Nándor Hidegkuti (3 March 1922 – 14 February 2002) was a Hungarian football player and manager. He played as a
forward
Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward.
Forward may also refer to:
People
* Forward (surname)
Sports
* Forward (association football)
* Forward (basketball), including:
** Point forward
** Power forward (basketball)
** Sm ...
or
attacking midfielder
A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, 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 #Cent ...
and spent the majority of his playing career at
MTK Hungária FC
Magyar Testgyakorlók Köre Budapest Futball Club or shortly MTK is a Hungarian football club based in Józsefváros, Budapest. The team currently plays in the Nemzeti Bajnokság II. The club's colours are blue and white. As one of the most suc ...
. During the 1950s he was also a key member of the
Hungarian National Team team known as the
Golden Team
The Golden Team ( hu, Aranycsapat; also known as the Mighty Magyars, the Magical Magyars, the Magnificent Magyars, the Marvellous Magyars, or the Light Cavalry) refers to the Hungary national football team of the 1950s. It is associated with seve ...
. Other members of the team included
Ferenc Puskás,
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 ...
,
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 ...
and
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 ...
. In 1953, playing as a ''
deep lying centre-forward
Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...
'', a position which has retroactively been compared to the modern ''
false 9
Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...
'' role, he scored a
hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three.
Origin
The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...
for Hungary when they beat
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 ...
6–3 at
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
. Playing from deep, Hidegkuti was able to distribute the ball to the other attackers and cause considerable confusion to defences. This was an innovation at the time and revolutionised the way the game was played.
Hidegkuti died on 14 February 2002 after suffering from heart and lung problems for some time before his death.
MTK Hungária FC
Magyar Testgyakorlók Köre Budapest Futball Club or shortly MTK is a Hungarian football club based in Józsefváros, Budapest. The team currently plays in the Nemzeti Bajnokság II. The club's colours are blue and white. As one of the most suc ...
renamed their stadium,
Hidegkuti Nándor Stadium in his honour.
Club career
Hidegkuti started his career in
Elektromos FC
Elektromos Futball Club was a Hungarian football club from the town of Budapest.
History
Elektromos FC debuted in the 1936–37 season of the Hungarian League Hungarian may refer to:
* Hungary, a country in Central Europe
* Kingdom of Hungar ...
and
Herminamezei AC.
MTK Budapest
Hidegkuti began playing for MTK in 1947. In 1949 when 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 ...
, MTK were taken over by the secret police, the
ÁVH and subsequently the club changed their name several times. Initially they became ''Textiles SE'', then ''Bástya SE'', then ''Vörös Lobogó SE'' and then finally back to MTK. Despite this turmoil, the 1950s proved a successful era for club and it was while at MTK that Hidegkuti, together with
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'' ...
and coach
Márton Bukovi
Márton Bukovi (10 December 1903 – 2 February 1985) was a Hungarian association football player and manager. After playing for Ferencvárosi TC, FC Sète and Hungary he became a coach, most notably with Građanski Zagreb, MTK Hungária, O ...
, pioneered the
deep lying centre-forward position. With a team that also included
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 ...
and
József Zakariás, MTK and Hidegkuti won 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 assignm ...
titles, a
Hungarian Cup
The Hungarian Cup ( hu, Magyar Kupa) is the Hungarian cup competition for football clubs. It was started by the Hungarian Football Association, the ''Magyar Labdarúgó Szövetség,'' in 1909, eight years after the commencement of the Hungarian ...
and a
Mitropa Cup
The Mitropa Cup, officially called the La Coupe de l'Europe Centrale or Central European Cup, was one of the first international major European football cups for club sides. It was conducted among the successor states of the former Austria-Hunga ...
. In 1955, as ''Vörös Lobogó SE'', they also played in the first ever
European Cup
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
. Hidegkuti scored twice as they beat
RSC Anderlecht
Royal Sporting Club Anderlecht, usually known as Anderlecht (, , ) or RSCA (, , ), is a Belgian professional football club based in Anderlecht, Brussels Capital-Region. Anderlecht plays in the Belgian First Division A and is the most successful ...
10–4 on aggregate in the first round. After retiring as a player, Hidegkuti also had two spells as a coach at MTK.
International career
![Puskas Hidegkuti 1954](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Puskas_Hidegkuti_1954.png)
Between 1945 and 1958 Hidegkuti earned 69 appearances and scored 39 goals 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 ...
. He scored twice on his debut on 30 September 1945 in a 7–2 win against
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
. Two years later, on 17 August 1947, he made his second international appearance and scored a hat-trick against
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
. On 18 November 1951 he scored another hat trick against
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
. He became a central player in the
Golden Team
The Golden Team ( hu, Aranycsapat; also known as the Mighty Magyars, the Magical Magyars, the Magnificent Magyars, the Marvellous Magyars, or the Light Cavalry) refers to the Hungary national football team of the 1950s. It is associated with seve ...
of the early and mid-1950s; during this time,
Ferenc Puskás,
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 ...
and Hidegkuti provided the Hungarians a total of 198 goals.
Hidegkuti was used by the
Golden Team
The Golden Team ( hu, Aranycsapat; also known as the Mighty Magyars, the Magical Magyars, the Magnificent Magyars, the Marvellous Magyars, or the Light Cavalry) refers to the Hungary national football team of the 1950s. It is associated with seve ...
as a
deep lying centre-forward. In the 1950s, the majority of international sides still used the
WM formation
In association football, the formation of a team refers to the position players take in relation to each other on a pitch. As association football is a fluid and fast-moving game, a player's position (with the exception of the goalkeeper) in a ...
, where the defending centre half would traditionally mark the opposition's centre forward – usually whoever was wearing the number 9 shirt. When a defending centre half attempted to mark Hidegkuti, they were drawn out of position, allowing the rest of the Hungarian team to exploit the space. At the time this was a revolutionary tactic, requiring the player in the deep lying centre-forward position to have excellent ball control, distribution skills and positional awareness.
Former England and
Leeds United
Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...
manager,
Don Revie
Donald George Revie OBE (10 July 1927 – 26 May 1989) was an England international footballer and manager, best known for his successful spell with Leeds United from 1961 until 1974, which immediately preceded his appointment as England manage ...
paid tribute to the influence of Hidegkuti in his autobiography: "In the summer of 1954 England and Scotland were knocked out of the World Cup series in Switzerland. That competition was won by Germany, but dominated by Hungary, who played with a deep-lying centre forward, ''Nandor Hidegkuti''. Alongside him; Sandor Koscis and Ferenc Puskas, two of the greatest inside-forwards in the world. But whatever people claim of Koscis and Puskas, it was the man Hidegkuti who tore the England defence to shreds at Wembley in November 1953. It was Hidegkuti, again playing his hide-and-seek centre-forward game, who shattered England in the return match in Budapest in May 1954, when we were thrashed 7–1."
Sepp Herberger
Josef "Sepp" Herberger (28 March 1897 – 28 April 1977) was a German football player and manager. He is most famous for being the manager of the West German national team that won the 1954 FIFA World Cup final, a match later dubbed '' The Mir ...
, manager of the West German team that would defeat Hungary in the 1954 World Cup final, identified Hidegkuti as the most important player in the Hungarian team (despite Puskas drawing a lot more public attention) and adjusted his tactics for the final to prevent him from playing out his game.
Managerial career
As a manager Hidegkuti coached clubs in Hungary, Italy, Poland and Egypt. In 1961 he guided
Fiorentina
ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional football club based in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while the actual club was refounded in August 2002 fol ...
to victory in
the first ever European Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...
, beating
Rangers 4–1 on aggregate in the
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
. With
Győri ETO he won the
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 assignm ...
in 1963 and then took them to the semi-final of the
1964–65 European Cup where they lost to eventual runners-up,
Benfica. In Egypt, Hidegkuti coached
Al Ahly
AL, Al, Ål or al may stand for:
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Al (''Aladdin'') or Aladdin, the main character in Disney's ''Aladdin'' media
* Al (''EastEnders''), a minor character in the British soap opera
* Al (''Fullmetal ...
, introducing a
5–3–2 formation.
For his model behaviour as a player and coach, he was awarded the 1993
FIFA Fair Play Award
The FIFA Fair Play Award is a FIFA recognition of exemplary behaviour that promotes the spirit of fair play and compassion in :association football around the world. First awarded in 1987, it has been presented to individuals (including post ...
.
Honours
Player
MTK Hungária
*
Hungarian Champions: 1951, 1953, 1958
*
Hungarian Cup
The Hungarian Cup ( hu, Magyar Kupa) is the Hungarian cup competition for football clubs. It was started by the Hungarian Football Association, the ''Magyar Labdarúgó Szövetség,'' in 1909, eight years after the commencement of the Hungarian ...
: 1952
*
Mitropa Cup
The Mitropa Cup, officially called the La Coupe de l'Europe Centrale or Central European Cup, was one of the first international major European football cups for club sides. It was conducted among the successor states of the former Austria-Hunga ...
: 1955
Hungary
*
Olympic Gold Medalist:
1952
*
Central European Champion: 1953
*
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
runner-up:
1954
Events
January
* January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany.
* January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting.
* January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...
Individual
*
Hungarian Football Federation
The Hungarian Football Federation ( hu, Magyar Labdarúgó Szövetség, MLSZ) is the governing body of football in Hungary. It organizes the Hungarian league and the Hungarian national team. It is based in Budapest.
Honours
;National Team
* Worl ...
Player of the Year
Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year (POY) . In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award.
Association football
In association football, this award is he ...
: 1953
*
FIFA World Cup All-Star Team
At the end of each FIFA World Cup final tournament, several awards are presented to the players and teams who have distinguished themselves in various aspects of the game.
Awards
*There are currently five post-tournament awards from the FIFA ...
: 1954
Manager
Fiorentina
*
European Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...
:
1960–61
Győri ETO FC
*
Hungarian Champions: 1963
*
European Cup
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
: semi-finalist
1964–65
*
Hungarian Cup
The Hungarian Cup ( hu, Magyar Kupa) is the Hungarian cup competition for football clubs. It was started by the Hungarian Football Association, the ''Magyar Labdarúgó Szövetség,'' in 1909, eight years after the commencement of the Hungarian ...
: 1965, 1966, 1967
Al-Ahly
*
Egyptian Premier League
The Egyptian Premier League ( ar, الدوري المصري الممتاز), also known as WE Egyptian Premier League (WE EPL) after the addition of title sponsor WE, is a professional association football league in Egypt and the top level of th ...
: 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980
*
Egypt Cup
The Egypt Cup (also known as Egyptian FA Cup, formerly King Farouk Cup) is the main knockout football cup competition in Egypt.
List of finals
The following table provides a summary of seasons:
Notes:
* The Winner and Runner-up of 1960–61 Eg ...
: 1978
Notes
See also
*
List of men's footballers with 500 or more goals
In top-level football competitions, 23 players have scored 500 or more goals over the course of their career in both club and international football, according to research by the , first published in 2007. Taking into account competitions of a ...
References
Sources
*''Behind The Curtain – Travels in Eastern European Football'': Jonathan Wilson (2006
External links
Hungary stats at Rsssf Hungary stats Retrieved 2019-02-25.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hidegkuti, Nandor
1922 births
2002 deaths
Hungarian footballers
Hungary international footballers
MTK Budapest FC players
Hungarian football managers
Győri ETO FC managers
FC Tatabánya managers
MTK Budapest FC managers
ACF Fiorentina managers
Footballers at the 1952 Summer Olympics
Olympic footballers of Hungary
Olympic gold medalists for Hungary
1954 FIFA World Cup players
1958 FIFA World Cup players
Footballers from Budapest
Expatriate football managers in Egypt
Expatriate football managers in Italy
Olympic medalists in football
Stal Rzeszów managers
Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics
Association football forwards
Nemzeti Bajnokság I players
Al Ahly SC managers
Nemzeti Bajnokság I managers
Al Ahli Club (Dubai) managers
Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates
Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in Italy
Expatriate football managers in the United Arab Emirates