György Sárosi (; 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 Hungary 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 the pre-war era.
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 boot for being the third-highest goalscorer of the tournament.
He was named the 60th European Player of the Century in the IFFHS Century Elections. He is also fifth in the all-time top-goalscorers list for the Hungary national team, with 42 goals from 62 appearances.62 Caps and 42 Goals for Hungary
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. He died in 1993 aged 80.
Early life Born György Stefancsics in Budapest on 5 August 1912, the family name was later changed to Sárosi to make them sound more Hungarian. His father was a tailor and raised three children (György, László and Béla); All three became national team athletesVb-ezüstérmes Fradi-legenda a Don-kanyarból [World Cup silver medalist Fradi legend from the Don bend], Tamás Hegyi, Nemzeti Sport, 24 January 2016 – Béla Sárosi also became a footballer, while László Sárosi played water polo (as did his son of the same name, not to be confused with a namesake footballer of that generation, who is no relation). During his school years, in addition to football, György played tennis, table tennis, water polo and athletics. In addition to his perfect technical skills, he stood out from the field in terms of tactics and game intelligence.
He completed his schooling at the Eötvös High School in Reáltanoda Street. The school's football team was in the KISOK league. He was already playing here, with two of his later teammates, Háda and Lázár. The coach of the Ferencváros youth team Károly "Zsazsa" Izsák saw him play several times in the school team.
He joined Ferencvaros's youth ranks as a 15-year-old. When the capital giants wanted to tie him to a professional deal a couple of years later, though, the youngster had other ideas. "I wanted to become a lawyer," Sárosi recalled. "I saw football as something to play for fun, not a career. However, my father (who was struggling for work as a tailor) convinced me that too many people were losing jobs in the depression, and that I was good enough to make a real go of being a footballer."
Club career
1930-1932 : Rise to the first team Aged 18 years old, on 15 March 1931, he made his debut in the first team, in the Ferencváros-Bástya (7:0) championship match. This is how the newspapers evaluated their performance after the match: "Sárosi turned out to be what we expected. Equivalent to a good Bukov, he is in a great location, has a great fit, has a high level of game intelligence, and is the main working judge, a developing centerhalf. He played a definite national team form." "He was only a boy, but on the pitch it seemed like he was the man playing against kids in the park," said Zoltán Blum, who handed Sárosi his bow. "It was just so easy to him. He was big, really strong, quick, never lost a header. He was impossible to bully. Moreover, he played with such confidence – even at that age he played with the confidence of a captain. He would stride out of the defence with the ball, taking on opponents and launching attacks."
His first league goal was in 1930-31 against Pécs-Baranya FC on 17 and 24 May 1931.
Winning the 1931-32 championship was an unforgettable experience for Sárosi. He played in 19 out of 22 matches due to injury or illness. On 8 September 1932, the Hungarian Cup final was played on Hungária út. Hungária-Ferencváros 4-3. A game that Ferencváros lost.
1933-1938 His best years
Magyar Kupa final At the age of 20, György Sárosi was already one of the best players in the world, and had one of the best performances ever against Újpest in the 1933 Magyar Kupa Final in which Ferencváros won 11-1; Ujpest won the league that season. György Sárosi scored 3 goals and 4 assists, the newspapers gave him the best rating (1) as he was named the MVP of the game.
The evolution of Sárosi Because of his class with the ball, Sárosi was gradually deployed further forward in the FTC formation – first as an attacking midfielder, and then as a striker. It was in the former position that he headlined their inconceivable 11-1 thrashing of Újpest, who had just won the league title, in the 1933 Hungarian Cup final, scoring a hat-trick and setting up another four goals. But it was in attack that he most often appeared during his 17 years in the green and white. There, he averaged at least a goal per game for eight successive seasons from 1935/36, and twice finished as top scorer in the Hungarian top flight.
From 15 December 1935 (Ferencváros - III. Ker. 5:1) he was already featured as dr. György Sárosi. In addition to sports, he also cared about his future, studying in his spare time because he wanted to graduate at law. Sárosi also remains the most prolific marksman in the history of the Mitropa Cup, a prestigious competition for clubs from, among other countries, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Italy – then all leading powers in European football. "Gyurka", as he was nicknamed, helped Ferencváros finish second in 1935 and 1938, and played the leading role in their 1937 triumph.
During the Mitropa Cup battles of 1935, Ferencváros was beaten by AS Roma 3:1 on June 16 in Rome. In the victorious rebound on Üllői út on June 22, Ferencváros - AS Róma 8:0 (3:0), Sárosi scored 4 goals.
In 1937, Ferencváros was the winner of Mitropa Cup. In the semi-finals, they got Austria Vienna who had beaten Újpest. 18 July 1937 first semi-final in Vienna: Austria - Ferencváros 4:1. Fradi played poorly, the Viennese were confident in going to the next round. Sárosi did a good job containing iconic striker Matthias Sindelar, but he couldn't prevent injury-stricken FTC losing 4-1. On 25 July on Üllői út: Ferencváros - Austria 6:1 (2:1), 7:5 on aggregate. It was a miracle that eleven Fradi players had accomplished. One must bow before this miracle, it cannot be explained professionally. Austria, the defending champion, was considered one of the best Mitropa Cup teams of all time. The main force of Ferencváros was in the offensive line, in which dr. György Sárosi provided one of the greatest achievements of his playing career with an electrifying two-goal display, having returned to the strike force. Sárosi was taken on the fans' shoulders at the end of the match. The power of Fradi's amazing heart, which permeated the entire team, was further enhanced by the audience's sometimes ecstatic encouragement. In addition to the 11 players from Ferencváros, this enthusiastic audience was also part of the victory. Dr. Sárosi said: "The most beautiful match of my life. It feels great to have such sincere and great joy for so many people." when Mihály Pataki added : "Defeating this Austria is a colossal achievement that Europe as a whole is noticing."
Mitropa Cup final In 1937, Ferencváros had to play with Lazio in the Mitropa Cup final. The first match was on Üllői út on 12 September 1937: Ferencváros - Lazio 4:2 (1:1). The rematch on 24 October 1937 in Rome: Lazio - Ferencváros 4:5 (4:3). Piola scored a hat-trick in 17 minutes. They played in the pouring rain in the second half. The decisive turn was when Háda defended Piola's penalty with a 4:3 lead to Lazio. Ten minutes later, Kiss leveled out. In the 80th minute, Táncos ran away and curved the ball between the six-yard box and the penalty point. Sárosi dr. ran towards the ball, his back to the goal, and suddenly pulled the ball to the goal with his right foot, which cut halfway into the net of Lazio. Dr. Sárosi said it was perhaps the most beautiful goal of his life. Ferencváros won the cup. In the ornament, the Italian president handed over the cup to dr. Sárosi. Led by the "B-Közép" fan club, the Hungarian camp chanted the Hungarian anthem. The team also sang, dr. Sárosi sang with tears flowing from his eyes. After the end of the national anthem, the "Gyurka, Gyurka" calls from the handful of Hungarian fan camps roared through the Eternal City as well. The top scorer of the 1937 Mitropa Cup: dr. Sárosi with 12 goals and 2 assists. In the two legs, Sárosi scored 6 goals and distributed 1 assist. In the second leg, he was given a rating of 1 by the newspapers which makes him the MVP.
Quotes:"I had never seen a game like this in my life, I just learned what football is. — Giovanni Riccardi
"I considered Sárosi to be the greatest artist, but now I also consider him the best strategist. The smartest football player in the world!" — Referee Wüttrich
"The Ferencváros striker line is a magnificent instrument on which the unsurpassed leader, Sárosi, played the most beautiful melodies. Ferencváros deserved the victory perfectly." — II Piccolo
1939-1948 : Final years and retirement Ferencváros won the 1939/40 championship only by goal difference and luck. In the last round Újpest - Hungária 3:3 (1. FTC 39, 2. Hungária 39, 3. UTE 38). The following 1940/41 championship was won under the leadership dr. Sárosi by 11 points. Player of the year: dr. György Sárosi.
18 April 1948 Üllői út, Ferencváros - Vasas 2:0. He played in this match for the last time in green and white on Üllői út. He said goodbye with brilliant play to his beloved audience, who did the "Gyurka, Gyurka" roar and took him on the shoulders at the end of the match. No one knew it would be his last match. The next day, Monday, 19 April, he left the country with a regular passport. He left for Italy and lived here until his death.
During his Ferencváros career, he played a total of 450 matches, in which he scored 421 goals and distributed 190 assists.
International career
Start as a defender Sárosi's international career began as an 18-year-old in a 3–2 loss to Yugoslavia in May 1931. In just his second Hungary appearance, the teenager shackled Czechoslovakia goal machine Antonín Puč, as his country recorded a 3-0 win. Because of his infallible performances in defence, it was not until his 15th outing that Hungary experimented with Sárosi in attack. Predictably, he scored that day against Sweden.
World Cup 1934 In 1934, Sárosi played his first World Cup. Despite being injured in the first game against Egypt, he was fit to play in the quarter-final against Austria. Despite scoring a penalty at the 60th minute, Sárosi didn't play well because of his injury that still had an effect on his game. Hungary ended up losing the game 1-2. Nemzeti Sport was very harsh with Sárosi and criticized him for not being at his usual level:
Sárosi only played one game in that World Cup in which he managed to score a goal.
Hungary 8-3 Czechoslovakia Sárosi most notable performance for Hungary occurred during a 1937 Central European International Cup match against Czechoslovakia. With Hungary trailing 2-1 after the first half-hour, Sárosi scored seven goals against goalkeeper Frantisek Planicka, leading Hungary to an 8-3 victory.