- Gusztáv Sebes
Football manager infobox
playername = Gusztáv Sebes
fullname = Gusztáv Sebes
nickname =
dateofbirth = January 22, 1906
cityofbirth =Budapest
dateofdeath = death date and age|1986|1|30|1906|1|22
countryofbirth =Austria-Hungary
youthyears = 1919-20
1920-24
youthclubs = Müszaki Doldozók SEVasas SC
years = 1925-26
1926-27
1927-29
1929-40
1945
clubs = Sauvages Nomades
Club Olympique Billancourt
MTK Hungária FC
Hungária FCMTK Hungária FC
caps(goals) =
nationalyears = 1936
nationalteam = Hungary
nationalcaps(goals) = 1 (0)
manageryears = 1940-42
1942-43
1943-44
1945-46
1949-57
managerclubs = Szentlõrinci AC
WMKASE
Weiss Manfred FC
Budafoki MTE
Hungary|Gusztáv Sebes (born Gusztáv Scharenpeck in
Budapest ,January 22 1906 ; died in Budapest,January 30 1986 ) was a Hungarian footballer and coach. With the title of Deputy Minister of Sport, he coached the legendary Hungarian team known as the "Mighty Magyars" in the 1950s. Among the players in the team wereFerenc Puskás ,Zoltán Czibor ,Sándor Kocsis ,József Bozsik , andNándor Hidegkuti . Together withBéla Guttmann andMárton Bukovi , he formed a triumvirate of radical Hungarian coaches who pioneered the 4-2-4 formation.Sebes advocated what he referred to as "socialist football", an early version of
Total Football , with every player pulling equal weight and able to play in all positions. Under Sebes, Hungary went unbeaten for 32 consecutive matches, a record that still stands today. During this run, Hungary became Olympic Champions in 1952 and Central European Champions in 1953. They also twice defeated England, 6-3 in 1953 and 7-1 in 1954, and finished as runners-up in the1954 FIFA World Cup . Defeat in the final marked the beginning of the end for Sebes. Following this defeat, Hungary embarked on an 18-game unbeaten run that came to an end on February 19, 1956, when they lost 3-1 to Turkey. Despite the winning streak, Sebes was sacked after a 5-4 defeat against Belgium on June 3, 1956. He remained active in football throughout his life, working as an administrator and holding coaching positions at Újpesti Dózsa SC, Budapest Honvéd SE, andDiósgyőri VTK .Early Years
Sebes, the son of a cobbler, initially played youth team football in
Hungary with, among others,Vasas SC . He then worked as atrade union organiser in bothBudapest and later,Paris , where he was employed as a fitter for four years withRenault atBillancourt . Sebes also played for the factory team Club Olympique Billancourt. In 1953, on the way toLondon to play England, Sebes and the "Mighty Magyars" stopped in Paris and played a warm-up game against his former team, beating them 18-1 in front of 3,000 spectators. On returning to Hungary in the 1920s, he played forMTK Hungária FC , where his teammates includedJenő Kálmár andPál Titkos , both of whom later worked as assistants to Sebes. Other teammates includedIuliu Baratky andFerenc Sas . During his time at MTK, he helped the club win theHungarian League on three occasions and theHungarian Cup once.Honvéd and MTK
In 1948, Sebes, along with Béla Mandik and Gábor Kompóti-Kléber, was part of a three-man committee that took charge of the
Hungary national football team . However, by 1949, with the title of Deputy Minister of Sport, Sebes was in sole charge and was given complete control of planning for the national side. He was inspired by the Austrian "Wunderteam" and the Italian team that won two World Cups in the 1930s. Both teams were predominantly drawn from one or two clubs, and Sebes wanted a similar system in Hungary. In January 1949, when Hungary became a Communist state, the resulting nationalisation of football clubs gave Sebes the opportunity. The two biggest Hungarian clubs at the time wereFerencvárosi TC andMTK Hungária FC . However, while the secret police (the ÁVH) took over MTK, Ferencváros was considered unsuitable because of itsright wing and nationalist traditions. Sebes turned instead to "Kispest AC", and the club was taken over by the Hungarian Ministry of Defence; it became the Hungarian Army team and was subsequently renamed Budapest Honvéd SE.The "Kispest AC" team already included
Ferenc Puskás andJózsef Bozsik , but army conscription now enabled Honvéd to recruitSándor Kocsis ,Zoltán Czibor , andLászló Budai fromFerencvárosi TC ;Gyula Lóránt fromVasas SC ; and goalkeeperGyula Grosics . Sebes was effectively able to use Honvéd as a training camp for the national team. Meanwhile, at MTK, coachMárton Bukovi began using the vital 4-2-4 formation, later adopted by Sebes. In particular, Bukovi, together withPéter Palotás andNándor Hidegkuti , pioneered the crucial "deep lying centre-forward" position. Other MTK players,Mihály Lantos andJózsef Zakariás , provided the "Mighty Magyars" with a solid defence.Olympic Champions
It was at the 1952 Helsinki Summer Olympics that Sebes and his "Mighty Magyars" first came to prominence. With a forward line that included
Ferenc Puskás ,Sándor Kocsis , and super-subPéter Palotás , Hungary easily progressed to the final. In five games, they scored 20 goals and conceded only two. In the semifinal, they defeated defending Olympic Champions Sweden 6-0; and in the final, they beat Yugoslavia 2-0, with goals from Puskás andZoltán Czibor . Among those who witnessed Hungary's Olympics victory wasStanley Rous , secretary-general of the English FA and futureFIFA president; he subsequently approached Sebes and invited Hungary to play England at Wembley.Hungary v. England
Sebes planned for the game against England meticulously. He borrowed the heavier type of balls used by the English FA so that his team could practice with them and altered his training pitch so that the dimensions matched those at Wembley. He also arranged practice matches against Hungarian club sides ordered to play in the "English style", and on November 15, 1953—two weeks before the England game—Hungary played Sweden's team, coached by Englishman
George Raynor . He also made the decision to useNándor Hidegkuti instead ofPéter Palotás in the "deep lying centre-forward" role. On September 19, 1952, in aCentral European International Cup game against Switzerland with Hungary down 2-0 after half an hour, he replaced Palotás with Hidegkuti. Inspired by Hidegkuti, Hungary was level at half time and eventually won, 4-2. On May 17, 1953, Hidegkuti helped Hungary clinch the Central European title when he scored in a 3-0 win against Italy at theStadio Olimpico .On November 25, 1953, Hungary took on an English team that included
Stanley Matthews ,Stan Mortensen , Billy Wright, andAlf Ramsey , and defeated them 6-3. In a stunning display of football, Hidegkuti scored ahat trick andFerenc Puskás scored twice. After the game, a rematch was arranged as a warm-up for the 1954 World Cup. The return took place at the Népstadion inBudapest , and Hungary put in another impressive performance, winning 7-1.The 1954 World Cup
Hungary entered the 1954 World Cup with both confidence and an unbeaten record stretching back to 1950. They easily progressed through the group stages, with wins over South Korea and understrength Germany. Then, in the quarter-finals, Hungary won 4-2, surviving a bruising encounter (infamously referred to as the "Battle of Berne") with Brazil. The game finished in a brawl, and Sebes ended up with four stitches after having been struck with a broken bottle. In the semifinals, Hungary defeated reigning world champions Uruguay. The game was 2-2 in extra time until
Sándor Kocsis scored twice to seal another 4-2 win. In the final, they met Germany once again; however, the competition would end in disappointment for Hungary, losing 3-2 to the Germans in the "Miracle of Bern ."Honours
"Manager"
Hungary
*Olympic Champions
**1952
*Central European Champions
**1953
*World Cup
**"Runner-up": 1954"Player"
MTK Hungária FC/Hungária FC
*
Hungarian League
**"Winner": 1929, 1936, 1937: 3
**"Runner-up": 1928, 1931, 1933, 1940: 4*
Hungarian Cup
**"Winner": 1932 : 1
**"Runner-up": 1930, 1935: 2ources
*"Behind the Curtain — Travels in Eastern European Football": Jonathan Wilson (2006) [http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0752869078]
External links
* [http://www.fifa.com/classicfootball/coaches/index.html#coach=61688 Biography at FIFA]
* [http://mek.oszk.hu/00300/00355/html/ABC13280/13683.htm Short Biography at Magyar Életrajzi Lexikon] (Hung.)
* [http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/hong-coach.html Hungary national team managers at RSSSF]
* [http://www.labdarugo.be/Sebes.htm Profile of Gusztáv Sebes] (in Dutch)
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