Ferdinand Daučík

Football manager infobox
playername = Ferdinand Daučík


fullname = Ferdinand Daučík
dateofbirth = birth date|1910|5|30|mf=y
cityofbirth = Šahy
countryofbirth = Slovakia
dateofdeath = death date and age|1986|11|14|1910|5|30
position = Defender
years = 192x-xx
193x-4x
clubs = 1. ČsŠK Bratislava
SK Slavia Praha
caps(goals) = X (X)
X (X)
nationalyears = 1931-38 1942
nationalteam = Czechoslovakia Slovakia
nationalcaps(goals) = 15 (0) 1 (0)
manageryears = 1942-46 1942-1944
1948
1948
1949-50
1950-54
1954-57
1957-59
1959-60
1960-62
1963-64
1964-65
1966-67
1967-68
1968
1970-71
managerclubs =ŠK Slovan Bratislava Slovakia
Czechoslovakia
ŠK Slovan Bratislava
Hungaria
FC Barcelona
Atlético Bilbao
Atlético Madrid
FC Porto
Real Betis
Real Murcia
Seville CF
Real Zaragoza
Toronto Falcons
Elche CF
RCD Español

Ferdinand Daučík (also known as Fernando Daucik; May 30, 1910 — November 14, 1986) is a former Slovak football player and manager. Daucik was the manager of several La Liga clubs, most notably CF Barcelona, Atlético Bilbao, Atlético Madrid and Real Zaragoza. During his career he managed La Liga clubs in 488 games, won three La Liga titles and won the Copa del Generalísimo on five occasions and won three La Liga/Copa doubles. He was born in Šahy, Slovakia and died in Alcala de Henares.

Early career

Daucik played as a defender for 1. ČsŠK Bratislava, SK Slavia Praha and Czechoslovakia. He was only the third Slovak player ever to play for Czechoslovakia. He represented them at both the 1934 and 1938 World Cups. He also coached ŠK Slovan Bratislava between 1942 and 1946 and again in 1948. In 1948 he coached Czechoslovakia for two games.

Daucik arrived in Spain as coach of "Hungaria", a team made up of refugees fleeing the various Communist regimes of Eastern Europe. The team included his son-in-law, Ladislao Kubala, who had married Daucik’s daughter, Anna Viola Daucik, in 1947. "Hungaria" played a series of friendlies against a "Madrid Select XI", a Spain XI and RCD Español and during these games, Kubala was spotted by Josep Samitier, then chief scout at CF Barcelona. Kubala was offered a contract and as part of the deal, Daucik became the CF Barcelona coach in 1950.

CF Barcelona

Daucik coached CF Barcelona during one of the club's most successful periods. As well as Kubala, the team also included Velasco, Ramallets and Joan Segarra. During his four seasons in charge the club won two consecutive La Liga/Copa del Generalísimo doubles in 1952 and 1953. In 1952 CF Barcelona won five different trophies including La Liga, the Copa del Generalísimo, the Copa Latino and the Copa Eva Duarte. His contract ended in 1954 and after clashing with some players he left the club.

Atlético Bilbao

Daucik subsequently joined Atlético Bilbao where he won the Copa del Generalísimo in 1955 and a his third La Liga/Copa del Generalísimo double in 1956. Then with a squad that included Agustín Gaínza, Armando Merodio and Jesús Garay, Daucik then led Atlético to the quarter-finals of the European Cup in 1957. They knocked out FC Porto and Honvéd before losing 6-5 on aggregate to Manchester United.

Atlético Madrid

The 1957/58 season saw Daucik take charge of Atlético Madrid and lead them to second place in La Liga. This resulted in Atlético qualifying for the 1958/59 seasons European Cup since the winners, Real Madrid were also the reigning European champions. Inspired by Vavá and Enrique Collar, Atlético reached the semi-finals after beating Drumcondra FC, CSKA Sofia and FC Schalke 04. In the semi-finals they met Real Madrid. Real won the first leg 2-1 at the Bernabéu while Atlético won 1-0 at the "Metropolitano". If away goals had counted double Atlético would have progressed to the final. However the tie went to a replay and Real won 2-1 in Zaragoza.

Later Years

Daucik remained in demand as a manager throughout his career. After leaving Atlético Madrid in 1959 he had a spell at FC Porto during the 1959/60 season. He then spent two years at Real Betis between 1960 and 1962. While there he gave a La Liga debut to his son Yanko Daucik. Daucik then had a season each with Real Murcia and Seville CF before he joined Real Zaragoza in 1966. He took over Real towards the end of the 1965/66 season, leading them to victory in the Copa del Generalísimo final when they beat Atlético Bilbao 2-0. They also reached the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup final, but after beating CF Barcelona 1-0 in the home-leg, Real eventually lost 4-3 on aggregate.

In 1967 Daucik went to Canada to coach the Toronto Falcons of the National Professional Soccer League. This proved to something of a family reunion as he was joined at the club by his son Yanko, son-in-law Kubala and grandson Branko Kubala. After returning to Spain he had a brief spell at Elche CF and then retired after a season with RCD Espanyol.

Trophies

CF Barcelona:
*Spanish Champions: 2
**1951/52 1952/53

*Copa del Generalísimo: 3
** 1950/51 1951/52 1952/53

*Copa Latina: 1
** 1952

*Copa Eva Duarte: 1
** 1952 Atlético Bilbao:
*Spanish Champions: 1
**1955/56
*Copa del Generalísimo: 2
**1954/55 1955/56

Real Zaragoza

*Copa del Generalísimo: 1
**1965/66

External links

* [http://www.lfp.es/historico/primera/entrenadores/historial.asp?ent=065 La Liga manager stats]
* [http://www.fcbarcelona.com/eng/historia/historia/daucik.shtml Daucik at www.fcbarcelona.com]
* [http://www.slovanfutbal.com/sk/?sessid=m4uh1hfdo5o7f93jd3u1ks40b7&go=sien_top_hraci&show=daucik Daucik at www.slovanfutbal.com]
* [http://members.chello.se/slovaks.in.sweden/01_2005.pdf Daucik at Svensk Slovak Info]