Ștefan Kovács facts for kids
Kovács in 1971
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ștefan Kovács | ||
| Date of birth | 2 October 1920 | ||
| Place of birth | Timișoara, Romania | ||
| Date of death | 12 May 1995 (aged 74) | ||
| Place of death | Cluj-Napoca, Romania | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1931–1934 | CA Timişoara | ||
| 1934–1937 | CA Oradea | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1937–1938 | CA Oradea | ||
| 1938–1941 | Olympique Charleroi | 19 | (4) |
| 1941 | Ripensia Timișoara | ||
| 1941–1942 | CFR Turnu Severin | ||
| 1942–1947 | Kolozsvári AC / Ferar Cluj | 93 | (8) |
| 1947–1950 | CFR Cluj | 52 | (5) |
| 1950–1953 | Universitatea Cluj | 31 | (6) |
| Total | 195 | (23) | |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1952 | Universitatea Cluj | ||
| 1954–1955 | Universitatea Cluj | ||
| 1956 | Universitatea Cluj | ||
| 1957–1958 | Universitatea Cluj | ||
| 1959–1960 | Dermata Cluj | ||
| 1960–1962 | CFR Cluj | ||
| 1962–1967 | Romania (assistant) | ||
| 1967–1970 | Steaua București | ||
| 1971–1973 | Ajax | ||
| 1973–1975 | France | ||
| 1976–1979 | Romania | ||
| 1980 | Romania | ||
| 1981–1983 | Panathinaikos | ||
| 1986–1987 | Monaco | ||
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Ștefan Kovács (born István Kovács) was a famous Romanian football player and coach. He was born on October 2, 1920, and passed away on May 12, 1995. Kovács is known as one of the most successful football coaches ever, winning 15 big titles during his career. In 2019, a magazine called France Football even put him at number 43 on their list of the 50 greatest football managers of all time!
Contents
Ștefan Kovács: From Player to Coach
Ștefan Kovács was born in Timișoara, Romania. He came from a family of Hungarian background. As a player, he was a midfielder. He was good at individual skills and understood how to play as a team.
His Playing Days
Kovács played for several football clubs during his career:
- CA Oradea
- Olympique Charleroi
- Ripensia Timișoara
- CFR Turnu Severin
- Kolozsvári AC / Ferar Cluj
- CFR Cluj
- Universitatea Cluj
Even though he was a good player, he never played for the Romanian national team. His older brother, Nicolae Kovács, was more famous as a player. Nicolae was one of only five players to play in all three World Cups before World War II.
Becoming a Top Coach
Ștefan Kovács found his true calling as a coach. His first big success was with Steaua București in Romania. Between 1967 and 1971, he led them to win:
- One Romanian championship
- Three Romanian Cup titles
Leading Ajax to Glory
After his success in Romania, Kovács took over as coach of Ajax in 1971. This was a very famous Dutch team. He followed another great coach, Rinus Michels, and continued to develop their special "total football" style. This style meant that players could switch positions easily during a game, making the team very flexible.
With Ajax, Kovács achieved amazing things:
- He won the European Champions Cup twice in a row (1972 and 1973). This is one of the biggest club competitions in the world!
- In 1972, he also won the Intercontinental Cup. This was a match between the best teams from Europe and South America.
- He won the first-ever European Super Cup in 1973.
- He led Ajax to win both the national cup and the championship in 1972.
- They won another national championship in 1973.
Coaching the French National Team
In 1973, Kovács left Ajax and was asked to coach the French national team. He focused on helping young French players grow and improve. When journalists asked him how long it would take to make France a great team, he famously said that with good structures, it would take "eight years, ten years."
His work laid the foundation for future success. Michel Hidalgo, who was his assistant and later became the head coach, built on Kovács's efforts. This eventually led France to win the European Championship in 1984.
Later Coaching Career
After his time with France, Kovács returned to Romania to coach the national team again. He also had more success coaching other clubs:
- Panathinaikos in Greece
- Monaco in France
Ștefan Kovács passed away on May 12, 1995. This was just twelve days before Ajax, his former team, won their fourth European Cup title.
Managerial Trophies
Ștefan Kovács won many important trophies as a coach:
Club Honors
- Universitatea Cluj
- Divizia B: 1957–58
- Steaua București
- Divizia A: 1967–68
- Romanian Cup: 1968–69, 1969–70
- Ajax
- Eredivisie: 1971–72, 1972–73
- KNVB Cup: 1971–72
- European Cup: 1971–72, 1972–73
- European Super Cup: 1972
- Intercontinental Cup: 1972
- Panathinaikos
- Greek Cup: 1981–82
Individual Awards
- World Soccer 36th Greatest Manager of All Time: 2013
- France Football 43rd Greatest Manager of All Time: 2019
