The

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

tournament at the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

was won by

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

. The games signalled the arrival (to Western Europeans at least) of the

Hungarian national football team The Hungary national football team ( hu, magyar labdarúgó-válogatott) represents Hungary in men's international football and is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation. The team has made 9 appearances in the FIFA World Cup and 4 appe ...

– the "Magical Magyars". Ferenc Puskás later said of the 1952 competition: "It was during the Olympics that our football first started to flow with real power." It was during the Games that

Stanley Rous Sir Stanley Ford Rous (25 April 1895 – 18 July 1986) was an English football referee and the 6th President of FIFA, serving from 1961 to 1974. He also served as secretary of the Football Association from 1934 to 1962 and was an international ...

English Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world an ...

invited the Hungarians to play a friendly at Wembley the following year.

Venues

Squads

Final tournament

Preliminary round

The preliminary round saw Hungary record a narrow victory against Romania, whilst there was an 8–0 victory for Italy against the United States, and a 5–1 victory for Brazil against The Netherlands. Great Britain succumbed to Luxembourg 5–3, whilst Egypt defeated Chile 5–4. Yugoslavia were drawn against the Indians and won 10–1.

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First round

The first round saw Scandinavian countries join the competition; the hosts Finland were beaten 3–4 by Austria, whilst Sweden defeated neighbours Norway 4–1. The game of the round was between Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union; Yugoslavia had been 5–1 ahead with 30 minutes of the match to go, only for the Soviet captain Bobrov to score a hat-trick and inspire his team to an eventual 5–5 draw. A replay resulted in a 3–1 victory for Yugoslavia; the Soviet side had been expected by Moscow to win the 1952 Games, and their defeat by Yugoslavia was not mentioned in the Soviet press until after Stalin's death the following year.

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Quarterfinals

Sweden defeated Austria to ensure a Scandinavian presence in the semifinals. Germany surprisingly beat Brazil 4–2 after extra time, whilst Yugoslavia won comfortably in a 5–3 defeat of Denmark. Hungary demolished Turkey 7–1 to complete the four semifinalists.

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Semifinals

In the first semifinal, Hungary saw off Sweden with a comprehensive 6–0 victory, whilst Yugoslavia beat Germany 3–1 to set up a Hungary-Yugoslavia final.

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Bronze Medal match

There was some consolation for the Scandinavian countries as Sweden defeated Germany 2–0 in the third place play-off to secure the bronze medal.

Gold Medal match

Two goals from Puskás and

Zoltán Czibor Zoltán Czibor (23 August 1929 – 1 September 1997) was a Hungarian footballer who played for several Hungarian clubs, including Ferencváros and Budapest Honvéd, and the Hungary national team before joining CF Barcelona. Czibor played as ...

saw Hungary beat Yugoslavia and take the gold medal.

Bracket

Medalists

Goalscorers

;7 goals *

Branko Zebec Branislav "Branko" Zebec (17 May 1929 – 26 September 1988) was a Croatian footballer and manager who played for Yugoslavia. In his heyday, Zebec fascinated the world with his performances at the World Cups in 1954 and 1958. With Partizan ...

(Yugoslavia) ;6 goals *

Sándor Kocsis Sándor Péter Kocsis (; ; 21 September 1929 – 22 July 1979) was a Hungarian footballer who played for Ferencváros TC, Budapest Honvéd, Young Fellows Zürich, FC Barcelona and Hungary as a striker. During the 1950s, along with Ferenc Pu ...

(Hungary) *

Rajko Mitić Rajko Mitić ( sr-Cyrl, Рајко Митић, ; 19 November 1922 – 29 March 2008) was a Serbian footballer, coach, executive and journalist. Mitić is considered one of the most important players in the history of Red Star Belgrade as he is th ...

(Yugoslavia) ;5 goals *

Vsevolod Bobrov Vsevolod Mikhailovich Bobrov ( rus, Все́волод Миха́йлович Бобро́в, p=ˈfsʲevələd bɐˈbrof; 1 December 1922 – 1 July 1979) was a Soviet athlete, who excelled in football, bandy and ice hockey. He is consider ...

(Soviet Union) ;4 goals *

Larry Larry is a masculine given name in English, derived from Lawrence or Laurence. It can be a shortened form of those names. Larry may refer to the following: People Arts and entertainment * Larry D. Alexander, American artist/writer *Larry Boone ...

(Brazil) * El-Sayed El-Dhizui (Egypt) *

Willi Schröder Willi Schröder (28 December 1928 – 20 October 1999) was a German association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. Club career Schröder was a member of the 1961 SV Werder Bremen, Werder Bremen DFB-P ...

(Germany) *

Péter Palotás Péter Palotás (27 June 1929 – 17 May 1967), born as Péter Poteleczky, was a Hungarian footballer who played as a forward for MTK Budapest FC and Hungary. During the 1950s he was a fringe member of the team known as the ''Mighty Magyars'' ...

(Hungary) * Ferenc Puskás (Hungary) *

Tihomir Ognjanov Tihomir "Bata" Ognjanov ( Serbian Cyrillic: Тихомир Огњанов; 2 March 1927 – 2 July 2006) was a Serbian footballer who was part of Yugoslavia national football team at the 1950 and 1954 FIFA World Cup. He won the silver medal at ...

(Yugoslavia) ;3 goals * Aredio Gimona (Italy) *

Joseph Roller Joseph "Jos" Roller (21 August 1929 – 4 January 1998) was a Luxembourgian footballer. He competed in the men's tournament at the 1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen ...

(Luxembourg) *

Yngve Brodd Rolf Yngve Brodd (9 June 1930 – 23 September 2016) was a Swedish professional footballer who played as a striker. He began his career with Fritsla IF and then went on to represent Örebro SK, Toulouse, and Sochaux before retiring at ...

(Sweden) * Ingvar Rydell (Sweden) * Stjepan Bobek (Yugoslavia) *

Zlatko Čajkovski Zlatko "Čik" Čajkovski (24 November 1923 – 27 July 1998) was a Croatian and Yugoslavian football player and coach. His brother, Željko Čajkovski, was a footballer as well. Normally a defensive midfielder, Čajkovski was renowned for hi ...

(Yugoslavia) *

Bernard Vukas Bernard "Bajdo" Vukas (1 May 1927 – 4 April 1983) was a Croatian football player during Yugoslavia. Biography Vukas played as a left winger/ forward and is mostly remembered for his extraordinary dribbling ability. In 2000, he was voted by t ...

(Yugoslavia) ;2 goals * Otto Gollnhuber (Austria) * Herbert Grohs (Austria) *

Humberto Tozzi Humberto Barbosa Tozzi (4 February 1934 – 17 April 1980) was a Brazilian international footballer who played for São Cristóvão, Palmeiras, Lazio and Fluminense. Tozzi represented Brazil at the 1952 Summer Olympics and the 1954 FIFA World C ...

(Brazil) * Irenio Jara (Chile) * Julio Vial (Chile) * Poul Erik Petersen (Denmark) *

Holger Seebach Holger Seebach (17 March 1922 – 30 August 2011) was a Denmark, Danish amateur Association football, footballer, who scored 9 goals in 17 games for the Denmark national football team, won a bronze medal at the 1948 Summer Olympics and competed ...

(Denmark) * Olof Stolpe (Finland) *

Karl Klug Karl Klug (born March 31, 1988) is a former American football defensive end who played his entire seven-year professional career with the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League. He played college football at Iowa. College career Duri ...

(Germany) *

(Hungary) * Egisto Pandolfini (Italy) *

Julien Gales Jules Gales (13 July 1924 – 26 May 1988) was a Luxembourgian footballer. He competed at the 1948 Summer Olympics and the 1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), of ...

(Luxembourg) *

Vasili Trofimov Vasili Dmitriyevich Trofimov (russian: Василий Дмитриевич Трофимов; born 7 January 1919; died 22 September 1999) was a Soviet football player. Playing career The USSR champion in three sports: football (1940, 1945, 1949 ...

(Soviet Union) ;1 goal * Erich Stumpf (Austria) * Jansen (Brazil) *

Vavá Edvaldo Izidio Neto (12 November 1934 – 19 January 2002), commonly known as Vavá, was a Brazilian footballer who is widely considered one of the best strikers of his generation. His nickname was "Peito de Aço" (Steel Chest). He played as a ...

(Brazil) *

Zózimo Zózimo Alves Calazaes, best known as Zózimo (19 June 1932 – 21 July 1977) was a Brazilian footballer whose career as a defender and midfielder lasted from 1948 to 1967. Born in Plataforma, a bairro of Salvador, the capital of Bahia, Zó ...

(Brazil) *

Ivan Petkov Kolev Ivan Petkov Kolev ( bg, Иван Петков Колев) (Plovdiv 1 November 1930 – 1 July 2005) was a Bulgarian football player and coach. He represented Bulgaria at both the 1962 FIFA World Cup and the 1966 FIFA World Cup, He also pla ...

(Bulgaria) * Jens Peter Hansen (Denmark) *

Knud Lundberg Knud Lundberg (14 May 1920 – 12 August 2002) was a Danish multi-talented sportsperson, who most notably won a bronze medal with the Denmark national football team at the 1948 Summer Olympics. He represented the Danish national team in footb ...

(Denmark) * Svend Nielsen (Denmark) * Khamal Ahmed Elfar (Egypt) * Mechaury (Egypt) *

Aulis Rytkönen Taavi Aulis Rytkönen (5 January 1929 – 16 April 2014) was a Finnish footballer. He became the country's first professional player when he signed for France's Toulouse FC in 1952. In total Rytkönen spent eight seasons (1952–1960) in Fr ...

(Finland) *

Michel Leblond Michel Leblond (10 May 1932 – 17 December 2009) was a French football midfielder who was a member of the French squad at FIFA World Cup 1954 and a main player of great Stade de Reims in the 1950s. He also holds the honour of being the first ...

(France) * Georg Stollenwerk (Germany) * Johann Zeitler (Germany) * Jim Lewis (Great Britain) *

George Robb George Robb (1 June 1926 – 25 December 2011) was a footballer who played outside left for Tottenham Hotspur and England. Robb represented Great Britain at the 1952 Olympic Games. He also had a career as a schoolteacher. He died on Christmas D ...

(Great Britain) * Bill Slater (Great Britain) *

Pavlos Emmanouilidis Pavlos "Lakis" Emmanouilidis ( el, Παύλος "Λάκης" Εμμανουηλίδης; born 1929) is a Greeks, Greek former professional Association football, footballer who played as Forward (association football), forward, mostly for AEK Ath ...

(Greece) *

József Bozsik József Bozsik (; 28 November 1925 – 31 May 1978) was a Hungarian footballer who played as a central midfielder. He spent his entire club career at his hometown club, Budapest Honvéd. Bozsik was a key member of the legendary Golden Team as ...

(Hungary) *

Nándor Hidegkuti Nándor Hidegkuti (3 March 1922 – 14 February 2002) was a Hungarian football player and manager. He played as a forward or attacking midfielder and spent the majority of his playing career at MTK Hungária FC. During the 1950s he was also ...

(Hungary) *

Mihály Lantos Mihály Lantos (born ''Mihály Lendenmayer'', 29 September 1928 – 31 December 1989) was a Hungarian football player and manager. He played as a defender, spending the majority of his career at MTK Hungária FC. During the 1950s he was als ...

(Hungary) * Ahmed Mohammed Khan (India) * Alberto Fontanesi (Italy) * Amos Mariani (Italy) *

Arcadio Venturi Arcadio Venturi (; born 18 May 1929) is a retired Italian professional footballer who played as a midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up ...

(Italy) * Léon Letsch (Luxembourg) * Joannes van Roesell (Netherlands) * Jan Briezen (Netherlands Antilles) *

Odd Wang Sørensen Odd Wang Sørensen (22 December 1922 – 10 April 2004) was a Norwegian international footballer. On club level Sørensen played for Sarpsborg team Sparta, where he won the Norwegian cup in 1952. He played with the Norwegian national team at the S ...

(Norway) *

Jerzy Krasówka Jerzy Wilibald Krasówka (17 August 1924 – 11 April 2001) was a Polish footballer who competed in the 1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the G ...

(Poland) *

Kazimierz Trampisz Kazimierz Trampisz (10 January 1929 – 12 August 2014) was a Polish footballer ( striker) played most of the time in Polonia Bytom during golden era of this club. Trampisz played 10 times in Poland national football team scoring three goals. He ...

(Poland) *

Ion Suru Ion Suru (20 October 1927 – 1979) was a Romanian footballer. He competed in the men's tournament at the 1952 Summer Olympics. Honours ;Dinamo București *Liga I The Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1, is a Romanian ...

(Romania) * Aleksandr Petrov (Soviet Union) * Sylve Bengtsson (Sweden) *

Gösta Löfgren Karl Gösta Herbert "Lövet" Löfgren (29 August 1923 – 5 September 2006) was a Swedish association football player who won a bronze medal at the 1952 Summer Olympics and a silver medal at the 1958 FIFA World Cup. Between 1951 and 1961, he p ...

(Sweden) *

Gösta Sandberg Gösta "Knivsta" Sandberg (6 August 1932 – 27 April 2006) was a Swedish football, ice hockey, and bandy player who is best remembered for representing Djurgårdens IF. He was capped 52 times for the national team in football, eight times ...

(Sweden) * Tekin Bilge (Turkey) * Ercument Guder (Turkey) * Muzaffer Tokaç (Turkey) ;Own goal * Gösta Lindh (Sweden, against Hungary)

Soviet Union vs Yugoslavia

The first meeting between the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

and

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

is still the most famous one. On the political level, the Soviet leader

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...

and the Yugoslav leader

Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito (; sh-Cyrl, Тито, links=no, ), was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman, serving in various positions from 1943 until his deat ...

split in 1948, which resulted in

being excluded from the

Communist Information Bureau The Information Bureau of the Communist and Workers' Parties (), commonly known as Cominform (), was a co-ordination body of Marxist-Leninist communist parties in Europe during the early Cold War that was formed in part as a replacement of the ...

. The origin of the conflict was Tito's refusal to submit to Stalin's interpretations and visions of politics and in process becoming a Soviet

satellite state A satellite state or dependent state is a country that is formally independent in the world, but under heavy political, economic, and military influence or control from another country. The term was coined by analogy to planetary objects orbitin ...

. Before the match, both Tito and Stalin sent telegrams to their national teams, which showed just how important it was for the two head of states. Yugoslavia led 5–1, but a Soviet comeback in the last 15 minutes resulted in a 5–5 draw. The match was replayed, Yugoslavia winning 3–1. The defeat to the archrivals hit Soviet football hard, and after just three games played in the season, CDKA Moscow, who had made up most of the USSR squad, was forced to withdraw from the

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

and later disbanded. Furthermore,

Boris Arkadiev Boris Andreyevich Arkadyev (russian: Бори́с Андре́евич Арка́дьев; 21 September 1899 – 17 October 1986) was a Russian footballer and a coach. He became the first coach of the Soviet Union national football team. Merited ...

, who coached both USSR and CDKA, was stripped of his Merited Master of Sports of the USSR title.

References

External links

Olympic Football Tournament Helsinki 1952
FIFA.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Football At The 1952 Summer Olympics 1952 1952 Summer Olympics events 1952 in association football 1952 1952 in Finnish football