Gusztáv Sebes

Sebes was born in Budapest, Austria-Hungary. The son of a cobbler, he initially played youth team football in Hungary with, among others, Vasas SC. He then worked as a trade union organiser in both Budapest and later, Paris, where he was employed as a fitter for four years with Renault at Billancourt. Sebes also played for the factory team Club Olympique Billancourt. On returning to Hungary in the 1920s, he played for MTK Hungária FC, where his teammates included Jenő Kálmár and Pál Titkos, both of whom later worked as assistants to Sebes. Other teammates included Iuliu Baratky and Ferenc Sas. During his time at MTK, he helped the club win the Hungarian League on three occasions and the Hungarian Cup once.

Hungary national team

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 were Ferencvárosi TC and MTK Hungária FC. However, while the secret police (the ÁVH) took over MTK, Ferencváros was considered unsuitable because of its right 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 and József Bozsik, but army conscription now enabled Honvéd to recruit Sándor Kocsis, Zoltán Czibor, and László Budai from Ferencvárosi TC; Gyula Lóránt from Vasas SC; and goalkeeper Gyula Grosics. Sebes was effectively able to use Honvéd as a training camp for the national team. Meanwhile, at MTK, coach Márton Bukovi began using the vital 4-2-4…

Player

MTK Hungária FC/Hungária FC

Hungarian League: 1929, 1936, 1937; runner-up 1928, 1931, 1933, 1940 Hungarian Cup: 1932; runner-up 1930, 1935

Manager

Hungary

Olympic Champions: 1952 Central European Champions: 1953 World Cup runner-up: 1954

Individual

World Soccer 24th Greatest Manager of All Time: 2013