Sándor Kocsis

Sándor Kocsis
Personal information
Full name Sándor Kocsis Peter
Date of birth 21 September 1929(1929-09-21)
Place of birth Budapest, Hungary
Date of death 22 July 1979(1979-07-22) (aged 49)
Playing position Inside-Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1943–1944 Kobanyai TC 5 (0)
1945–1950 Ferencváros TC 59 (40)
1950 ÉDOSZ 30 (30)
1950–1957 Honvéd 145 (153)
1957–1958 Young Fellows Zürich 11 (7)
1958–1965 FC Barcelona 75 (42)
1961 Valencia (guest)
National team
1948–1956 Hungary 68 (75)
Teams managed
1970–1971 Hercules CF
?? Alicante CF
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Sándor Kocsis Péter (21 September 1929 - 22 July 1979) was a Hungarian footballer who played for Ferencváros TC, Budapest Honvéd, Young Fellows Zürich, FC Barcelona and Hungary. During the 1950s, along with Ferenc Puskás, Zoltán Czibor, József Bozsik and Nándor Hidegkuti, he was a member of the Mighty Magyars. After the 1956 Hungarian Revolution he moved to Spain where he became a member of the FC Barcelona team of the late 1950s.

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 - a 1.10 goal/game average at the game's highest level. Kocsis was the top goal scorer in the 1954 World Cup with 11 goals, being the first player to score two hat tricks in a World Cup, finishing the tournament as top scorer. His record 2.2 goal/game average in a single World Cup finals competition is still unbeaten as of 2010, and only Just Fontaine has scored more goals in a single World Cup.

His 1.103 goals/game average is ranked No.1 for players past 43 caps FIFA in class-A competition, closely followed by Gerd Mueller with 1.097 goals/game (68 scores in 62 games), and are the only two players in history above a +1.0 goals/game average encompassing more than 43 internationals. Ferenc Puskás with .99 goals/game (84 scores in 85 matches) is currently ranked 3rd.

Sándor Kocsis registered 7 hat tricks for Hungary.

Contents

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Top International Goalscorers

Pos. Player Nation Goals Scored Games Played Years Active
1. Ali Daei  Iran 109 goals 149 internationals 1993–2006
2. Ferenc Puskás  Hungary
 Spain
84 goals 89 internationals 1945–1956
3. Pelé  Brazil 77 goals 92 internationals 1957–1971
4. Sándor Kocsis  Hungary 75 goals 68 internationals 1948–1956
4. Bashar Abdullah  Kuwait 75 goals 134 internationals 1996–2007
6. Hossam Hassan  Egypt 69 goals 169 internationals 1985–2006
6. Stern John  Trinidad & Tobago 69 goals 109 internationals 1995–2009
8. Gerd Müller  West Germany 68 goals 62 internationals 1966–1974
9. Majeed Abdullah  Saudi Arabia 67 goals 139 internationals 1978–1994

Source: http://rsssf.com/miscellaneous/century.html#goals

Career

Early years

Kocsis was born in Budapest.

He 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.

During the 1952 season at Honvéd, Kocsis was the world's top goalscorer in world 1st division football with 36 goals. He repeated that feat in 1954 with 33 goals.

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 offensive nucleus of the Golden Team that went unbeaten for 32 consecutive games. The Hungarian national team suffered no defeats in Class-A international matches for six years, with 42 victories and 7 draws. This unbeaten run began on 4 June 1950, and ended on 4 July 1954, in the 1954 FIFA World Cup Final.

Kocsis scored his first international hat trick in a game against Sweden on 20 November 1949, and he scored a further one on 22 June 1952 against Finland. Kocsis also scored six goals at the Olympics in Helsinki as Hungary became Olympic Champions in 1952. On 19 October 1952 he scored his third international hat trick in a game against Czechoslovakia.

In 1953 Hungary defeated England 6–3 at Wembley Stadium and then in 1954 by 7–1 in Budapest. During the latter game Kocsis added a further two goals. In 1953 Hungary also won the Central European International Cup.

1954 World Cup

He finished the 1954 World Cup as top goalscorer, scoring 11 goals including 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 referred to as the Battle of Berne: Kocsis scored twice in an 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 3–2.

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

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.

CF Barcelona and coaching career

Kocsis spent one season with Young Fellows Zürich before another Hungarian refugee, László 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 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 Bern, 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 S.L. Benfica.

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. 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. Kocsis also scored in the 1963 Copa del Generalísimo final held at the Camp Nou. CF Barcelona beat Real Zaragoza 3–1.

Later Life and Death

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 22 July 1979, aged 49, he fell to his death from the fourth floor of a hospital in Barcelona. It has been alleged that he committed suicide, though it may have been only an accident.[1]

Statistics

Clubs

Source: [2]

Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Hungary League Hungarian Cup League Cup Europe Total
1945-46 Kobanyai Hungarian National Championship I 5 0
1946-47 Ferencvárosi Hungarian National Championship I 3 2
1947-48 21 5
1948-49 30 33
1949-50 30 30
1950 Budapest Honvéd Hungarian National Championship I 15 24
1951 26 30
1952 26 36
1953 25 24
1954 26 33
1955 21 17
1956 21 13
Switzerland League Schweizer Cup League Cup Europe Total
1957-58 Young Fellows Juventus Super League 11 7
Spain League Copa del Rey Copa de la Liga Europe Total
1958-59 Barcelona La Liga 4 4 6 11 0 0 10 15
1959-60 9 3 0 0 4 5 13 8
1960-61 10 4 1 1 9 6 20 11
1961-62 20 17 2 0 6 3 28 20
1962-63 9 2 7 3 3 4 19 9
1963-64 19 12 6 4 4 3 29 19
1964-65 4 0 0 0 3 0 7 0
Total Hungary 249 247
Switzerland 11 7
Spain 75 42 22 19 0 0 29 21 126 82
Career total 335 296

National team

Sources:[2] [3]

Hungary national team
Year Apps Goals
1948 1 2
1949 6 5
1950 6 5
1951 3 6
1952 12 16
1953 5 1
1954 14 23
1955 12 10
1956 9 7
Total 68 75

International Goals

[4]

Scores and results list Hungary's goal tally first.
Date Venue Opponent Goals Total Result Competition
6 June 1948 Hungária, Budapest Romania 2 2 9-0 1948 Balkan Cup
2 May 1949 Hungária, Budapest Austria 1 3 6-1 1948-53 Dr. Gerö Cup
19 June 1949 Råsunda Stadium, Stockholm Sweden 1 4 2-2 Friendly
20 November 1949 Hungária, Budapest Sweden 3 7 5-0 Friendly
30 April 1950 Hungária, Budapest Czechoslovakia 2 9 5-0 Friendly
15 May 1950 Praterstadion, Vienna Austria 1 10 3-5 Friendly
24 September 1950 Hungária, Budapest Albania 2 12 12-0 Friendly
27 May 1951 Hungária, Budapest Poland 2 14 6-0 Friendly
14 October 1951 Městský stadion, Ostrava Czechoslovakia 2 16 2-1 Friendly
18 November 1951 Hungária, Budapest Finland 2 18 8-0 Friendly
18 May 1952 Hungária, Budapest East Germany 1 19 5-0 Friendly
15 June 1952 Stadion Wojska Polskiego, Warsaw Poland 2 21 5-1 Friendly
22 June 1952 Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Helsinki Finland 3 24 6-1 Friendly
15 July 1952 Kupittaa, Turku Romania 1 25 2-1 Football at the 1952 Summer Olympics
21 July 1952 Pallokenttä, Helsinki Italy 1 26 3-0 Football at the 1952 Summer Olympics
24 July 1952 Urheilukeskus, Kotka Turkey 2 28 7-1 Football at the 1952 Summer Olympics
28 July 1952 Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Helsinki Sweden 2 30 6-0 Football at the 1952 Summer Olympics
20 September 1952 Wankdorf Stadium, Bern Switzerland 1 31 4-2 1948-53 Dr. Gerö Cup
19 October 1952 Hungária, Budapest Czechoslovakia 3 34 5-0 Friendly
5 July 1953 Råsunda Stadium, Stockholm Sweden 1 35 4-2 Friendly
23 May 1954 Népstadion, Budapest England 2 37 7-1 Hungary v England (1954)
17 June 1954 Hardturm Stadium, Zürich South Korea 3 40 9-0 1954 FIFA World Cup
20 June 1954 St. Jakob Stadium, Basel West Germany 4 44 8-3 1954 FIFA World Cup
27 June 1954 Wankdorf Stadium, Bern Brazil 2 46 4-2 1954 FIFA World Cup Quarterfinal
30 June 1954 Stade Olympique de la Pontaise, Lausanne Uruguay 2 48 4-2 1954 FIFA World Cup Semi Final
19 September 1954 Népstadion, Budapest Romania 2 50 5-1 Friendly
26 September 1954 Dynamo Stadium, Moscow Soviet Union 1 51 1-1 Friendly
10 October 1954 Népstadion, Budapest Switzerland 2 53 3-0 Friendly
24 October 1954 Népstadion, Budapest Czechoslovakia 3 56 4-1 Friendly
14 November 1954 Népstadion, Budapest Austria 1 57 4-1 Friendly
8 December 1954 Hampden Park, Glasgow Scotland 1 58 4-2 Friendly
8 May 1955 Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo Norway 1 59 5-0 Friendly
11 May 1955 Råsunda Stadium, Stockholm Sweden 3 62 7-3 Friendly
15 May 1955 Idrætsparken, Copenhagen Denmark 2 64 6-0 Friendly
29 May 1955 Népstadion, Budapest Scotland 1 65 3-1 Friendly
17 September 1955 Stade Olympique de la Pontaise, Lausanne Switzerland 1 66 5-4 1954-1960 Dr. Gerö Cup
2 October 1955 Great Strahov Stadium, Prague Czechoslovakia 1 67 1-1 1954-1960 Dr. Gerö Cup
16 October 1955 Népstadion, Budapest Austria 1 68 6-1 1954-1960 Dr. Gerö Cup
3 June 1956 Stade du Heysel, Brussels Belgium 2 70 4-5 Friendly
9 June 1956 Estádio Nacional, Lisbon Portugal 1 71 2-2 Friendly
15 July 1956 Népstadion, Budapest Poland 2 73 4-1 Friendly
16 September 1956 Stadion FK Crvena Zvezda, Belgrade Yugoslavia 1 74 3-1 1954-1960 Dr. Gerö Cup
7 October 1956 Parc des Princes, Paris France 1 75 2-1 Friendly

Honours

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

Sources

See also

References

External links