When football fans are asked who is the greatest team ever, a lot will say Brazil, usually because of their 1970 side with Pele in his pomp, or West Germany/Germany, Italy or even France, but few, if any, will say Hungary.
Between 1950 and 1956, the Hungarian national team played 51 games, winning 43, drawing 7, and losing just once, which crucially was the 1954 World Cup Final. In 2016 a BBC analysis of every international result, taking into account strength of the opposition, status of game, etc. and came to the conclusion that Hungary were indeed the best international team to ever play the game.
Gustav Sebes took sole charge as coach of the national team in 1949 and began to introduce a new style of play, which he based on his time as a player with MTK Budapest in the 1920’s and he credits Englishman Jimmy Logan with the idea, as he managed MTK at that time. The team was built around six players, definitely Hungary’s Golden Generation, namely strikers Ferenc Puskás and Sandor Kocsis, deep lying centre forward Nándor Hidegkuti, winger Zoltán Czibor, midfielder József Bozsik and goalkeeper Gyula Grosics.
Instead of the 2-3-5 formation used by the majority of teams at the time, Hungary were using a fluid 3-2-3-2 formation, and because of their location, little was known of what teams like Hungary were doing at the time
The 1950 World Cup was held in Brazil, but the huge distances in both getting there and travelling within, put the ‘Iron Curtain’ countries off competing and Hungary, Russia and Czechoslovakia all declined to enter. Hungary were unbeaten for two years prior to the 1952 Olympics and went on to win the title, defeating Yugoslavia 2-0 in the Helsinki final, their eleventh successive victory.
For that period the competition was dominated by the Eastern Bloc. Hungary also competed in the Central European International Cup, a forerunner of the present European Championship but only competed for by Eastern European teams, and Hungary won it, defeating twice world champions Italy 2-0 in the final in 1953.
By now Hungary were rated as the best team in the world and England, who were third on the list, invited them over for a friendly at Wembley Stadium in November 1953 in a game that was billed as the Match of the Century. England had never lost at home to a team from outside the British Isles in over 80 years of playing football and were probably a touch arrogant despite Hungary being unbeaten for 32 games.
105,000 crammed into Wembley Stadium to see the game and England fell behind after just one minute when Hidegkuti fired a shot past Gil Merrick. Although Jackie Sewell equalised, Hungary took control and were 4-1 ahead by the 27th minute. The third goal was extraordinary for its time as Puskas dragged the ball back with the sole of his boot as Billy Wright careered onwards unable to stop before firing it into the net. England centre half Harry Johnston had a torrid time not knowing who to mark as Hidegkuti was wandering all over the pitch and they constantly picked holes in the static defence. By the 53rd minute it was 6-2 as Hidegkuti completed a hat trick in front of a public who couldn’t believe their eyes.
An Alf Ramsey penalty made the final score 6-3. The newspapers the next day hailed the ‘Magical Magyars’ (the word for Hungary in their own language is Magyarország) and gushed with praise over their new tactics that left England reeling. Bobby Robson, a future England player and manager, said “We saw a style of play, a system of play that we had never seen before. None of these players meant anything to us. We didn’t know about Puskás. All these fantastic players, they were men from Mars as far as we were concerned.
They were coming to England. England had never been beaten at Wembley—this would be a 3–0, 4–0 maybe even 5–0 demolition of a small country who were just coming into European football. They called Puskás the ‘Galloping Major’ because he was in the army—how could this guy serving for the Hungarian army come to Wembley and rifle us to defeat? But the way they played, their technical brilliance and expertise—our WM formation was completely kyboshed in ninety minutes of football.
The game had a profound effect, not just on myself but on all of us. That one game alone changed our thinking. We thought we would demolish this team—England at Wembley, we are the masters, they are the pupils. It was absolutely the other way.” Six members of the England team never played for their country again.
England took the option of a return game in Budapest in May 1954 in a bid to redress the balance. It didn’t quite work out that way as Hungary were 3-0 ahead after 19 minutes and 6-0 ahead by the 63rd. The game ended 7-1 which still ranks as England’s heaviest ever defeat and left people in no doubt about the ability of this ‘new’ team.
The next target on the agenda was the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland, and if betting was as prevalent as today then Hungary would be very firm odds on favourites. The first round consisted of teams playing two games and Hungary opened up by defeating South Korea 9-0. Their second game was against West Germany, still recovering from the Second World War and not rated very highly. The Germans rested a few players, partly because they thought they would lose and should they defeat an easier looking Turkey in their other game, they would qualify for the next round.
Hungary romped to an 8-3 victory, but Puskas was injured in a tackle by Werner Liebrich and had a hairline fracture of the leg that forced him to miss the next two games. The quarter final between Hungary and Brazil was set to be a classic, but was remembered totally different as the ‘Battle of Berne’. Hungary led 2-1 and were awarded a penalty by English referee Arthur Ellis, later to be remembered for the TV show It’s a Knock Out. Brazilian officials and journalists invaded the pitch and after the penalty was scored the teams just started kicking out at each other and Bozsik and Nilton Santos were sent off for fighting. Brazil had another player sent off as Hungary won 4-2.
Players fought in the tunnel after the game and the Brazilians stormed inside the Hungarian dressing room to continue the carnage and Hungary manager Sebes had to have stitches in a head wound.
The semi-final was a total contrast as Hungary faced twice World Cup winners and holders Uruguay and defeated them 4-2 after extra time to reach their second Final, having been beaten in the 1938 version. In the final they were due to meet West Germany, the team they had already despatched 8-3 in the first stage. Puskas was recalled to the team despite not being fully fit and scored in the sixth minute to put his team ahead. Two minutes later Czibor made it 2-0 and everybody sat back but the Germans rallied and had pulled it back to 2-2 by the 18th minute.
Hungary poured forward and hit the post and the bar as well as having two efforts cleared off the line. Little was seen of the German attack, but out of the blue Helmut Rahn scored his second goal of the game six minutes from time to put his side in front. Two minutes later Puskas thought he had equalised and the English referee William Ling was ready to give the goal until the intervention of Welsh linesman Benjamin Griffiths.
The game was hailed as the ‘Miracle of Berne’. The aftermath had many conspiracy theories with Hungarian ‘keeper Grosics accused of taking bribes as were the officials. Also, the Germans were accused of taking performance enhancing drugs and many of their players fell ill soon after the final. A German study many years later concluded that they probably had been injected with substances, but in those days, it wasn’t illegal, and FIFA didn’t introduce any doping controls until 1966.
Hungary went on to win 15 and draw 3 of their next 18 games, and then in September 1956 they became the first team ever to defeat the Soviet Union at home, 1-0 in Moscow.
A month later the Hungarian revolution began, but ultimately lost control against the occupying USSR troops. Many people fled the country, including some of the team. Puskas went on to find fame with Real Madrid as they won the first five European Cups and he also played for Spain, Czibor and Kocsis joined Barcelona and by the time the 1958 World Cup came around only 4 players remained from their ’Golden Team’. A sad way for the Golden Generation to end what had been a momentous six years.
