For the 2014-15 MOL League season HSC Csíkszereda is going with a young squad, two players that are holdovers from last season are Otto Biró and Tamás Biró are joined this season by two more Birós in Mátyás and Gergő.
This is not by coincidence as they are members of the Biró family whose history is intertwined with Csíkszereda hockey. All four of them were born in Csíkszereda and and started their careers there, the two younger one Mátyás and Gergő are twins born on May 17th, 1994 but at the age of sixteen left SC Csíkszereda to ply their trade in Slovakia with HC Nitra in the Slovak U18 league. This past offseason after representing Romania at both the U18 and U20 levels at multiply tournaments decided to go back home to play for HSC Csíkszereda.
Gergő and Mátyás’ older brother is Otto Bíró, born in 1988 and has been playing for one of the Csíkszereda clubs for his entire career, he grew up under the tutelage of Tamás Györgypál, like his brothers also represented Romania at the youth and senior international levels. He was a member of the HC Csíkszereda team that won the first MOL League title in 2009 before the two clubs HC and SC merged.
Born in 1991, Tamás is the cousin of the three brothers and makes him the fourth Bíró on the team Csíkszereda squad and came up through the same home town youth system as his cousins and like them he also represented Romania at the U18 and U20 levels.
The connection between the Bíró family and Csíkszereda hockey does not end with the current team, Otto, Gergő and Mátyás’ father Otto Sr. was also a hockey player. Otto Sr. was a youth international goalie, he started his career in Csíkszereda, later he played in Sepsiszentgyörgy for nearly a decade, later he played for Rapid Bucharest and finished his career up with SC Csíkszereda where he goaltending mate was András Láday who is currently coaching in Székesfehérvár. Besides this the family also owns the Öt Kutya (Five Dogs) restaurant next to the Lajos Vákár Arena which is a staple of the social life around the arena both for fans and players.
photo: facebook