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Géza Kalocsay

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Géza Kalocsay
Kalocsay in 1940
Personal information
Date of birth (1913-05-30)30 May 1913
Place of birth Beregszász, Austria-Hungary
Date of death 26 September 2008(2008-09-26) (aged 95)
Place of death Budapest, Hungary
Position(s) Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1932–1937 Sparta Prague
1937–1939 Olympique Lillois
1939–1940 Kispest FC 21 (10)
1940–1941 Ferencváros 17 (8)
1941–1943 Újpest 35 (17)
1944 Ungvár 1 (0)
1946–1947 Szentlőrinci AC 1 (0)
International career
1933–1935 Czechoslovakia 3 (0)
1940 Hungary 2 (0)
Managerial career
1952 Debreceni Lokomotív
1953 Szegedi Honvéd
1954–1955 Vasas Izzó
1954–1955 Hungary (assistant)
1956 Pécs
1957–1958 Partizan
1958–1961 Standard Liège
1961–1962 Újpesti Dózsa SC
1963–1965 NA Hussein Dey
1966–1969 Górnik Zabrze
1970 Ferencváros
1971–1972 Videoton
1972–1974 MTK Hungaria
1974–1980 Pakistan
1980–1982 El Ahly
Medal record
Representing  Czechoslovakia
Men's football
FIFA World Cup
Runner-up 1934 Italy
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Géza Kalocsay (30 May 1913 – 26 September 2008) was a footballer and manager from Hungary who played internationally for both Czechoslovakia (3 caps) and Hungary (2 caps).[1]

At the time of his death in September 2008 at the age of 95, he was the last surviving player to have represented either Czechoslovakia or Hungary before the Second World War.[2]

Early life

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Géza was born on 30 May 1913 in Beregszász, Austria-Hungary. Together with his younger brother, he started his career in the local high school team until 1932.[3][4]

Club career

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After Subcarpathia was annexed to Czechoslovakia when he was young, he had the opportunity to play for various national clubs. At the age of 19 in 1932, he was transferred to Sparta Prague. During his five years in the team, he won the Czechoslovak First League 1936, three times silver medalist and winner of the Central European Cup. In addition during his professional career in Prague, he studied law at the Károly University, and then finally earned a doctorate.[3]

In 1937, he moved to French club Olympique Lillois. He finished as runner-ups with the team at the Championnat de France. In 1939, he moved to Hungary club Kispest, and after one season, he signed a contract with Ferencvárosi, and became league champion with the team.[3]

He then played for several clubs in the Hungarian championship namely Újpest FC, Ungvár and Szentlőrinci AC.[5]

International career

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Czechoslovakia

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From 1933 till 1935, he made three appearances with the Czechoslovakia national team. He also participated as a reserve in the 1934 FIFA World Cup in Italy. He did not made any appearance at the tournament, competing with Antonín Puc at his position.[3]

Hungary

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He joined the Hungarian national team while still a player of Kispest. He made his debut on 31 March 1940, giving an assist to György Sárosi, and helped the team beat Switzerland by 3-0. He played for the second time against Germany a week later in Berlin, which ended in a 2-2 draw.[3][4] He made two appearances for Hungary national team.[5]

Coaching career

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He was lured away from working in the legal field by Gusztáv Sebes to become a coach. In his initial years, he coached local clubs such as Nyíregyházi Madisz, Pápai Perutz, Debreceni Lokomotiv, Szeged Honvéd, Vasas Izzó and Pécs Dózsa, and after 1957 he began moving abroad.[3]

He first coached Yugoslavian Partizan Beograd, followed by Belgian Standard Liege, Algerian side NA Hussein Dey, and the Polish Górnik Zabrze. In his final years, he coached the Pakistan national team for several years. Later on, he coached Egyptian side Al-Ahli. He also returned to his home country several times to coach Újpesti Dózsa SC, Ferencvárosi, Videoton, and MTK Hungaria until his retirement in 1981.[3]

As a coach, he won league titles in Belgium, Poland and twice in Egypt, and had several spells leading them to finish runner-ups in various tournaments.[3]

Personal life

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His wife lived in his hometown Beregszász, which now belongs to the independent Ukraine. The town also elected him an honorary citizen in 1998.[3]

Grave of Kalocsay in Budapest

Kalocsay died on 26 September 2008, at the age of 95.[6]

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In the Polish film Stars (Polish: Gwiazdy) from 2017, he was portrayed by Witold Paszt.[7]

Honours

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Player

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Ferencváros

Manager

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Górnik Zabrze[8]

References

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  1. ^ Players Appearing for Two or More Countries, RSSSF
  2. ^ "Survivors of pre-war era". Xtratime. Xtratime.org. 16 February 2010. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Az első vb-érmes magyar futballista nagy útja". Nemzeti Sport (in Hungarian). 30 May 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  4. ^ a b ISTVÁN, L. PAP (30 May 2023). "Népsport: Kalocsay Géza, az első magyar vb-érmes". Nemzeti Sport (in Hungarian). Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  5. ^ a b c Géza Kalocsay Archived 16 March 2017 at the Wayback Machine at nela.hu
  6. ^ "Trener Geza Kalocsay wprowadził Górnika Zabrze do europejskiej elity, działacze partyjni kazali go zwolnić. Interesował się tylko futbolem i kobietami". Fakt (in Polish). 16 November 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  7. ^ "Gwiazdy (2017)" (in Polish). Filmweb. 6 April 2017. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  8. ^ "WĘGIERSCY TRENERZY GÓRNIKA (cz. 4): Geza Kalocsay - wizjoner" (in Polish). Górnik Zabrze. 5 February 2018. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
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