József Eisenhoffer (8 November 1900 – 13 February 1945), also known as József Aczél, 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 ...

. He could play equally well as an inside or outside left as well as left half. Eisenhoffer played professionally in Hungary, Austria, France and the United States. He also managed Olympique de Marseille for six seasons and earned eight

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with the Hungarian national team. He was a member of the 1924 Hungarian Olympic football team.

Club career

Eisenhoffer was born 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 ...

, Hungary. A convert to Judaism, began his football career when he signed with Budapest TC in 1912. He was twelve at the time. In 1917, he moved to Kispest A.C. where he played three seasons. In 1920, he transferred to Ferencvárosi where he played until 1924, with a loan to Makkabi des Brno during the 1923–1924 season. In 1924, he transferred to the prominent Austrian Jewish club

Hakoah Vienna SC Hakoah Vienna (german: Sport Club Hakoah Wien; ' means "the strength" in Hebrew) is a Jews, Jewish sports club in Vienna, Austria. Prior to World War II, it produced several Olympic athletes and was notable for fielding an entirely Jewish ass ...

. In 1926, Hakoah toured the United States. Several players were impressed by both the relatively high pay and low anti-Semitism there. Consequently, several, including Eisenhoffer, remained in the U.S. and signed with local clubs. In June 1926,

Nat Agar Nathan "Nat" Agar (July 26, 1887 – June 24, 1978) was an English-American soccer player, coach, referee, team owner and league executive. He was part of the formation of the United States Football Association, but later fought it as a team owne ...

, owner of the American Soccer League’s

Brooklyn Wanderers The Brooklyn Wanderers was a U.S. soccer team which was a founding member of the National Association Football League in the late nineteenth century. Later versions joined the original American Soccer League and the reorganized American Soccer Le ...

, signed Eisenhoffer. He would play for most of five seasons, except for five games in 1929. In 1928, the ASL initiated a struggle with the

United States Soccer Federation The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is ...

for control of football in the U.S. This conflict, known as the "Soccer War" led to the USFA declaring the ASL an "outlaw league". When that happened, Eisenhoffer had already played eight games in the 1928–1929 season, but then jumped to the

New York Hakoah New York Hakoah is an American soccer club based in New York City, which takes its name from two earlier, defunct clubs. ''Hakoah'' (roughly translated as "strength" from Hebrew) is a frequent name for sport and social Jewish clubs around the wor ...

of the fully recognized

Eastern Professional Soccer League Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

. New York Hakoah won the 1929 National Challenge Cup with Eisenhoffer scoring one goal in the first leg victory over St. Louis Madison Kennel. When the ASL made peace with USFA in 1929, New York Hakoah entered the ASL. Eisenhoffer now found himself back in a league he had fled and with a contract still in force with the Wanderers. Agar promptly sued Eisenoffer for breach of contract. In the meantime, Eisenhoffer played five games with Hokoah in the ASL. In December 1929, the suit was withdrawn and Eisenhoffer was fined $500 and allowed to return to the Wanderers. This internecine battle ultimately destroyed the ASL and in 1931, it collapsed. Eisenhoffer left the U.S. and returned to Austria where he signed with

. In 1933, Vienna sent him to French Ligue 1 club Olympique de Marseille where he finished his career. Eisenhoffer experienced considerable success with Olympique, going to the 1934, 1935 and 1940

French Cup The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and professiona ...

. While Olympique lost in 1934, it won the next year. In 1935, Eisenhoffer became the team's manager as well as a player and took Olympique to the 1936–1937 league title. He also managed

RC Lens Racing Club de Lens (, commonly referred to as RC Lens or simply Lens) is a French professional football club based in the northern city of Lens in the Pas-de-Calais department. Its nickname, ''les sang et or'' (''the blood and gold''), co ...

briefly in 1938 before returning to Olympique. He finished his career with one game with Olympique during the 1940–1941 season. In 1944, he was wounded during an air raid on

. His wound was not treated and eventually led to his death.

International career

Eisenhoffer earned eight

with the Hungarian national team between 1920 and 1924. In 1924, he was a member of the Hungarian Olympic Team. He played two first round games, scoring one goal in Hungary's win over Poland.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Eisenhoffer, Jozsef 1900 births 1945 deaths Hungarian Jews Jewish footballers Association football forwards Hungarian footballers Hungary international footballers Olympic footballers of Hungary Footballers at the 1924 Summer Olympics Budapest Honvéd FC players Ferencvárosi TC footballers SC Hakoah Wien footballers Converts to Judaism American Soccer League (1921–1933) players Brooklyn Wanderers players Brooklyn Hakoah players Eastern Professional Soccer League (1928–29) players New York Hakoah players Ligue 1 players Olympique de Marseille players Olympique de Marseille managers Hungarian expatriate footballers Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in Czechoslovakia Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate footballers in Czechoslovakia Expatriate footballers in France Expatriate soccer players in the United States RC Lens managers Expatriate football managers in France Hungarian football managers Footballers from Budapest