Golden Team
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

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 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 app ...
of the 1950s. It is associated with several notable matches, including the " Match of the Century" against England in 1953, and the quarter-final ("
Battle of Berne A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
") against Brazil, semi-final (against
Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
) and final of the
1954 FIFA World Cup The 1954 FIFA World Cup was the fifth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football tournament for senior men's national teams of the nations affiliated to FIFA. It was held in Switzerland from 16 June to 4 July. Switzerla ...
("
The Miracle of Bern ''The Miracle of Bern'' (german: Das Wunder von Bern) is a 2003 film by Sönke Wortmann, which tells the story of a German family (particularly of a young boy and his depressed ex-POW father) and the unexpected West German ''miracle'' victory in ...
"). The team inflicted notable defeats on then-footballing world powers
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 ...
,
Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
and 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 ...
, before the
1956 Hungarian Revolution The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 10 November 1956; hu, 1956-os forradalom), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the Hunga ...
caused the breakup of the side. Between 1950 and 1956, the team played 69 games, recorded 58 victories, 10 draws and just one defeat, in the 1954 World Cup final against West Germany. Under the
Elo rating system The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in zero-sum games such as chess. It is named after its creator Arpad Elo, a Hungarian-American physics professor. The Elo system was invented as an improved ch ...
they achieved the highest rating recorded by a national side (2231 points, achieved on 30 June 1954). In 2016 the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
listed the team as the best international football team ever in football history. The team is generally credited for successfully implementing an early form of " Total Football", later used effectively by the
Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...
in the 1970s. The team is also generally recognized for introducing new, scientific coaching and tactical innovations, which were subsequently adopted throughout the game. The team's success became a subject of national pride in a period of oppression by the communist regime imposed on Hungary by the Soviet Union. In this period any "nationalistic" or even patriotic expression was strongly disapproved of, since these were considered being against the internationalist ideal of the communist government. In this atmosphere, international sport events were the only tolerated fields of expression of national pride.


Key people

The team was built around a core of six key players:
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, ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
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
Gyula Grosics Gyula Grosics (; 4 February 1926 – 13 June 2014) was a Hungarian football goalkeeper who played 86 times for the Hungary national football team and was part of the "Golden Team" of the 1950s. Regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all ...
. The manager of the team was
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 ...
, who had been a
trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
organizer in
Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
and pre-war
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
at
Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...
car factories, and was therefore accorded a political clean bill of health to run affairs by the Deputy Sports Minister. Sebes can be credited with three key innovations. Firstly, he implemented fitness regimes for his players, as well as a club-like policy at international level to give impetus to regular practice sessions. Secondly, he was responsible for the tactical concept of a deep-lying centre forward. At the time, the majority of footballing sides adopted 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 centre forward spearheaded an attack line of 3 forwards and 2 wingers. Sebes's tactic was to withdraw the centre forward back to the midfield, as well as dropping the wingers back to the midfield when necessary. This effectively created an extremely flexible 3–2–3–2 formation, allowing the team to quickly switch between attack and defense. The tactic also drew defenders out of position, as centre halves used to man-marking a centre forward would follow the deep-lying centre forward back to the midfield. Thirdly, Sebes encouraged his players to be versatile – the ideal would be for any of his players to be able to play in any position. This was a revolutionary idea – most players were used to playing in one specific position. This was an early form of Total Football. Ferenc Puskas commented, "When we attacked, everyone attacked, and in defence it was the same. We were the prototype for Total Football." Finally, the influence of
Jimmy Hogan James Hogan (16 October 1882 – 30 January 1974) was an English football player and coach of Irish descent. He enjoyed some success as a footballer, reaching an FA Cup semi-final with Fulham in 1907–08, but his primary legacy is as a pion ...
on Sebes and the team cannot be underestimated. The then president of the Hungarian Football Association, Sandor Barcs, said: "Jimmy Hogan taught us everything we know about football". and Sebes himself said of Hogan, "We played football as Jimmy Hogan taught us. When our football history is told, his name should be written in gold letters".Jonathan Wilson, ''The Anatomy of England: a History in Ten Matches'' (Orion Publishing Group, London 2010)


Notable matches


1952 Olympic Games (Yugoslavia vs. Hungary)

The Hungarians arrived 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 ...
unbeaten for two years. The team easily defeated opponents in the preliminary rounds, before meeting the 1948 defending Olympic champions,
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
, in the semi-finals. Hungary demolished Sweden 6–0 to set up a final against
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
. Goals from Ferenc Puskás and Zoltán Czibor ensured a 2–0 victory and the Olympic gold for Hungary.


1953 Central European Championship (Italy vs. Hungary)

Hungary took part in the 1948-53 Central European International Cup, a nations cup for teams from
Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the area' ...
and the forerunner of the European championship. The competing teams included
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 ...
,
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
,
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
and
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
. Hungary eased their way to a final against Italy on 17 May 1953, which they won 3–0 with a goal from
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 ...
and two from Puskás.


1953 "Match of the Century" (England vs. Hungary)

A friendly match was arranged for 25 November 1953 against
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 ...
. England had never been defeated on home soil by a team from outside the British Isles (they lost to the
Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...
in 1949), and the FA were complacent – as the inventors of the game, they were assured that their players were technically and tactically superior to any other countries. At the time, England were ranked as the 3rd best team in the world and Hungary were ranked as the best team in the world. The game was eagerly anticipated; the British Press reported it as "the Match of the Century". The game was played in front of 105,000 in
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 ...
. Hungary scored in the first minute, and after 27 minutes they were 4–1 up. The final score was 6–3, with a hat-trick from Hidegkuti, two goals from Puskás and one from Bozsik. It was a footballing lesson that sent shockwaves through
English football Association football is the most popular sport in England, where the first modern set of rules for the code were established in 1863, which were a major influence on the development of the modern Laws of the Game. With over 40,000 association f ...
, and which ultimately caused English clubs to adapt more modern coaching and tactics.


1954 Hungary 7 England 1

England were anxious for revenge after the defeat at Wembley, and a return match was scheduled in Budapest for 23 May 1954, three weeks before the start of the 1954 World Cup. Any hopes that the Wembley game had been an aberration were immediately dispelled as Hungary won 7–1, inflicting England's heaviest ever defeat that still stands to this day.


1954 World Cup First Round Games

Hungary went to the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland as firm favourites; they were unbeaten since 1950, and had issued served notice of their ability with 6–3 and 7–1 thrashings of England. The 16 finalists were assigned to four groups, with each group having four teams in it. Each group contained two seeded teams and two unseeded teams. Only four matches were scheduled for each group, each pitting a seeded team against an unseeded team (this contrasts with a conventional round-robin in which every team plays every other team, which would have resulted in six matches in each group). In a further oddity, extra time would be played if the teams were level after ninety minutes in the group games, with the result being a draw if the scores were still level after 120 minutes. The top two teams from each group would qualify for the quarter finals. Hungary shared Group B with
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
,
West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
and
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
; Hungary and Turkey were the two seeded sides in the group. Hungary won their opening game against South Korea 9–0, with Kocsis scoring a hat-trick. In the second game, Hungary thrashed West Germany 8–3, with Kocsis scoring another 4 goals; however, cynical fouling on Puskás left him with a hairline fracture of the ankle which left him unavailable for selection for the quarter final and semi final stages.


1954 World Cup Quarter Final: "Battle of Berne" (Brazil vs. Hungary 1954)

Hungary met
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
in an eagerly anticipated quarter final; both sides had a reputation for open, attacking football. The Brazilians had lost the last and deciding match of the
1950 World Cup The 1950 FIFA World Cup was the fourth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July 1950. The planned 1942 and 1946 World Cups were ...
to
Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
, and were anxious to reach the final again. Unfortunately, the game was notable for the number of cynical fouls performed by both sides rather than as an exhibition of footballing technique; Hungary took a 2–0 lead after 7 minutes, and after that the game descended into a series of fouls, free kicks and fights on the pitch resulting in three dismissals. The game ended 4–2 to Hungary. Fighting continued off the pitch in the tunnels and in the players' dressing rooms. The game's English referee Arthur Ellis commented: "I thought it was going to be the greatest game I'd ever see. I was on top of the world. Whether politics and religion had something to do with it I don't know, but they behaved like animals. It was a disgrace. It was a horrible match. In today's climate so many players would have been sent off the game would have been abandoned. My only thought was that I was determined to finish it."


1954 World Cup Semi Final (Uruguay vs. Hungary)

Uruguay were the defending champions, and had never lost a World Cup match in their history, winning both tournaments they had previously entered. Hungary were without Puskás, but still managed to take the lead via Zoltán Czibor. Uruguay rallied but were unable to even the scores before half-time. Almost immediately after the restart, Nándor Hidegkuti scored a second goal for Hungary. Uruguay's unbeaten World Cup record seemed to be over, but they still had most of the second half to recover. The champions were not going to give up without a fight, and spent much of the remainder of the match launching attack after attack at the Hungarian defence. With a quarter of an hour to play
Juan Hohberg Juan Eduardo Hohberg (8 October 1926 – 30 April 1996) was an Argentine-born Uruguayan football player and coach. He is best remembered as a player for Peñarol (1949-59) where he won 6 Uruguayan Primera División title wins (1949, 1951, 1953, 1 ...
scored for Uruguay; Hungary defended desperately until the 86th minute, when Hohberg scored his second to force extra time. Appearing to have much more energy than their opponents, Hungary retook the lead midway through the second period of extra-time when Sándor Kocsis headed home from close range; Kocsis scored again four minutes from injury time. Uruguay were beaten 4–2, their first ever World Cup loss, while Hungary went on to their second World Cup final. The game was in direct contrast to the quarter final between Hungary and Brazil; both Hungary and Uruguay had played attractive, attacking football in what was arguably one of the finest displays of football in a World Cup.


1954 World Cup Final: "The Miracle of Bern" (West Germany vs. Hungary)

The final was between Hungary and West Germany. Hungary were in their second World Cup Final (their 1938 team had lost to Italy 4–2 in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
); in addition, they had a record of 34 wins, 6 draws, and 1 defeat since August 1949, and were unbeaten in their last 32 matches. Hungary had beaten West Germany 8–3 in a first-round game. The only issue the Hungarians faced was the ankle injury sustained to Puskás in the same game, from which he had not fully recovered – Sebes still took the decision to play him. Hungary took an early lead in the 6th minute, with a goal from Puskás. Two minutes later, Czibor made it 2–0 to Hungary. However, the Germans rallied, and swiftly pulled the score back to 2–1 through
Max Morlock Maximilian Morlock (; 11 May 1925–10 September 1994) was a German Association football, footballer active in the 1950s and early 1960s. In his time with the Germany national football team, West Germany national team, he earned 26 Cap (footb ...
. In the 18th minute, the Germans drew level from a corner kick; the goal was scored by
Helmut Rahn Helmut Rahn (16 August 1929 – 14 August 2003), known as ''Der Boss'' (The Boss), was a German footballer who played as a forward. He became a legend for having scored the winning goal in the final of the 1954 FIFA World Cup (West Germany vs. ...
. In the second half, Hungary poured forward looking to retake the lead, but their attempts were repeatedly foiled by the German defence, with goalkeeper
Toni Turek Anton Turek (18 January 1919 – 11 May 1984) was a German footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Career Born in Duisburg, Turek started his career at Duisburger Sportverein, but he soon switched to TuS Duisburg 48/99. He first came to the at ...
pulling off several fine saves. With six minutes left and the score still 2–2, Helmut Rahn scored West Germany's third goal. Two minutes before the end, Puskás appeared to equalise, but he was ruled off-side. The match ended Hungary's unbeaten run in one of the biggest upsets in the history of football; West Germany won 3–2 in the "Miracle of Bern". There were three controversial incidents in the final, each favouring the Germans; Hungarian goalkeeper Grosics was allegedly obstructed for the second German goal, Puskás apparently equalised in the 89th minute but was deemed to be offside, and there was an alleged foul on Kocsis in the penalty area in the final minute of the game.


1955 Scotland 2 Hungary 4

On 8 December 1954,
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
hosted Hungary at
Hampden Park Hampden Park (Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden''), often referred to as Hampden, is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The -capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland. It is the no ...
in a friendly match, before a crowd of 113,000. Scotland were determined not to be humiliated as
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 ...
had been a year earlier, and attempted to take the game to the Hungarians in a display of counterattacking football. This made for an open, attractive game with plenty of goals; Hungary scored on 20 minutes through Bozsik, and Hidegkuti made it 2–0 six minutes later. Scotland rallied and pulled one back on 36 minutes through
Tommy Ring Thomas Ring (8 August 1930 – 5 October 1997) was a Scottish footballer, who played at outside left for Ashfield Juniors, Clyde, Everton, Barnsley, Aberdeen, Fraserburgh, Stevenage Town and for Scotland. Club career Ring was born in Glasg ...
, but Sandor made it 3–1 to Hungary just before halftime. The second half continued in the same vein, with
Partick Thistle Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football, football club from Glasgow, Scotland. Despite their name, the club are based at Firhill Stadium in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not played in Partick since 1908. ...
winger John Mackenzie constantly beating Hungary full back
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 ...
.
Bobby Johnstone Robert Johnstone (7 September 1929 – 22 August 2001) was a Scottish footballer, who played for Selkirk, Hibernian, Manchester City, Oldham Athletic and Witton Albion. Johnstone also represented Scotland and the Scottish League. Johnstone ...
scored a second goal for Scotland on 46 minutes, and only poor finishing prevented Scotland from equalising. The home side continued to press forward, but were caught on a counter break right at the end of the match when Kocsis scored to make the final score 2–4 to Hungary. It was the closest any team had come to beating Hungary in a friendly competition since 1950. Afterwards, Puskas complimented the excellent work of Mackenzie, stating that he had "never seen wing play of such a high standard".


1956 Soviet Union 0 Hungary 1

On 23 September 1956, 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 ...
played Hungary in a friendly game at the
Lenin Central Stadium Luzhniki Stadium ( rus, стадион «Лужники», p=stədʲɪˈon lʊʐnʲɪˈkʲi, ''Stadion Luzhniki'') is the national stadium of Russia, located in its capital city, Moscow. The full name of the stadium is Grand Sports Arena of the ...
in Moscow, before a crowd of 102,000. The Soviet Union were unbeaten at home, and were generally regarded as the natural successors to the Hungarians as the world's premier footballing side. In addition, the Soviet team and players were regarded as ideals of socialist principles by senior communist authorities, who expected the Soviet Union to win comfortably, as befitting the senior member of the
Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...
. However, a single goal from Zoltán Czibor ended the Soviet Union's unbeaten home record; the result did little to encourage good relations between the two countries, and was a minor contributing factor to a wave of patriotic fervour that resulted in the
Hungarian Revolution of 1956 The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 10 November 1956; hu, 1956-os forradalom), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the Hunga ...
.


Demise

Hungary continued to dominate international football; between July 1954 and February 1956, Hungary played a further 19 games, winning 16, drawing 3 and losing none. From 1950 until their demise in 1956 the team played a total of 69 games, winning 58, drawing 10 and losing just once. Despite this, manager Sebes was sacked in June 1956, and was replaced by
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 ...
; however, Sebes remained President of the Hungarian Olympic Committee from 1948 to 1960, and was also Vice President of UEFA from 1954 to 1960. The majority of the team played for
Budapest Honvéd Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population of ...
, who entered the
1956–57 European Cup The 1956–57 European Cup was the second season of the European Cup, Europe's premier club football tournament. The competition was won for the second time by Real Madrid, who beat Fiorentina 2–0 in the final at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, ...
and were drawn against
Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club ( eu, Bilboko Athletic Kluba; es, Athletic Club de Bilbao), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao or just Athletic, is a professional Association football, football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Basque Country (autonomous com ...
in the first round. Honvéd lost the away leg 3–2, but before the home leg could be played, the Hungarian Revolution erupted in Budapest. The players decided against going back to Hungary and arranged for the return with Athletic to be played at
Heysel Stadium The King Baudouin Stadium (french: Stade Roi Baudouin , nl, Koning Boudewijnstadion ) is a sports ground in north-west Brussels, Belgium. Located in the Heysel district of the City of Brussels, it was built to embellish the Heysel Plateau in v ...
in Brussels, Belgium. Honvéd were eliminated 6–5 on aggregate, and the Hungarian players were left in limbo. They summoned their families from Budapest, and despite opposition from FIFA and the Hungarian football authorities, they organised a fundraising tour of Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Brazil. After returning to Europe, the players parted ways. Kocsis and Czibor moved to Spain to play for
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
. Puskás emigrated to Spain to play for
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
. Hidegkuti returned to Hungary as a player and later became manager of
MTK Budapest 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 ...
before emigrating to successfully manage clubs in Italy, Poland, and Egypt. Bozsik also returned in Hungary, becoming the manager of several Hungarian teams. Sebes also managed several Hungarian clubs in the 1960s ( Ujpesti Dozsa,
Budapest Honvéd FC Budapest Honvéd Football Club (), commonly known as Budapest Honvéd or simply Honvéd, is a Hungarian sports club based in Kispest, Budapest, with the colours of red and black. The club is best known for its football team. ''Honvéd'' means th ...
and Diosgyori VTK) with moderate success.


Historic significance

The historical significance of the team lay in three areas; the introduction of new tactics, the concept of using a core set of well trained players used to playing as a team, and the idea that each player could play in any position if necessary. The importance of Gusztáv Sebes and the influence of
Jimmy Hogan James Hogan (16 October 1882 – 30 January 1974) was an English football player and coach of Irish descent. He enjoyed some success as a footballer, reaching an FA Cup semi-final with Fulham in 1907–08, but his primary legacy is as a pion ...
cannot be underestimated. The tactics of Sebes – especially the concept of a deep lying centre forward – revolutionised a game where the majority of club and international sides had played the WM formation for the previous 20 years. The introduction and success of the Hungarian 3–2–3–2 formation led other managers and countries to experiment, with the 3–2–3–2 eventually evolving into the 4–2–4 formation. Sebes's idea of using a core set of players, drawn from just a handful of clubs, was a new idea that was critical to the success of the team. Most national teams were selected on the concept of picking the best players, not the best team; England famously had a selection committee that selected the team for each game, with little or no sense of continuity. By using players who were familiar with each other's strengths at a club level, Sebes introduced a sense of continuity at a national level – something no other nation had at the time. 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 ...
adopted this approach throughout the 1960s, with success at a European level; England won the World Cup in 1966 with a core of players from one club,
West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
. Sebes also demanded rigorous training and standards of physical fitness from his players, as well as good tactic awareness – again, these were areas that many national sides of the time neglected. As a consequence, the Hungarian side were able to outrun, outpass and outplay their opposition. Finally, Sebes's successful implementation of Jimmy Hogan's theory that every player should be able to play in all positions was critical to the success of the team; previously, each player in a team was assigned a specific position or role, usually marking a specific opposition player. The Hungarian tactic of players constantly changing roles and positions could only be introduced by using a core set of talented players who were used to playing together at both a club and national level for a period of time. It would be nearly 20 years before the Dutch national team of the 1970s utilised the same approach with their concept of Total Football.


All-time team highs and lows

The following is a list of national football teams ranked by the highest Elo rating they ever reached.World Football Elo Ratings
under the columns tab choose "Highest Rank / Rating" as well as "Lowest Rank / Rating"
The table also includes the highest ranking as well as the lowest rating and ranking reached by each nation. The team that has achieved the highest rank in each confederation is shown in color.


International football's highest rated matches

The Mighty Magyars feature in three of the top 10 highest rated matches all-time. A list of the 10 matches between teams with the highest combined Elo ratings (the nation's points before the matches are given) as of July 16, 2010.


Results


Records and statistics

* World Record: (June 4, 1950 to Feb 19 1956) 42 victories, 7 draws, 1 defeat (" ''Miracle of Bern''") – 91.0% winning percentage ratio. ** Team Record (June 4, 1950 to July 3, 1954) 32 game undefeated narrative. * World Record: most consecutive games scoring at least one goal: 73 games (April 10, 1949 to June 16, 1957). * World Record: longest time undefeated in 20th and 21st centuries: 4 years 1 month (June 4, 1950 to July 4, 1954). * World Record: most collaborative goals scored between two starting players (Ferenc Puskás & Sándor Kocsis) on same national side (159 goals). * World Record: Highest rating ever attained in the sport's history using the
Elo rating The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in zero-sum games such as chess. It is named after its creator Arpad Elo, a Hungarian-American physics professor. The Elo system was invented as an improved ch ...
system for national teams with 2230 points on June 30, 1954. * 20th Century Record: Hungary manager Gusztáv Sebes holds the highest ratio of victories per game past 30 matches with 82.58% (49 wins, 11, draws, 6 defeats). Brazil legend
Vicente Feola Vicente Ítalo Feola (; 20 November 1909 – 6 November 1975) was a Brazilian football manager and coach from São Paulo. He became famous for leading the Brazilians to their first FIFA World Cup title in 1958. Biography Feola was born in Sã ...
(1955–1966) owns the second highest with 81.25 (46 wins, 12 draws, 6 defeats). * 20th Century Record: Most International Goals: Ferenc Puskás (84 goals). *World Cup Record: 27 goals scored in a single World Cup finals tournament. *World Cup Record: 5.4 goals-per-match in a single World Cup finals tournament. *World Cup Record: +17 goal differential in a single World Cup finals tournament. *World Cup Record: 2.2 goals-per-match average for individual goal scoring in a single World Cup finals tournament (Sándor Kocsis 11 goals in 5 games). *World Cup Record: highest margin of victory ever recorded in a World Cup finals tournament match ( Hungary 9,
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
0 – July 17, 1954). *World Cup Precedent: first national team to defeat two-time and reigning World Cup champion
Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
in a World Cup finals tournament (Hungary 4, Uruguay 2, semi-final — July 30, 1954). *World Cup Precedent: Sándor Kocsis, first player to score two hat tricks in a World Cup finals tournament (Hungary 8,
West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
3 – July 20, 1954 & Hungary 9,
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
0 – July 17, 1954). *National Record: Highest margin of victory recorded by Hungarian national team (Hungary 12,
Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
0 – Sept. 23 1950). *Precedent: first national side from outside the
British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...
to 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 ...
at home since the codification of association football in 1863, a span of 90 years (Hungary 6, England 3, see "''Match of the Century''" – Nov. 25 1953). ** Hungary's 7–1 defeat of England in
Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
the next year is still England's record defeat. *Precedent: first national side in the world to eclipse an 1888 Scottish record of being undefeated in 22 consecutive matches (32 games). *Precedent: first non-South American national side to defeat
Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
(Hungary 4, Uruguay 2, semi-final — July 30, 1954), breaking a 17-game Uruguayan unbeaten run against non-South American competition dating from May 26, 1924. *Precedent: first national side to defeat 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 ...
at home (Hungary 1, Soviet Union 0 – Sept. 23 1956). *Precedent: first national team in history to simultaneously host the No.1 and No. 2 world record holders for most goals scored internationally (Ferenc Puskás 84 goals, Sándor Kocsis 75 goals) from May 11, 1955 to October 14, 1956. * Team Record vs. Elo Ranked Opponents: (June 4, 1950 – Oct. 14 1956), vs. world Top 10 ranked opponents: 11 wins, 2 draws, 1 loss / vs. world Top 5 opponents: 4 wins, 0 draw, 1 loss.


Honours

*
Central European International Cup The European International Cup of Nations was an international football competition held by certain national teams from Central Europe & South Europe between 1927 and 1960.Leo Schidrowitz "Internationaler Cup", Vienna 1954 There were competitions f ...
**''Champions'' : 1948-53 *
Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
**''Champions'' :
1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...
*
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 ...
**''Finalist'' :
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 ...


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * Diego Mariottini, "Tiki-taka Budapest: leggenda, ascesa e declino dell'Ungheria di Puskás", Bradipolibri, 2016,


External links


''Aranycsapat'' – dedicated web page

National football teams' rankings
{{Hungary national football team Hungary national football team Nicknamed groups of association football players 1949–50 in Hungarian football 1950–51 in Hungarian football 1951–52 in Hungarian football 1952–53 in Hungarian football 1953–54 in Hungarian football 1954–55 in Hungarian football 1955–56 in Hungarian football 1956–57 in Hungarian football Hungary at the 1954 FIFA World Cup Football at the 1952 Summer Olympics