Sándor Kocsis

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sándor Kocsis Peter (born Budapest, Hungary, September 21, 1929; died Barcelona, July 22, 1979), also referred to as Kocsis Sándor, was a Hungarian footballer who played for Ferencváros TC, Budapest Honvéd, Young Fellows Zürich, CF Barcelona and Hungary. During the 1950s, along with Ferenc Puskás, Zoltán Czibor, József Bozsik and Nándor Hidegkuti, he was one of the legendary Mighty Magyars. After the 1956 Hungarian Revolution he moved to Spain where he became a prominent member of the successful CF Barcelona team of the late 1950s. In 1961 he also played as a guest for Valencia CF and helped them win their own summer trophy, the Trofeo Naranja. He scored in both games as Valencia beat Botafogo and FC Barcelona. He was an all round forward being a magnificent finisher, very strong, great at positioning and most of all brilliant in the air.

Nicknamed Golden Head, Kocsis was a prolific goalscorer for both Budapest Honvéd and Hungary. While playing for Honvéd, he was the top goal scorer in any European league in both 1952 and 1954. He also scored 75 goals in 68 appearances for Hungary. This included a record seven hat tricks. 11 of these goals and two of these hat tricks were scored at the 1954 World Cup. He became the first player ever to score two hat tricks in a World Cup and finished the tournament as top scorer. Only Just Fontaine has scored more goals in a single World Cup.

Kocsis retired as a player in 1966 and opened a restaurant in Barcelona called Tete D’ Or. He also worked as a coach with CF Barcelona and managed Hercules CF between 1972 and 1974. However his coaching career was cut short when he was diagnosed with leukemia and then stomach cancer. On July 22 1979, aged 49, he fell to his death from the fourth floor of a hospital in Barcelona. He allegedly committed suicide although it may have been an accident.

[edit] European Top Goalscorer

Kocsis began his career as a junior with Kobanyai TC before joining Ferencváros TC where he won his first Hungarian League title in 1949. He was then conscripted into the army and joined the army club, Honvéd. His team mates at Honvéd included Ferenc Puskás, Zoltán Czibor and József Bozsik. During his time at the club he won three more Hungarian League titles in 1952, 1954 and 1955. He finished as top goalscorer in the league on three occasions in 1951, 1952 and 1954 scoring 30, 36 and 33 goals respectively. On the latter two occasions he was also the top goalscorer in any European league.

[edit] Magical Magyars

Kocsis made his debut for the senior Hungary team in 1948. Together with Ferenc Puskás, Zoltán Czibor, József Bozsik and Nándor Hidegkuti, he formed the nucleus of the legendary team that went unbeaten for an incredible 32 consecutive games. This record still stands today. On November 20 1949 he scored his first international hat trick in a game against Sweden and he scored a further one on June 22 1952 against Finland. Kocsis also scored six goals at the Olympics in Helsinki as Hungary became Olympic Champions in 1952. On October 19 1952 he scored his third international hat trick in a game against Czechoslovakia.

Kocsis and friends also twice gave England a footballing lesson. In 1953 they stunned England with a 6-3 win at Wembley Stadium and then in 1954 they gave them a 7-1 hammering in Budapest. During the latter game Kocsis added a further two goals to his increasingly impressive record. In 1953 Hungary also won the Central European International Cup.

[edit] 1954 World Cup

Although the 1954 World Cup would end in disappointment for Hungary, it was a personal success for Kocsis. He finished the competition as top goalscorer, scoring 11 goals and two hat tricks. In the opening game he scored his first hat trick of the tournament against South Korea as Hungary cruised to a 9-0 win. In the next game against Germany, he went one further and scored four of the goals in an 8-3 win against the understrength team of coach Sepp Herberger. In the quarter-finals Hungary played Brazil, in a game infamously referred to as the Battle of Berne, Kocsis scored twice in a bruising encounter which saw Hungary win 4-2. Hungary then reached the final after they defeated reigning World champions Uruguay in the semi-finals. The game was 2-2 in extra time until Kocsis scored twice to seal another 4-2 win. In the final they met Germany once again. However for the first time in the competition Kocsis failed to score and the Germans won the Miracle of Berne 3-2.

On October 24 1954 he scored his sixth international hat trick and second against Czechoslovakia. He completed his seventh and last hat trick for Hungary on November 5 1955 in a game against the same opponents, Sweden, that he had scored his first.

[edit] Honvéd World Tour

In 1956 Honvéd entered the European Cup and in the first round they were drawn against Atlético Bilbao. Honvéd lost the away leg 2-3, but before the home leg could be played, the Hungarian Revolution had erupted back in Budapest. The players decided against going back to Hungary and arranged for the return with Atlético to be played at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels. Despite drawing 3-3 they went out on 6-5 on aggregate.

Elimination left Honvéd in limbo. The players 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. Some, including Bozsik, returned to Hungary while others, including Czibor, Kocsis and Puskás, found new clubs in Western Europe.

[edit] CF Barcelona

Kocsis spent one season with Young Fellows Zürich before another Hungarian refugee, Ladislao Kubala, persuaded him and Zoltán Czibor to join him at CF Barcelona. He subsequently scored on his La Liga debut in a 4-1 win over Real Betis and as part of a legendary team that also included Ramallets, Evaristo and Luis Suárez, Kocsis won a Copa del Generalísimo/La Liga double in 1959 and a La Liga/Fairs Cup double in 1960. CF Barcelona also reached the final of the European Cup in 1961 and this saw Czibor and Kocsis return to the Wankdorf Stadium in Berne, where in 1954, while playing for Hungary, they had lost the World Cup Final. Despite both of them scoring, they finished on the losing side once again. They also lost by the same 3-2 score again, this time to SL Benfica.

Although no longer the prolific goalscorer he was in his earlier career, Kocsis still proved a useful player for CF Barcelona. He scored twice in the 1959 Copa del Generalísimo final as CF Barcelona defeated Granada CF 4-1. In the 1960 European Cup he scored four of the goals in a 5-2 quarter-final win over Wolves. He also scored a hat trick against Real Sociedad in a La Liga game in 1961 and scored all three goals in the 1962 Fairs Cup final that they lost to Valencia CF 7-3 on aggregate. Kocsis also scored in the 1963 Copa del Generalísimo final held at the Camp Nou. CF Barcelona beat Real Zaragoza 3-1.

[edit] Honours

Olympic medal record
Competitor for  Hungary
Men's Football
Gold	1952 Helsinki	Team competition

Hungary

• Olympic Champions
  • 1952
• Central European Champions
  • 1953
• World Cup
  • Runner-up: 1954

Ferencváros TC

• Hungarian Champions: 1
  • 1949

Honvéd FC

• Hungarian Champions: 3
  • 1952, 1954, 1955

CF Barcelona

• Spanish Champions: 2
  • 1958/59, 1959/60
• Copa del Generalísimo: 2
  • 1958/59, 1962/63
• Inter-Cities Fairs Cup: 1
  • 1958/60

Valencia CF

• Trofero Naranja
  • 1961

[edit] Sources

• Behind The Curtain - Travels in Eastern European Football: Jonathan Wilson (2006) [1]
• The World Cup - The Complete History: Terry Crouch (2002) [2]
• 50 Years of the European Cup and Champions League: Keir Radnedge (2005) [3]

[edit] External links

• La Liga stats
• Hungary stats at RSSSF
• Hungary stats at Sportmuzeum
• Guest with Valencia CF

v • d • e Golden Team Gyula Grosics • Jenő Buzánszky • Gyula Lóránt • Mihály Lantos • József Bozsik • József Zakariás • László Budai • Sándor Kocsis • Nándor Hidegkuti • Ferenc Puskás • Zoltán Czibor • Coach: Gusztáv Sebes

v • d • e Hungary squad - 1954 FIFA World Cup Runners-up 1 Grosics • 2 Buzánszky • 3 Lóránt • 4 Lantos • 5 Bozsik • 6 Zakariás • 7 J. Tóth • 8 Kocsis • 9 Hidegkuti • 10 Puskás • 11 Czibor • 12 Kárpáti • 13 Várhidi • 14 Kovács • 15 Szojka • 16 Budai • 17 Machos • 18 Csordás • 19 Palotás • 20 M. Tóth • 21 Gellér • 22 Gulyás • Coach: Sebes