austria Vienna, then lost 1:3 to Serbian side Železničar, and concluded the training camp with a 2:1 victory over Croatian club Slaven Belupo.

It is worth noting that Debrecen will be the third Hungarian club Pyunik faces in European competitions. In the qualifying round of the distant 1997/98 Champions League campaign, our team lost both matches (0:2, 3:4) to MTK Budapest, while in the previous edition of the Conference League, another Hungarian club, Győr, stood in Pyunik's way (2:1, 1:3).