Nándor Hidegkuti facts for kids
Hidegkuti in 1965
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 3 March 1922 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Budapest, Hungary | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 14 February 2002 (aged 79) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Budapest, Hungary | ||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.79 m | ||||||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Forward, attacking midfielder | ||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | ||||||||||||||||
| 1942–1945 | Elektromos FC | 53 | (27) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1945–1946 | Herminamezei AC | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1946–1958 | MTK Hungária | 314 | (226) | ||||||||||||||||
| Total | 367 | (253) | |||||||||||||||||
| National team | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1945–1958 | Hungary | 69 | (39) | ||||||||||||||||
| Teams managed | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1959–1960 | MTK Hungária FC | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1960–1962 | ACF Fiorentina | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1962–1963 | A.C. Mantova | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1963–1965 | Győri ETO FC | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1966 | FC Tatabánya | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1967–1968 | MTK Hungária FC | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1968–1971 | Budapest Spartacus | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1972 | Stal Rzeszów | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1973 | Egri Dózsa | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1973–1980 | Al Ahly | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1983–1985 | Shabab Al Ahli | ||||||||||||||||||
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Honours
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Nándor Hidegkuti (born March 3, 1922 – died February 14, 2002) was a famous Hungarian football player and coach. He played as a forward or attacking midfielder. Most of his playing career was with the club MTK Hungária FC.
In the 1950s, Hidegkuti was a very important part of the Hungarian national team. This team was known as the Golden Team. Other famous players on this team included Ferenc Puskás, Zoltán Czibor, Sándor Kocsis, and József Bozsik.
In 1953, Hidegkuti played a new role called a false nine. He scored three goals for Hungary when they beat England 6–3 at Wembley Stadium. By playing deeper, Hidegkuti could pass the ball to other attackers. This confused the opposing team's defense and changed how the game was played.
Hidegkuti passed away on February 14, 2002, after having heart and lung problems. The stadium of MTK Hungária FC was renamed Hidegkuti Nándor Stadium to honor him.
Contents
Playing for Clubs
Hidegkuti started his football journey at clubs like Elektromos FC and Herminamezei AC.
MTK Budapest: A Special Team
Hidegkuti joined MTK in 1947. In 1949, Hungary became a communist country. The secret police took over MTK, and the club changed its name many times. It was called Textiles SE, then Bástya SE, then Vörös Lobogó SE, before finally returning to MTK.
Even with all these changes, the 1950s were a great time for the club. It was at MTK that Hidegkuti, along with Péter Palotás and coach Márton Bukovi, developed the "deep lying centre-forward" position. With a team that also included Mihály Lantos and József Zakariás, MTK and Hidegkuti won three Hungarian League titles. They also won a Hungarian Cup and a Mitropa Cup.
In 1955, when they were called Vörös Lobogó SE, they played in the first ever European Cup. Hidegkuti scored two goals as they beat RSC Anderlecht 10–4 in total in the first round. After he stopped playing, Hidegkuti also coached MTK twice.
Playing for Hungary: The Golden Team
Between 1945 and 1958, Hidegkuti played 69 games for Hungary and scored 39 goals. He scored two goals in his very first game on September 30, 1945, when Hungary won 7–2 against Romania. He scored three goals in a game against Bulgaria in 1947, and another three against Finland in 1951.
He became a key player in the Golden Team of the 1950s. During this time, Ferenc Puskás, Sándor Kocsis, and Hidegkuti scored a combined total of 198 goals for Hungary.
A New Way to Play Football
The Golden Team used Hidegkuti as a deep lying centre-forward. In the 1950s, most international teams used a formation where the defender would mark the opposing team's main forward. When Hidegkuti played deeper, he pulled the defender out of position. This created open space for other Hungarian players to attack. This was a new and exciting tactic at the time. It needed a player like Hidegkuti who was great at controlling the ball, passing, and knowing where to be on the field.
Don Revie, a former England manager, said that Hidegkuti was amazing. He mentioned how Hidegkuti "tore the England defense to shreds" in 1953. Sepp Herberger, the manager of West Germany, saw Hidegkuti as Hungary's most important player. He changed his team's tactics in the 1954 World Cup final to try and stop Hidegkuti.
Coaching Career
After his playing career, Hidegkuti became a coach. He coached clubs in Hungary, Italy, Poland, and Egypt. In 1961, he led Fiorentina to win the very first European Cup Winners' Cup. They beat Rangers 4–1 in the final.
With Győri ETO, he won the Hungarian League in 1963. He also took them to the semi-finals of the 1964–65 European Cup, where they lost to Benfica. In Egypt, Hidegkuti coached Al Ahly for seven seasons, from 1973 to 1980. He introduced a new playing style to the team.
For his excellent behavior as both a player and a coach, he received the 1993 FIFA Fair Play Award.
Achievements and Awards
Player
MTK Hungária
- Hungarian Champions: 1951, 1953, 1958
- Hungarian Cup: 1952
- Mitropa Cup: 1955
Hungary
- Olympic Gold Medalist: 1952
- Central European Champion: 1953
- FIFA World Cup runner-up: 1954
Individual
- Hungarian Football Federation Player of the Year: 1953
- FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1954
Manager
Fiorentina
- European Cup Winners' Cup: 1960–61
Győri ETO FC
- Hungarian Champions: 1963
- European Cup: semi-finalist 1964–65
- Hungarian Cup: 1965, 1966, 1967
Al-Ahly
- Egyptian Premier League: 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980
- Egypt Cup: 1978
See also
In Spanish: Nándor Hidegkuti para niños
