György Sárosi
György Sárosi (Hungarian: Sárosi György [ˈʃaːroʃi ˈɟørɟ]; 5 August 1912 – 20 June 1993) was a Hungarian footballer. Sárosi was a complete footballer renowned for his versatility and technique among other things, and he played in several positions for Ferencváros and the Hungarian national team. Essentially a second striker, he could also operate in midfield or central defence, and he helped Ferencváros win five Hungarian league titles between 1932 and 1941. He is considered one of the greatest players of all time and for many the greatest of all time alongside the greatest Pelé.
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Sárosi György | ||
| Date of birth | 5 August 1912 | ||
| Place of birth | Budapest, Austria-Hungary | ||
| Date of death | 20 June 1993 (aged 80) | ||
| Place of death | Genoa, Italy | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Second striker | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1930–1948 | Ferencvárosi TC | 383 | (351) |
| Total | 383 | (351) | |
| National team | |||
| 1931–1943 | Hungary | 62 | (42) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1948–1950 | Bari | ||
| 1950–1951 | Lucchese | ||
| 1951–1953 | Juventus | ||
| 1953–1955 | Genoa | ||
| 1955–1956 | Roma | ||
| 1957–1958 | Bologna | ||
| 1959 | Roma | ||
| 1960 | Brescia | ||
| 1962–1963 | Lugano | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only | |||
He scored a goal in the 1934 FIFA World Cup, but his finest hour came when he captained Hungary to the 1938 FIFA World Cup finals, where he scored five goals in the tournament, including one in the final to reduce Italy's lead to 3–2, although a Silvio Piola goal eventually finished off the Hungarians. He finished with the bronze ball for being the third-highest goalscorer of the tournament.
He was named the 60th European Player of the Century in the IFFHS' Century Elections.[1] He is also fifth in the all-time top-goalscorers list for the Hungarian national team, with 42 goals from 62 appearances.[2]
After his retirement he moved to Italy, where he managed a number of clubs, including Genoa, Juventus, Bari and Roma. He was also manager of Lugano.[3] He died in 1993 aged 80.
Career statistics
Club
Source:[4]
| Competitions | Nemzeti Bajnokság I | Magyar Kupa | Mitropa Cup | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1930–31 | Ferencváros[5] | Nemzeti Bajnokság I | 7 | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | 11 | 2 | |
| 1931–32 | 19 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 23 | 7 | ||
| 1932–33 | 22 | 8 | 3 | 5 | — | 25 | 13 | |||
| 1933–34 | 20 | 24 | — | 5 | 7 | 25 | 31 | |||
| 1934–35 | 20 | 22 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 32 | 37 | ||
| 1935–36 | 21 | 37 | — | 2 | 4 | 23 | 41 | |||
| 1936–37 | 19 | 29 | — | 9 | 12 | 28 | 41 | |||
| 1937–38 | 20 | 29 | — | 8 | 7 | 28 | 36 | |||
| 1938–39 | 20 | 26 | — | 6 | 2 | 26 | 28 | |||
| 1939–40 | 23 | 23 | — | 2 | 6 | 25 | 29 | |||
| 1940–41 | 22 | 29 | 1 | 0 | — | 23 | 29 | |||
| 1941–42 | 19 | 19 | 2 | 4 | — | 21 | 23 | |||
| 1942–43 | 15 | 6 | 2 | 3 | — | 17 | 9 | |||
| 1943–44 | 28 | 11 | 6 | 3 | — | 34 | 14 | |||
| 1944–45 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 4 | 1 | ||||
| 1944 | 9 | 13 | — | — | 9 | 13 | ||||
| 1945 | 18 | 16 | — | — | 18 | 16 | ||||
| 1945–46 | 31 | 31 | — | — | 31 | 31 | ||||
| 1946–47 | 29 | 15 | — | — | 29 | 15 | ||||
| 1947–48 | 18 | 5 | — | — | 18 | 5 | ||||
| Total | 384 | 350 | 24 | 21 | 42 | 50 | 450 | 421 | ||
Honours
Club
- Ferencvárosi TC
- Hungarian National Championship (5): 1932, 1934, 1938, 1940, 1941[6]
- Hungarian Cup (4): 1933, 1942, 1943, 1944[6]
- Mitropa Cup (1): 1937[6]
International
- FIFA World Cup Runner-up: 1938
- Central European International Cup: Bronze 1931-32, 1933-35
Individual
- FIFA World Cup Bronze Ball: 1938[6]
- FIFA World Cup Bronze Boot: 1938[6]
- FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1938
- Central European International Cup: Top scorer 1933-35
- World Soccer: The 100 Greatest Footballers of All Time
- Mitropa Cup top scorer: 1935, 1937, 1940
- Nemzeti Bajnokság I top scorer: 1935–36, 1939–40, 1940–41
- Nemzeti Bajnokság I unofficial top scorer: 1944
References
- "IFFHS' Century Elections".
- 62 Caps and 42 Goals for Hungary
- "Switzerland - Trainers of First and Second Division Clubs".
- "György Sárosi All-Time Stats". arfts.com. Archived from the original on 27 August 2017. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
- "TempoFradi".
- "The versatile virtuoso of Hungary & FTC". FIFA. Archived from the original on 9 September 2015. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
