György Marik, also known as Jorge Marik (4 April 1924 – 20 December 1988), was a Hungarian

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player and manager. Marik fled Hungary in 1949 and later spent most of his career in Mexico.

Career

Marik was born in Hungary on 4 April 1924 and started his professional career with

Vasas SC Vasas SC () is a Hungarian sports club based in Budapest. Members of the ''Hungarian Union of Iron Workers'' founded the club as ''Vas- és Fémmunkások Sport Clubja'', the "Sport Club of Iron and Metal Workers", on 16 March 1911. The club ...

. He was described as "technically skilled and tactically well prepared". Between 1947 and 1948, Marik played for the Hungary national team twice, making his debut on 12 October 1947 against

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. He was called to the national team again on 22 April 1948 for a match against

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. Marik was part of the generation of Hungarian footballers that left the

Hungarian People's Republic The Hungarian People's Republic (HPR) was a landlocked country in Central Europe from its formation on 20 August 1949 until the establishment of the current Hungary, Republic of Hungary on 23 October 1989. It was a professed Communist_state# ...

during the early 50s. In 1949, Marik and Vasas teammate László Kubala disguised as soldiers, got into a military truck and smuggled themselves into Austria. Backed by the

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

, the

Hungarian Football Federation The Hungarian Football Federation (HFF) (, ) is the governing body of football and futsal in Hungary. It organizes the Hungarian league and the Hungary national team. The MLSZ is responsible for the Hungarian football league system, the men's a ...

imposed a one year ban on Marik and Kubala. In 1950, Marik joined the ''Hungária'', a football team created by Kubala and Ferdinand Daučík made up of fellow refugees fleeing Eastern Europe. Later, Marik continued his career in South American football. In 1951, Marik arrived to Colombian football, playing for Deportivo Samarios from 1951 to 1952 and for

Independiente Santa Fe Club Independiente Santa Fe, known simply as Santa Fe, is a Colombian professional Association football, football team based in Bogotá, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their home games at the Estadio El Campín, El Cam ...

in 1953. In 1954, Marik joined Mexican club

Irapuato Irapuato is a Mexican city and municipalities of Mexico, municipality located at the foot of the Arandas Hill (in Spanish Language, Spanish: ''Cerro de Arandas''), in the central region of the Mexican state, state of Guanajuato. It lies between the ...

. One season later, he moved to León, where he won the 1955–56 Primera División title. As a matter of fact, Marik, was the first ever European footballer to play at León. Marik retired as a player at the end of the 1956–57 season and then moved to

Atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of world map, maps of Earth or of a continent or region of Earth. Advances in astronomy have also resulted in atlases of the celestial sphere or of other planets. Atlases have traditio ...

as manager.

Managerial career

As manager, Marik coached the following Mexican teams:

from 1957 to 1960, Atlante from 1960 to 1962,

Cruz Azul Club de Futbol Cruz Azul S.A. de C.V., commonly referred to as Cruz Azul, is a professional association football, football club based in Mexico City, Mexico. It competes in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football league system, Mexican footba ...

from 1962 to 1966 and again in 1976,

Pachuca Pachuca (; ), formally known as Pachuca de Soto, is the capital and largest city of the east-central Mexico, Mexican States of Mexico, state of Hidalgo (state), Hidalgo, located in the south-central part of the state. Pachuca Municipality, Pach ...

from 1968 to 1970, Laguna from 1970 to 1971,

UNAM The National Autonomous University of Mexico (, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It has several campuses in Mexico City, and many others in various locations across Mexico, as well as a presence in nine countries. It also has 34 ...

from 1976 to 1977 and

Toluca Toluca , officially Toluca de Lerdo , is the States of Mexico, state capital of the State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. Toluca has a population of 910,608 as of the 2020 census. The city forms the core of the Grea ...

from 1977 to 1982. In 1977, Marik left

and was substituted by Bora Milutinovic In many Latin American media (specially in Mexico), Marik is better known as Jorge Marik.

Honours

Player

León *

Mexican Primera División Liga MX, also known as Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Mexico and the highest level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Liga Mayor (1943–1949) and also as Primera Divi ...

: 1955–56

Manager

Cruz Azul * Mexican Segunda División: 1963–64 UNAM *

: 1976–77

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marik, György 1924 births Hungarian men's footballers Hungarian football managers Hungarian expatriate football managers Hungary men's international footballers Vasas SC players Unión Magdalena footballers Independiente Santa Fe footballers C.D. Irapuato footballers Club León footballers 1988 deaths Men's association football midfielders Liga MX players Hungarian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Colombia Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico Expatriate football managers in Mexico Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in Colombia Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in Mexico 20th-century Hungarian sportsmen