Zoltán Czibor (23 August 1929 – 1 September 1997) 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 lea ...

who played for several Hungarian clubs, including

Ferencváros Ferencváros (, ) is the 9th district of Budapest (), Hungary. Name The southern suburb of Pest was named after King Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, Francis I on 4 December 1792 when he was crowned king of Hungary. History The developmen ...

and Budapest Honvéd, and the Hungary national team before joining CF Barcelona. Czibor played as a left-winger or striker and was notable for having a powerful shot, good pace and excellent ball control. During the 1950s he was part of the ''

Magical Magyars The Golden Team (, ) refers to the Hungary national football team of the 1950s. It is associated with several notable matches, including the quarter-final ("Battle of Berne (1954 FIFA World Cup), Battle of Berne") against Brazil, semi-final (ag ...

'', reaching the World Cup final with them in 1954. After the

1956 Hungarian Revolution The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 4 November 1956; ), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was an attempted countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the policies caused by ...

he moved to Spain where he became a prominent member of the successful

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...

team of the late 1950s. After three seasons at Barcelona, he joined their local rivals Español for the 1961–62 season. After brief spells at

FC Basel Fussball Club Basel 1893, widely known as FC Basel, FCB, or just Basel, is a Swiss professional Association football, football club based in Basel, in the Basel-Stadt, Canton of Basel-Stadt. Formed in 1893, the club has been List of Swiss footba ...

Austria Wien Fußballklub Austria Wien AG (), known in English as Austria Vienna, and Austria Wien in German-speaking countries, is an Austrian professional association football club from the capital city of Vienna. It has won the most trophies of any Aust ...

and Primo Hamilton FC, he retired as a professional footballer and returned to Hungary. He died there in 1997, aged 68.

Career

Early career

As a youth, Czibor played for Komárom AC and Komárom MÁV and was working as a train engine driver before he was noticed by Sándor Mezei, the coach of the

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, 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 and ...

youth team. He subsequently played for Ferencváros TC where he won his first Hungarian League title in 1949. After a spell with

Csepel SC Csepel SC () is a Hungary, Hungarian sports club based in Csepel, the XXI district of Budapest, which is on an island in the Danube in the south of the city. The club was formed in 1912 as ''Csepeli Torna Klub'' ("gymnastics club"). The Csepel ...

he conscripted into the army team, Honvéd. During his playing career in Hungarian club football, Czibor scored 100 goals in 175 matches.

The Mighty Magyars

Czibor made his debut for the senior

team in 1949. He went on to play 43 times for Hungary and scored 17 goals. Together with

Ferenc Puskás Ferenc Puskás (, ; né Purczeld; 1 April 1927 – 17 November 2006) was a Hungarian footballer and manager, widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and the sport's first international superstar. A forward and an attacking ...

Sándor Kocsis Sándor Péter Kocsis (; ; 21 September 1929 – 22 July 1979) was a Hungarian Association football, footballer who played for Ferencvárosi TC, Budapest Honvéd FC, Budapest Honvéd, SC Young Fellows Juventus, Young Fellows Zürich, FC Barcelo ...

, József Bozsik 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 ...

, he formed the nucleus of the Golden Team that went unbeaten for 32 consecutive games. During this run they became Olympic Champions in 1952, beating

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

in the

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

final with Czibor scoring in a 2–0 win. They also beat

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

twice, winning 6–3 at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

and then in 7–1 in 1954. In 1953 they also won the Central European International Cup. The run came to an end in the 1954 World Cup Final when they lost 3–2 to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

although Czibor scored once more in a final.

Honvéd

In 1953, Czibor joined Honvéd where his teammates included fellow internationals Puskás, Kocsis, and Bozsik. During his time at the club he won a further two Hungarian League titles in 1954 and 1955. He finished 1955 as top goalscorer in the league after scoring 20 goals. In 1956, Honvéd FC entered the

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...

and in the first round they were drawn against

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club (; ), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao (), or simply Athletic, is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Southern Basque Country, Basque Country, Spain. They are known ...

. Honvéd FC lost the away leg 3–2, but before the home leg could be played, the Hungarian Revolution had erupted back in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

. The players decided against going back to Hungary and arranged for the return with Athletic to be played at the Heysel Stadium in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

. However, early in the game, the Honvéd FC goalkeeper was injured and, with no substitutes permitted, Czibor had to go into goal. Despite drawing 3–3 they went out on 6–5 on aggregate. Elimination left Honvéd in limbo. The players summoned their families from

and, despite opposition from

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 ...

and the Hungarian football authorities, they organised a fundraising tour of Italy, Portugal, Spain and Brazil. After returning to Europe, the players parted ways. Some, including Bozsik, returned to Hungary while others, including Czibor, Kocsis and Puskás, found new clubs in

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...

FC Barcelona

Czibor initially went to Italy and played a couple of unofficial games for

AS Roma Associazione Sportiva Roma (''Rome Sport Association''; Italian pronunciation: Help:IPA/Italian, ) is a professional Association football, football club based in Rome, Italy. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma has participated in the top tier ...

before another Hungarian refugee, Ladislao Kubala, persuaded him and

to join him at

where he became a vital member to the team. He subsequently scored on his

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

debut in a 6–0 win over

Valencia CF Valencia Club de Fútbol, S. A. D. (; ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF or simply Valencia, is a Spanish professional Association football, football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top tier of the Spani ...

and as part of a team that also included Ramallets, Evaristo and

Luis Suárez Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz (; born 24 January 1987) is a Uruguayan professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami CF, Inter Miami. Known for his go ...

, Czibor won a Copa del Generalísimo and

double in 1959 and a La Liga and Fairs Cup double in 1960. Although he did not play in the Copa final, he scored twice in the Fairs Cup final as CF Barcelona beat

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

4–2. CF Barcelona and Czibor also reached the final of the

in 1961, where he scored as Barcelona lost 3–2 to Portuguese club S.L. Benfica.

Later career

After three seasons at Barcelona, he joined their local rivals Español for the 1961–62 season. He had brief spells in Switzerland with

, and in Austria with

. He then moved to Canada in 1964 and joined the Hamilton Steelers in the

Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League The Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League was a soccer league in Canada. The league operated for six seasons from 1961 to 1966 across four cities in two Canadian provinces and one American state. In the 1960s, the Eastern Canada Professional ...

. He finished the 1964 season with Hungária SC Toronto in the

National Soccer League The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its ...

. He then played for Toronto City in 1965.

Honours

Ferencváros * Hungarian Champions: 1949 Honvéd * Hungarian Champions: 1954, 1955 Barcelona * Spanish Champions: 1958–59, 1959–60 *

Inter-Cities Fairs Cup The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, most commonly referred to as the Fairs Cup and sometimes as the European Fairs Cup or Fairs Cities' Cup, was a European football competition played between 1955 and 1971. The Fairs Cup was the idea of FIFA vice-presid ...

: 1958–60 *

runner-up: 1960-61 Hungary * Olympic Champions:

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

* 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 name is ...

runner-up:

1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...

Individual * Two times best player of Hungary *

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

All-Star Team:

References

Sources

*''Behind The Curtain - Travels in Eastern European Football'': Jonathan Wilson (2006

*''The World Cup - The Complete History'': Terry Crouch (2002

*''50 Years of the European Cup and Champions League'': Keir Radnedge (2005
Hungary statsMemorial in Komárom
{{DEFAULTSORT:Czibor, Zoltan 1929 births 1997 deaths Footballers from Kaposvár Hungarian defectors Men's association football forwards Men's association football wingers Hungarian men's footballers Hungary men's international footballers 1954 FIFA World Cup players Footballers at the 1952 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers for Hungary Olympic gold medalists for Hungary Nemzeti Bajnokság I players Komárom VSE footballers Ferencvárosi TC footballers Csepel SC footballers Budapest Honvéd FC players Hungarian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Serie A players AS Roma players Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Spain La Liga players FC Barcelona players Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in Spain RCD Espanyol footballers CE Europa footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Switzerland FC Basel players Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Expatriate men's footballers in Austria FK Austria Wien players Hamilton Steelers (1958–1967) players Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League players Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in Austria Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Toronto City players Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in Canada Olympic medalists in football Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics Canadian National Soccer League players 20th-century Hungarian sportsmen