Gyula Lóránt (born Gyula Lipovics, 6 February 1923 – 31 May 1981) was a Hungarian
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
and
manager
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includes the activities o ...
of
Croatian descent. He played as a
defender and
midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
for, among others,
UTA Arad
Uta or UTA may refer to:
Universities
*University of Texas at Arlington, in the United States
* University of Tarapacá, in Chile
*University of Tampere, in Finland
Sports
* FC UTA Arad, a Romanian football club based in the town of Arad
* A ...
,
Vasas SC Vasas may refer to:
*Vasas SC, Hungarian sports club
*Győri Vasas, former name of Hungarian sports club Győri ETO (1950-65)
*Mihály Vasas (born 1933), Hungarian footballer and manager
*Zoltán Vasas
Zoltán Vasas (born 5 November 1977) is a ...
,
Honvéd and
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 ...
.
During the 1950s, he was a prominent member of the legendary Hungarian national team known as the
''Mighty Magyars'', which also included
Ferenc Puskás
Ferenc Puskás (, ; born Ferenc Purczeld; 1 April 1927 – 17 November 2006) was a Hungarian football player and manager, widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and the sport's first international superstar. A forward, ...
,
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 a ...
,
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 Pus ...
,
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 h ...
and
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 a ...
.
After retiring as a player, Lóránt became a coach, most notably with
Honvéd,
FC Bayern Munich
Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which play ...
and
PAOK Thessaloniki FC. While at PAOK, he guided them to a
Greek Championship
The Super League Greece 1 ( el, Ελληνική Σούπερ Λιγκ 1), or Super League 1, is the highest professional association football league in Greece. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and replaced ''Alpha Ethniki'' at the top of ...
title in 1976. On 31 May 1981, while still working as coach, he suffered a
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
, watching PAOK play
Olympiacos CFP
Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...
and died at the game, aged 58.
Early life
The son of a policeman, who fought as a volunteer in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
on the German side, Lóránt turned professional footballer at the age of 16; in parallel, he then also studied
economics
Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...
at university in the 1950s.
Gyula Lóránt began his career as a youth with his hometown club, Kõszeg SE, after encouragement from a local trainer. He then played for
Nagyváradi AC
Club Atletic Oradea (Nagyváradi Atlétikai Club) (), commonly known as CA Oradea (Nagyváradi AC), or simply as CAO (NAC), is a Romanian football club based in Oradea, Bihor County, which competes in the Liga IV.
The team was founded as ''Nagy ...
and
UT Arad
Asociația Fotbal Club UTA Arad (), commonly known as UTA Arad or simply UTA, is a Romanian professional football club based in the city of Arad, Arad County, which competes in the Liga I. The UTA acronym stands for ''Uzina Textilă Arad'' ("Text ...
in Romania. It was while at
Vasas SC Vasas may refer to:
*Vasas SC, Hungarian sports club
*Győri Vasas, former name of Hungarian sports club Győri ETO (1950-65)
*Mihály Vasas (born 1933), Hungarian footballer and manager
*Zoltán Vasas
Zoltán Vasas (born 5 November 1977) is a ...
, where his teammates included
Ladislao Kubala
Ladislao is a given name, a Hispanic variant of Vladislav. Notable people with the name include:
* Ladislao Cabrera, Bolivian hero during the War of the Pacific
* Ladislao Diwa, Filipino patriot
* Ladislao Martínez, Puerto Rico musician
* Lászl ...
, that his career prospered. However, in January 1949, as Hungary became a
communist state
A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Comint ...
, Kubala fled the country in the back of a truck and formed his own team ''Hungaria'' to play exhibition friendlies. The team was made up of fellow refugees fleeing Eastern Europe. Lóránt also attempted to escape and follow Kubala, but was captured and ended up in a detention camp.
Hungarian international
Lóránt was released from detention after the intervention of
Gusztáv Sebes
Gusztáv Sebes (born Gusztáv Scharenpeck; 22 January 1906 – 30 January 1986) was a Hungarian footballer and coach. With the title of Deputy Minister of Sport, he coached the Hungarian team known as the ''Mighty Magyars'' in the 1950s. A ...
, the
national team
A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport.
The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exam ...
coach, who regarded him as pivotal to his plans. Lóránt then made his debut for
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 ...
on 19 October 1949 in an away game against
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
. Sebes personally guaranteed the country's Interior Minister and future Prime Minister,
János Kádár
János József Kádár (; ; 26 May 1912 – 6 July 1989), born János József Czermanik, was a Hungarian communist leader and the General Secretary of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party, a position he held for 32 years. Declining health le ...
, that Lóránt would not abscond while in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
. Kádár agreed and Lóránt responded with a superb performance as Hungary won 4–3. He subsequently joined
Honvéd where together with six of his fellow internationals, he helped the team win three
Hungarian League Hungarian may refer to:
* Hungary, a country in Central Europe
* Kingdom of Hungary, state of Hungary, existing between 1000 and 1946
* Hungarians, ethnic groups in Hungary
* Hungarian algorithm, a polynomial time algorithm for solving the assignme ...
titles. As one of the legendary
''Mighty Magyars'', he helped
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 ...
become
Olympic Champions in 1952,
Central European Champions in 1953, defeat
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
twice and reach the
1954 World Cup final.
Death
Lóránt died on 31 May 1981, while working as a trainer of PAOK, during a game against Olympiacos CFP. He suffered a heart attack in the 16th minute of the match after PAOK's
Giorgos Koudas
Giorgos Koudas ( el, Γιώργος Κούδας; born 23 November 1946) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He spent his entire career in PAOK. Due to his fierce competitiveness and his Macedonian ...
headed a cross into the side of the net from close range. He was tried to be resuscitated on the spot and then moved to the club doctor's room but died before the ambulance arrived. PAOK players were told in the break that he had to be transported to the hospital and his death was revealed only after the game. PAOK eventually won the match 1–0 with the goal of the substitute
Vassilis Vasilakos who sat next to Lóránt on the bench when he collapsed. The autopsy revealed that he had at least two more previous heart attacks, the second one at longest one week before his death.
Lóránt was buried in
Endingen, Germany, but in 2011 at the request of his widow, his ashes were transported to Hungary and reburied in his birth town, Kőszeg.
Player
Hungary
*
Olympic Champions: 1952
*
Central European Champions: 1953
*
World Cup
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
runner-up: 1954
Nagyváradi AC
*
Hungarian Champions: 1944
UTA Arad
*
Romanian Champions: 1947
Honvéd
*
Hungarian Champions: 1952, 1954, 1955
Manager
PAOK Thessaloniki FC
*
Greek Champions: 1976
References
External links
Bio at www.uefa.comHungary StatsGyula LórántGreek
*
Sources
* ''Behind The Curtain – Travels in Eastern European Football'': Jonathan Wilson (2006
Gyula Lóránt at eintracht-archiv.de
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lorant, Gyula
1923 births
1981 deaths
20th-century Hungarian people
Hungarian footballers
Hungary international footballers
Hungarian football managers
Hungarian people of Croatian descent
Footballers at the 1952 Summer Olympics
Olympic footballers of Hungary
Olympic gold medalists for Hungary
1954 FIFA World Cup players
CA Oradea players
Vasas SC players
Budapest Honvéd FC players
FC UTA Arad players
Budapest Honvéd FC managers
Debreceni VSC managers
1. FC Kaiserslautern managers
Eintracht Frankfurt managers
PAOK FC managers
FC Schalke 04 managers
FC Bayern Munich managers
Expatriate football managers in Germany
Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in Germany
Expatriate football managers in Greece
Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in Greece
Expatriate footballers in Romania
Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in Romania
Liga I players
1. FC Köln managers
MSV Duisburg managers
Bundesliga managers
People from Kőszeg
Olympic medalists in football
Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics
Association football defenders
Association football midfielders
Freiburger FC managers
Sportspeople from Vas County