Ferenc Puskas and I

Since I am moving I have been packing, going through a lot of old documents, and came across a small football memory that involved none other than the legendary Ferenc Puskas, one of the best football players of all time; all-time topscorer of Europe and captain of the legendary Hungarian national team of the 1950s, that broke many records: the first team ever to defeat England at Wembley, they didn’t lose a game for three years, until the 1954 World Cup final in Switzerland, where they nevertheless ended up as the most scoring team per match of all time (ironically, they had defeated Germany 8-3 in the first round, but lost the legendary final 3-2 after being up 2-0!). 

Hungarian football has not been the same since 1956 (even though they have participated in many tournaments, but without much distinction) when the legendary team fell apart after the Hungarian uprising against the USSR. Many of the players were dispersed all over Europe – many went to Spain, for instance Sandor Koscic (the topscorer of the 1954 World Cup), but also Ferenc Puskas, who went to become a player of one of the most legendary teams of all time: Real Madrid. This was the real “galactico” Real Madrid, with some of the best players of all time: Alfredo Di Stefano, Raymond Kopa, Francisco Gento, José Santamaría… Still, Puskas stood out: four pichichis and winning five European Championships. 

In 1993 I went to watch Hungary play against Denmark in a friendly match in Parken in Copenhagen. Denmark won 3-1 (and Michael Laudrup scored after his recent return to the national team), but that was not the special thing about the match. I was with some friends from the boarding school in Birkerød, which I attended back then. Some ten meters behind me I saw a large fat man with sleazy combed back hair, and immediately I recognized him: this was Ferenc Puskas, and I told one of my friends who knew who I was referring to: this was one of the most legendary players of all time (Pelé, Maradona, Cruyff, Beckenbauer, Puskas)! We wanted an autograph from this legend, and approached the old large man. “Puskas!”, and waved at him. He waved back, casually and signalling that he was not going to sign any autograph, but I thought I sensed a certain pride that he had been recognized by two Danish teenagers. We kept waving,: “Autograph, Puskas!”, but he ignored us, until I then said in Spanish: “Vamos, para un hincha del Madrid!” (I am not proud that I pretended to be a fan of Real Madrid…), which at least made him turn towards me: “Yo estoy aquí como Húngaro!”, he said and I didn’t get an autograph. 

Seems Mr. Puskas, like me, had different identities for different contexts: One day Hungarian, other days Spanish, other days Madrid. 

Mr. Puskas passed away in 2006, was given a state funeral in Hungary, and well, I could remember my little encounter with a legend.

Scottish return

Scotland played a dreadful opening match against Germany losing 1-5. In the meantime Switzerland had played a great match defeating Hungary 3-1, so everything appeared to be set for Switzerland and a second victory.

But this time Scotland rose to the occassion with a great atmosphere by both team's fans.

It was a not a well-played match, and Swizterland made numerous errors, while many of Scotland's players simply lacked the technique to do what should be done. But both teams, specially the Scots, played with spirit and commitment. In a quick counterattack they were a bit lucky when Fabian Shar pushed Scott McTominay's shot across the goalline, but the lead was deserved. At the same time Anthony Ralston gave away a pass to Xerdan Shaquiri who scored (another) spectacular goal to make it 1-1.

Scotland went for the victory in the second half even though Switzerland had a goal ruled a tight off-side. The Swiss appeared more satisfied with the tie, as it almost secures them advancement to the nexto round, while Scotland will have to go for the victory against Hungary.

Hungary are a good side, but no matter what happens, the Scots have shown that they are still a competitive side that has spirit and energy.

Why not throw them out?

 Hungary’s fans behaved as racist animals in their enormous defeat against England in Budapest. Besides the happiness that we should all have when Hungary loses, and the way we should celebrate when these people don’t qualify for the World Cup, this again brings to the forth the football organizers’ lack of willingness to do anything about it.

Firstly, if Hungary has already been ordered to play three matches without fans by UEFA; how come FIFA does not act on this? Do they not talk to each other? Or just assume that the racists are not interested in World Cup qualifiers?

Secondly, why such feeble punishments? Three matches without fans and some fine that they can pay with pocket change? Why not something like banning them from playing home games, not for a few games, but for years? Or rather, in my view, why not show that we mean to combat the scourge of racism by simply throwing out the teams of the tournament?! This would not be new: countries have been banned from World Cups for “government interference” or even using overaged players… 

I know some people would argue that a majority should not suffer from the animal behavior of a minority. But when the racism happens consistently at every game and there is no internal rejection of this behavior by the “majority”, then the majority is, sorry to say, complicit in the behavior. This includes everyone; also those in and around the team: your fans are part of your team, not just when they are great, but also when they are beasts (England knows this…), and so you carry a responsibility too; don’t’ turn away from it.

So these teams should just be thrown out of the tournament. 

Nobody will miss them.

The usual suspects

Before the tournament Group F had been dubbed the "Group of Death", with Germany, Portugal and France, and then Hungary as an attachment. In the end Hungary proved the greatest team of the group, and it is a pity that they did not make it through, fighting bravely against the Germans in Munich, but only making it to 2-2 after being ahead twice.

It was exciting, and one was almost hoping for a repeat of the legendary 1954 World Cup final, but this time with Hungary coming out on top.

In the end it was "the usual suspects that made it through".

Germany end up in second spot in the group, and will be facing England at Wembley stadium in one of the most classic matches in modern football. This time though, England will look like favourites, as the Germans have looked shaky, and the English have the best opportunity show themselves from the best sides.

Just never underestimate the Germans like they underestimate others.

The defending world champions of France have not looked impressive either, although they are still favourites to go the whole way, specially because they are pacing themselves. A 2-2 score against was enough for them to win Group F and they will now be facing Switzerland in the last-16; the Helvetians are never easy to play against, but France should be expected to make it through. Karim Benzema scored both goals for France against Portugal, and his experience and skills may be paying off for the French.

Portugal is through on third spot in Group F; same as in 2016, and then went on to win the whole thing. The Portuguese look shaky in defense, as they did against Germany, but they have fantastic individual talent, crowned by the great Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo scored both goals for Portugal against France (on two correct penalties) and he has equaled Ali Daei, the legendary Iranian striker, as the most prolific national team goalscorer of all time, and it appears likely that he will be the most scoring ever, and add another record to his legend.

It will not be easy in the quarterfinals though, as Portugal will face the fantastic Belgians. That said, the Portuguese are confident that they can defeat anyone on a good day.

The best that could happen to Belgium

Belgium lost their opening match of the Euro 2016 to Italy, and as things now appear, this may have been the best thing that could happen to Belgium in the tournament. Winning over Ireland and Sweden gave Belgium second place in the group, avoiding a clash against Spain, and instead putting them face to face with the surprising Hungarians, who nevertheless had no surprises for Belgium. An awesome Belgian side seems to be coming together as a team and defeated Hungary 4-0, with a splendid performance by Eden Hazard!

Belgium's next opponent will be Wales, a team that has also surprised positively making it among the eight best sides in Europe, but are hardly a team that will make the Belgians tremble in fear. Indeed, Belgium should be favourites to take a semifinal spot, where they will be facing either Poland or Portugal. Both teams should be beatable by the talented Belgians: Poland has been solid, but not a team that would be expected to make it all the way, while Portugal has been pathetically bad, and although they can only improve, it is hard to see how they could improve so much as to defeat the Belgians.
So, although many things can happen in football, Belgium's way to the final seems to be paved with possibilities. In the meantime, the other half will struggle: Germany will be facing either Spain or Italy, and the winner of that match will face France/England/Iceland in the semifinals (Iceland would be great but highly unlikely).
Whatever happens, I hope Belgium takes one of the final spots!

Reflections on the Euro 2016 Group stages

• 24 teams are too many: all due respect to some of the surprise teams, but there were too many defensive and risk-free matches. 
• Some groups in qualification were not very strong. Everyone from Austria's group (including Sweden and Russia), ended at the bottom of their qualifiers. Portugal's group included Albania and Denmark (the last of which was eliminated by Sweden in the play-off, another bottom team).
• The goal average has been 1.95 (47 goals in 24 matches), and if it continues below 2, it will be the lowest scoring tournament since 1980 (when 27 goals were scored in 14 matches). It is not surprising given the quality of defenses and lack of risk taking from many sides, and we are well below the averages of the last three tournaments, all above 2.4 goals per match.
• Despite few goals, some have been truly fantastic: Dimitri Payet's against Romania in the opening match stands out, but so does Luka Modric's against Turkey, Ronaldo's first goal against Hungary, and Axel Witsel's against Ireland (following 28 passes!)
• It is hard to say which has been the best team, but some stand out: Italy (following their brilliant performance against Belgium), Croatia (their fans stood in the way of making them the only team to go through with three victories), Spain (two strong easy victories and a defeat to a great team), France and Germany (both teams won their groups as expected, but more is expected of them).
• Some players have stood out: Andres Iniesta, Ivan Perisic, Dimitri Payet and Gareth Bale
• Iceland has been the biggest surprise of the tournament, with 8% of their population in the stands. Surely they are not a seeworthy team in the technical sense, but their organization and fighting spirit has carried them this far, and they are the darlings of the tournament.
• The other big surprise has been Hungary. It is refreshing to see a side that has meant so much in football history, but not participated in a major tournament for 30 years, back among the 16 best.
• Portugal has been the biggest disappointment. And they have not won many friends by being too full of themselves and looking down on opponents.
• We will all miss Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
• Hooliganism, nationalism and (in)security have rightfully been issues of concern, and have cast a shadow over the tournament. A pity for the many good fans, but it does not take away the disgrace of hooliganism again making such a return in 2016.

Euro 2016: Round of 16

With the last matches of the group stages we are now ready to the knock-out rounds of the Euro 2016. There were quite some surprises, with no team going through with maximum points:

• Switzerland-Poland: Each came second in their groups, after France and Germany respectively, and with good results they are very evenly paired sides, with both having good options of making it to the quarterfinals, where the winner would face Croatia or Portugal.
• Croatia-Portugal: Croatia won their group ahead of Spain and have been one of the best teams of the tournament. Portugal on the other hand have been a big disappointment, just making it to third place behind Hungary and Iceland. Croatia are surely favourites, although one never knows with Ronaldo...
•  Wales-Northern Ireland: A British clash where Wales will surely be favourites after their outstanding group victory ahead of England, with Gareth Bale central in a fantastic team effort. The Irish just made it through on the last 3rd spot following their victory over Ukraine, and surely Wales are favourites. The winner will face the winner of Hungary-Belgium.
• Hungary-Belgium: Hungary has been the second biggest surprise of the tournament (after Iceland), winning their group with a strong team effort and confidence. Belgium has been a bit disappointing after they had been so highly rated, but they still have a fantastic team that should be able to take Hungary. But do not underestimate the Hungarians!
• Germany-Slovakia: As expected the German world champions won their group ahead of Poland, and will be favourites against Slovakia, who went through as the best third placed side after Wales and England. The winner will face Italy or Spain, in what seems to be the hardest path to the final!
• Italy-Spain: If any match is obligatory, it should be this one. Both started as the best teams of the tournament, but looked more shaky when losing their last group match. Still, Italy lost to Ireland with a largely substitute team, and if they can put a display on like they did against Belgium, they should be favourites against a Spain side that exposed many weaknesses against Croatia.
• France-Ireland: Ireland did what they had to do when they defeated Italy in their last match to just make it through to the knock-out stages. France won their group, although they had to struggle in every match, and still has to show their full potential. That said, the hosts will surely expect a quarterfinal against England or Iceland.
• England-Iceland: The sensational Icelanders are the darlings of the tournament having made it through on second place after Hungary and ahead of Portugal (take that Ronaldo!). Again they will be up against the odds. England made it through on second spot, and have played fine on occasions, but  seem to lack the last quality. England are surely favourites by far, but if the tournament has shown anything, it is that Iceland are not there just to be run over! So look out England, as the world supports Iceland!

In my view this is when the tournament really starts; there were too many boring matches in the group stages!

Iceland is in the House!

Iceland qualified in style for the Euro 2016 from a very difficult group ahead of Turkey and the Netherlands (and behind the Czechs). So it is perhaps surprising that they have been considered the minnows of the tournament.
Not after today, where they are rather the Cinderella of the tournament, after an outstanding 1-1 against Portugal. Portugal were not as disappointing as they so often have been in these tournaments, although one cannot but feel that they again fell into their common trap of arrogance whenever they play "smaller" teams.
Iceland were equals to the Portuguese stars throughout most of the match and that should be a wake-up call for the other two teams in the group, Austria and Hungary (where the Hungarians surprisingly defeated Austria 0-2 earlier in the day). But what is interesting in this group is that all teams are strong and could make it to the next round.
Even the Cinderella of the tournament.

Das Wunder von Bern

Over the last months I have been working on finding information on the greatest world cup matches. Looking up the 1954 final between Hungary and West Germany, I came across a German movie from 2003, Das Wunder von Bern, about this legendary match, and managed to get hold of the movie, but as I moved and thought of different things, didn't watch it until last night.
It is a truly wonderful movie, for any football fan, but in particular for Germans. The movie describes well the country that in 1954 was still trying to heal the wounds from WWII, with prisoners returning from Russia and the economy slowly recovering. In all this, an amazing football team, coached by a charismatic Sepp Herberger (whose famous quotes are of course also in the movie), with the legendary Fritz Walter, and a Helmut Rahn who plays an important role for the main character, the boy Matthias, who showing up at the final in Bern, brings luck for Rahn to score the winning goal against the legendary Hungarians.
The movie is told with good humour (I laughed a lot when the journalist's wife, after making a bet with her husband that if Hungary won, he got to choose the name of their children, start cheering wildly for the Germans when they are 2-0 down, since her husband tells her that a girl would be named Roswita....), and the football details are excellent: the new Adidas boots, the rainy "Fritz Walter weather", and the press' criticism of the coach. And in the end, the euphoria at Germany's victory is incredibly contagious (I have watched a tape of the entire final before), as the entire country goes crazy in excitement at the victory.
How can anyone not love football after such a great movie dedicated to football?

Greatest World Cup matches: Hungary-El Salvador (1982)

In the 1982 first round group Argentina, Belgium, Hungary and El Salvador drew each other in group 3. Argentina surprisingly lost 1-0 to Belgium in the opening match, before Hungary was to open in Elche against El Salvador, who were only playing their second world cup ever, after losing all their three matches during the 1970 World Cup.
There were not many expectations to El Salvador against the strong European side. The small central American country was in the midst of a civil war, and the team itself was unknown and with little to offer.
In the meantime, the Hungarians had a strong team, although they had been decaying since their golden days, and didn’t have the same stars they used to, although some of them were stars in their respective clubs, such as Royal Antwerp’s Lászlo Fazekas and Ferencvaros’ Tibor Nyilasi.
As the match started it was also Tibor Nyilasi who opened the scoreboard after only four minutes, on a nice header following a corner-kick. On two further goals by Gabor Pölöskei and Lászlo Fazekas, the score was 3-0 by half-time; a large difference, but worse was to come.
Ten minutes into the second half József Toth and Fazekas had made it 4 and 5-0 respectively against a pathetically passive Salvadorean defense. It all looked as a training session for the Hungarians who understandably relaxed and gave the Salvadoreans more space, and in the 64th minute this bore fruit when Luis Ramírez Zapata scored for El Salvador. The Salvadorean players celebrated the goal as if the goal was important, and in some ways it was, as it remains the only goal El Salvador has ever scored in a World Cup.
The Salvadorans appeared so happy to score one goal, that they perhaps forgot to play, and for the remainder of the match El Salvador completely fell apart. Lászlo Kiss became the first and only player in a World Cup to come on as a substitute and score three goals, while Lázár Szentes also scored before Tibor Nyilasi, who had opened the scoreboard, also closed it with the tenth Hungarian goal.
El Salvador had been utterly humiliated while Hungary had started the tournament very well to say the least!
However, in the end the match meant nothing: El Salvador went on to lose with a bit less, 1-0 to Belgium and 2-0 to Argentina. Hungary on the other hand lost 4-1 to Argentina and after a 1-1 with Belgium, were  out of the tournament alongside the Salvadorans despite of their impressive scoreline.
Their victory against El Salvador still stands as the largest scoreline in World Cup history.

Match Stats:

• 15th June 1982, Nuevo Estadio, Elche
• Attendance: 23,000
• Referee: Ibrahim Youssef-Al-Doy (Bahrain)

Hungary-El Salvador 10-1
Goals: 1-0 Nyilasi (4), 2-0 Pölöskei (11), 3-0 Fazekas (23), 4-0 Tóth (50), 5-0 Fazekas (54), 5-1 L. Ramirez (64), 6-1 L. Kiss (69), 7-1 L. Kiss (72), 8-1 Szentes (73), 9-1 L. Kiss (76), 10-1 Nyilasi (83)

Teams:
Hungary: Meszaros; Martos, Balint, Tóth, Mueller (Szentes), Garaba, Fazekas, Nyilasi, Torocsik (L. Kiss), Poloskei, Sallai
El Salvador: Mora; Castillo, Jovel, Recinos, Ventura (Fagoaga), Rugamas (L. Ramirez), Hernandez, Huezo, Gonzalez, Rivas, J. Rodriguez

Greatest World Cup matches: West Germany-Hungary (1954)

A very confident Hungarian side ran on the pitch in Berne for the 1954 World Cup final in Berne, Switzerland: they had not lost a match in four years, and in the four previous matches to reach the final had scored a staggering 25 goals, among them, an 8-3 victory against the other finalists, West Germany, in the first round of the tournament.
In that match the Germans, under the legendary coach Sepp Herberger, had nevertheless lined almost only substitute, not wanting to face Brazil in the quarterfinals, and also played a harsh match to injure the biggest Hungarians stars, notably Ferenc Puskas, who was unable to play until the final.
The Uruguayans in the semifinal had also shown that the mighty Hungarians could be shaken by strong fight and a solid defense, so the Germans went into the final as confident underdogs, willing to play their chance, after defeating Yugoslavia 2-0 in the quarterfinals, and destroying their Austrian brethren 6-1 in the semifinal. Among the German stars were the captain Fritz Walter, the legendary Nüremberg striker Max Morlock, and the striker Helmuth Rahn, who was only called up by Sepp Herberger after the tournament had started.
The Hungarians decided to line up a not wholly recovered Ferenc Puskas for the final, which demanded some changes in a team that until then had been quite solid, but may have proven fatal seen in hindsight against a very solid German team.
However, none of this seemed to matter as the match (which was the first World Cup final that was transmitted live on TV) started: within eight minutes Hungary was up 2-0 on goals by Ference Puskas and Zoltán Czibor, the second goal being a huge mistake by the German goalkeeper Toni Turek.
The Hungarian goals just seemed to make the Germans better though. Within ten minutes Max Morlock and Helmuth Rahn had brought balance to the match, and the Germans dominated the rest of the first half, and things were looking good for the Germans, although nobody really thought that the Hungarians could lose!
Hungary did attack feverishly in the second half, but the Germans defended heroically, and in particular Toni Turek seemed impenetrable on the goal.
Only six minutes before the end of the match Helmuth Rahn received a return ball at the edge of the German area, made one quick move around a Hungarian defender and shot hard and flat towards the lower right goal-corner.
The German commentators screams of “TOOOOOR!” are legendary among commentators.
This remains one of the most legendary goals in German history, as it gave the West Germans the impossible victory against Hungary.
The victory meant a lot for Germans, who had been stigmatised after WWII (they had not even been allowed to participate in the 1950 World Cup), but this gave them something to be proud of, and came to symbolize the recovery of a nation. It was recreated in a 2003 German movie with huge success, “Das Wunder von Bern” (“The Miracle of Bern”).
Germany has since remained one of the mightiest football nations in the world.
The situation was completely different for the Hungarians. The Hungary team of 1954 is arguably one of the best teams in the history of football, and surely the best team never to become world champion. Many of the players from the team had many excuses after the match, from a bad referee (who had disallowed a Puskas-goal for off-side in the dying second of the match), to drugs and black magic.
But truth is that on the day, the German fighting spirit was the best, something that is surely more important to win a World Championship.
The Hungarian “Dream Team” was soon to be dissolved because of the Hungarian Uprising of 1956, when most of the players went into exile, such as Kocsis, Puskas, Czibor. Hungarian football, that gave the world such a team, never really recovered from these events.

Match Stats:

• 4th July, 1954 Wankdorf Stadion, Bern
• Attendance: 60,000
• Referee: Willy H.E. Ling (England)

West Germany-Hungary 3-2Goals: 0-1 Puskas (6), 0-2 Czibor (8), 1-2 Morlock (10), 2-2 Rahn (18), 3-2 Rahn (84)

Teams:
West Germany: Turek, Posipal, Kohlmyer, Eckel, Liebrich, Mai, Rahn, Morlock, O. Walter, F. Walter, Scäfer
Hungary: Grosics, Buzanszky, Lantos, Boszik, Lorant, Zakarias, Puskas, Kocsis, Hidegkuti, Czibor, J. Toth

Denmark to South Africa: wrap up group 1

Denmark's last match against Hungary was a quite pathetic 0-1 loss (in fact, the first world cup qualifying defeat in Copenhagen since 1981....), but didn't mean anything because of Denmark's 1-0 victory against Sweden last Saturday, that had already given the Danes their ticket to South Africa next year.Denmark was an unfancied team before the qualfiers, and I think everyone, including Danes, would have put their bets on Portugal and Sweden, who have nevertheless trailed the Danes: Sweden was defeated twice, and Portugal only managed one tie with the well-organised Danes.
Because that is what can be said about the Danish team: they fight with spirit, are well-organised, and cold-blooded in the important situations - they follow their luck, and thus are deserved winners of the group.

That said, the Danish team still lacks stars, and when they play bad (like they did tonight, or recently against Albania), they play awfully, something that they can ill-afford in South Africa. However, one of the main reasons they have qualified is that they have been favoured by hugely disappointing opponents in the qualifiers: Portugal is surely a better team than Denmark, but have as usual been arrogant and lacked a fighting spirit that can still cost them their qualification in their coming play-off match.

I am sorry for Sweden, but they have simply been awful, and I really think that this must be the worse team in Swedish history; the players are not that bad, but they play primitively and predictable football, with high balls up to Ibrahimovic, who in spite of his stardom in his clubs, seems to be no particular asset when the tactics are so predictable. Sweden will not be missed in South Africa.
Anyway, Denmark will not be world champions. Depending on the draw, they may struggle to progress from the first round, but on the other hand, the comforting thought for a Danish fan is that the Danes seem to perform best when faced against outstanding opponents, but disappoint against smaller teams. I certainly hope it is the former that they will take with them to South Africa!

Greatest World Cup matches: Hungary-Uruguay (1954)

The 1954 World Cup in Switzerland is still the one where most goals have been scored per match. This was not only an expression of poor defenses, but also for the fact that there were some extraordinarily offensive teams participating in the tournament.
Two of these strong attacking teams were to face one another in the semifinal: Hungary and the defending world champions of Uruguay.
The South Americans had arrived to Switzerland with an experienced team that was, if anything, stronger than the side that had won in Marcaná four year ago. In the first round the Uruguayans had destroyed Scotland 7-0, defeated Czechoslovakia 2-0, and in the quarterfinal played an extraordinary game against the always-strong English, and won 4-2.
At this point, before the semi-final, Uruguay could in fact bring forth the fact that they had never lost a match in a World Cup!
Hungary was nevertheless not going to be an easy match. The Central Europeans were undefeated in nearly four years, and had even been the first team to defeat England at Wembley, 6-3 in 1953.
The team was indeed the envy of the entire world.
In their first three matches the Hungarians had scored a staggering 21 goals, winning 8-3 against West Germany, 9-0 against South Corea, and 4-2 against Brazil in a match that came to be known as the “Battle of Bern”, one of the most disgraceful matches in World Cup history.
To this day, Hungary remains the team that has had the highest goal-scoring average in a World Cup, and Sándor Koscis, the top-scorer of the tournament with 11 goals, the most prolific player per match with 2.2 goals!
The match between Uruguay and Hungary was to be an hommage to the game, with many at the time calling it the best match in history. It was undoubtfully the match that any football-fan would have preferred as the final. And this was even the case as two of the stars were unable to play the final: Hungary’s playmaker Ferenc Puskas and the Uruguayans legendary captain Obdulio Varela were both out due to injury.
The Hungarians started attacking feverishly, and seemed they would overrun the Uruguayans. After 13 minutes this bore fruit as Zoltán Czibor received a header from Sándor Kocsis in the area, and cooly placed the ball in the left-hand corner.
After 1-0 at half-time, in the first minute of the second half Hungary seemed to have sealed off the match when the three-time goalscorer from Wembley, Nándor Hidegkuti, scored on a spectacular diving header.
However, the Uruguayans had learned never to give up, and the legendary Juan Alberto Schiaffino on a confident side, that managed to put pressure on the Hungarians. Only fifteen minutes before the end Juan Hohberg got space in between two defenders on a pass by Schiaffino and scored.
Uruguay was now full of confidence while the Hungarian masters looked shaky. Four minutes before the end Juan Hohberg again sqeezed in between the two central defenders and scored the equalizer for Uruguay amid the desperate Hungarian defenders. According to legend, Hohberg passed out from the excitement and fatigue of the goal!
The match had completely changed, and had to go into extra time, and at first it seemed that the Uruguayans had everything going for them: Uruguay had been milimeters from going ahead when they in an extraordinary Hohberg-Schiaffino combination hit the post. However, the Hungarian magicians then started exerting more pressure, and Sándor Kocsis scored twice on headers, to give Hungary the 4-2 victory that brought them into the semi-final.
Uruguay’s players were graceful in their defeat to the best team in the world: the great half-back Jószef Bozsik, later recalled how he had almost cried of emotion when Schiaffino came to congratulate him at the end of the match: “It was the most beautiful, the most humane match of my life.”
Many commentators agreed, and at the time many people remembered this as the match of the century.

Match Stats:

• 30th June, 1954, La Pontaise, Lausanne, Switzerland
• Attendance: 37,000
• Referee: Benjamin Griffiths (Wales)

Hungary-Uruguay 4-2 (After Extra Time)
Goals:1-0 Czibor (13), 2-0 Hidegkuti (46), 2-1 Hohberg (75), 2-2 Hohberg (86), 3-2 Kocsis (111), 4-2 Kocsis (116)

Teams:
Hungary: Grosics; Lorant, Buzanski, Lantos, Bozsik, Zakarias, Kocsis, Czibor, Hidegkuti, Budai, Palotas
Uruguay: Maspoli; Santamaria, Martinez, Andrade, Hohberg, Schiaffino, Cruz, Carballo, Borges, Ambrois, Sauto

Greatest World Cup marches: Italy-Hungary (1938)

Europe was in the shadow of war as the World Cup went underway: Austria had been annexed by Germany (and players from the excellent Austrian football team lined up for Germany, who were nevertheless eliminated by Switzerland in the first round), and Spain did not participate, immersed in a bloody civil war.
The defending world champions of Italy were to defend the title in France, where many Italian refugees from Fascism had sought asylum, and for Mussolini it was important that Italy should win in the face of this.
When the Italians faced the French hosts in the quarterfinals in a preview of one of the most classic matches in European football, the match was played amid the political undertones. In line with the political climate, the Italian team put on black shirts, the colour of the Fascist party, and made the Fascist salute before the start of the match, upsetting the 61,000 spectators in Paris. However, the enmity of the spectators did nothing to Italy’s superiority, and they deservedly won 3-1.
In the semifinal Italy had defeated the excellently playing Brazilians, who had arrogantly underestimated the Italians, who were still eager to show that their title in 1934 had been no coincidence of favourable referees.
Hungary seemed to have had an easier road to the final: defeating the Dutch East Indies 6-0 in their first match, they had first won 2-0 against Switzerland in the quarterfinals, and demolished Sweden 5-1 in the semifinals. Thirteen goals in three matches spoke of a team that loved to attack, and also in possession of some extraordinary players, among whom the legendary Újpest FC striker Gyula Zsengeller stood out with seven goals (he trailed Leonidas from Brazil as the most scoring player in the tournament though).
The final in Paris was thus an encounter between efficient and tactically-minded Italians with a solid defense, against the more technical and elegant Hungarians. Before the match, Mussolini sent a note to each player of the national team with the Fascist cry of “Vincire o morire!” (“Win or die!”), and this perhaps incited the Italians for a strong start, when the Triestina striker, Gino Colaussi brought Italy ahead after only six minutes. However, only two minutes later Pal Titkos equalized for the Hungarians.
The Italians were not shaken though, and played a great match, and based on the formidable defense that has become legendary for Italian sides, they also had a great attack. First, the legendary Lazio striker Silvio Piola brought Italy ahead 2-1 and then Colaussi scored his second goal to make it 3-1, the score at half-time.
The Italians seemed to relax their grip in the second half, but were still strong in defense, until a defensive error (the only one) allowed the Hungarian captain György Sárosi to make a second for Hungary. While the score 3-2 would perhaps make other teams nervous, this didn’t happen to the Italians, who instead started attacking to seal off the match, leading to Silvio Piola scoring an outstanding goal after beautiful combination with Amedeo Biavati. Piola, who is still the most prolific goalscorer in the Serie A, and is creditted for having invented the bycicle kick, thus made it into the World Cup history as well.
Italy had become deserved world champions by playing efficient, tactical and solid in defense, the kind of qualities that have made them great since.
After this final the Italians would hold on to the trophy for 12 years, since the following two World Cups were cancelled due to the war that descended on the world.

Match Stats:

• 19th June, 1938, Stade Colombes, Paris
• Attendance: 55,000
• Referee: Georges Capdeville (France)

Italy-Hungary 4-2
Goals: 1-0 Colaussi (6), 1-1 Titkos (8), 2-1 Piola (15), 3-1 Colaussi (35), 3-2 Sarosi (70), 4-2 Piola (80)

Teams:
Italy: Olivieri, Foni, Rava, Seratoni, Andreolo, Locatelli, Biavati, Meazza, Piola, Ferrari, Colaussi
Hungary: Szabo, Polgar, Biro, Szalay, Szücs, Lazar, Sas, Zsengeller, Sarosi, Vincze, Titkos

The Empty Chairs

I was just going through some old pictures and came by an old picture of "The Empty Chairs", a 7-side team I played on at the European Commission while doing the so-called "Stage" there in 2001-2002:

It was great fun, we were a great an charming side, but didn't make it beyond the first round, because the games were usually on a Sunday, after massive amounts of beer warmed us up on Satruday evening.
Still, I believe we are the best team not to win a tournament since Hungary in 1954 or Brazil in 1982.

Cheers for the old days!!

Top 5 Best teams that never won a World Cup

With the World Cup coming up, the World Cup historical geeks start discussing before games. An interesting one I heard recently was the a discussion on the top 5 best teams that had not won a World Cup. I have spent some time thinking about this list. I find it a big difficult, because should it entail teams that almost won it? Teams that played very well but did not make it far, or teams that should have won it, but lost after huge upset?

My very personal top 5 (which I will defend any time though) is:

5. Brazil 1950: Brazil should have won its first World Cup ever in 1950, at home in Maracana, in front of a record crowd of 200,000 spectators. Instead, facing all the adversity in the world, little Uruguay put a stop to the celebrations in all Brazil, to give the Brazilians their most painful defeat ever, by winning 2-1. Brazil has still never won the World Championship on own soil.

4. Czechoslovakia 1934: The Czechoslovaks had one of the best teams of the world in the mid 1930's, although playing a World Cup final in Rome during Mussolini was never going to be an easy task. Il Duce made sure that Italy would have all advantages, even a very friendly referee. In spite of this, the Italians only managed a narrow 2-1 victory after extra time.

3. Brazil 1982: 1982 and 1986 probably were the two World Cups with most of the legendary players assembled at one time. The teams were amazing, and it is difficult to choose one that could not have been a worthy champion (France, Germany, Poland...). However, I have chosen Brazil, because it was undoubtfully one of the most talented generations of Brazilian football: Zico, Socrates, Falcao, Junior, Cerezo, etc. In spite of their magic, they never lifted the trophy.

2. Netherlands 1974: This team, led by the legendary Johann Cruyff, took the world with storm with its relaxed attitude and marvelous "Total Football". They were a beauty to watch, and were far superior to every team in 1974 in Germany. Until the final, they had cruised through, even trashing the mighty Brazilians. In the final in Munich, they started with a pentalty goal in the first minute against the West German hosts. However, the Germans managed to fight back to win 2-1 in one of the most legendary finals of all time.

1. Hungary 1954: In the first half of the 1950's, Hungary had the best team in the world. Led by legendary Puskas, and with amazing strikers such as Hidegkuti and Koscic, Hungary entered the 1954 World Cup without having lost a game for 3 years. In Switzerland, they started amazing, scoring amazing 25 goals in 4 games. In the final against Germany, they started by getting ahead 2-0 after 8 minutes, and the whole world thought that was the end... However, in one of the most amazing comebacks ever, West Germany won 3-2, to get their first World Cup ever. Hungary has never really recovered...

This was my list. Any opinions?

World Cup qualifiers and friendly matches

Besides Denmark’s 4-1 destruction of England, there were some interesting matches all over the world yesterday:

• Netherlands-Germany 2-2: As always, a classic encounter between two great teams. This time, German tenacity got them back from being 0-2 behind.
• Spain-Uruguay 2-0: Spain displayed some of the best technical football they have had for long time, and is optimistic heading into the last part of their world cup qualifiers.
• Liechtenstein-Slovakia 0-0: Liechtenstein summed yet another point to the World Cup qualifiers Group 3. They are becoming someone to be reckoned with!
• Belgium-Greece 2-0: The Mpenza brothers were instrumental in giving Belgium the victory against the European Champions.
• Argentina-Hungary 2-1: Young super-star Lionel Messi had his debut on the Argentinean national team, and received a red card after 30 seconds…
• France-Ivory Coast 3-0: Zinedine Zidane is back with a goal, and to make sure we see France in Germany next year!
• Morocco-Togo 0-1: Winning in Morocco is never easy, and Togo is showing why they are only one step away from going to the world cup next year.
• Latvia-Russia 1-1: The result was hard-fought to keep pace with Slovakia on second spot in Group 3 of the European World Cup Qualifiers.
• Tunisia-Kenya 1-0: With the victory, Tunisia rose to the first spot of the African World Cup Qualifying Group 5, ahead of Morocco, with only 2 games left.
• USA-Trinidad/Tobago 1-0: With this hard-fought victory the USA is firmly on second spot in the North American-Caribbean qualifiers, and will almost surely be in Germany next year.

Many very exciting games! Most friendlies, but many qualifiers for the world cup, have left a lot of pending answers for the World Cup next year!