Golden Team

The Golden Team (Hungarian: Aranycsapat; also known as the Mighty Magyars, the Magical Magyars, the Magnificent Magyars, or the Marvellous Magyars) refers to the Hungary national football team during the 1950s. It is associated with several notable matches, including the "Match of the Century" against England in 1953. The team inflicted notable defeats on then-footballing world powers England, Uruguay and the Soviet Union. The 1956 Hungarian Revolution caused the breakup of the side. The team is considered by many as one of the greatest Football teams of all time.

Medal record
Olympic Games
	1952 Helsinki	Team
World Cup
	1954 Switzerland	Team
Central European International Cup
	1948–53 Central Europe	Team

Between 1950 and 1956, the team played 50 matches, which included 42 victories, 7 draws and just 1 defeat. The defeat came in the 1954 FIFA World Cup Final against West Germany. Under the Elo rating system they achieved the highest rating recorded by a national side (2231 points, 30 June 1954), just ahead of 2nd place Germany (2223 points, 13 July 2014). In 2016, the BBC listed the team as the best international football team in football history.

The team is generally credited for successfully implementing an early form of "Total Football", which would later be used by the Netherlands during the 1970s.

All-time team highs and lows

The following is a list of national football teams ranked by the highest Elo rating they ever reached. The table also includes the highest ranking as well as the lowest rating and ranking reached by each nation. The team that has achieved the highest rank in each confederation is shown in color.

Rank	Nation	High rating (rank)	High rating date	High rank (first,last year)	Low rating / low rank	Low rating date
1	Golden Team	2230 (1st)	30 June 1954	1st (1952,1960)	1527 / 75th	19 November 2003
2	Germany	2223 (1st)	13 July 2014	1st (1966,2017)	1639 / 24th	26 September 1920
3	England	2216 (1st)	9 September 1912	1st (1872,1988)	1790 / 17th	31 March 1928
4	Brazil	2194 (1st)	17 June 1962	1st (1958,2019)	1813 / 20th	24 September 1922
5	Spain	2165 (1st)	11 July 2010	1st (1920,2013)	1800 / 19th	25 June 1969
6	Argentina	2159 (1st)	3 April 1957	1st (1929,2016)	1751 / 26th	8 June 1990
7	Netherlands	2154 (2nd)	12 July 2014	1st (1978,2014)	1550 / 53rd	24 October 1954
8	France	2137 (1st)	30 May 2001	1st (1984,2007)	1506 / 40th	18 May 1930
9	Italy	2132 (1st)	11 June 1939	1st (1952,2006)	1604 / 22nd	29 August 1920
10	Uruguay	2108 (1st)	13 June 1928	1st (1920,1929)	1635 / 44th	5 September 1979
11	Scotland	2104 (1st)	10 March 1888	1st (1876,1926)	1600 / 64th	26 March 2005
12	Russia	2088 (1st)	23 July 1966	1st (1963,1988)	1449 / 48th	14 September 1913
13	Belgium	2084 (3rd)	12 October 2018	3rd (2018,2019)	1498 / 70th	29 March 1936
14	Poland	2083 (2nd)	1 September 1974	2nd (1974,1975)	1526 / 61st	26 August 1956
15	Denmark	2077 (1st)	25 June 1916	1st (1914,1916)	1536 / 61st	24 May 1967
16	Austria	2068 (1st)	31 May 1934	1st (1934)	1550 / 74th	2 September 2011
17	Chile	2041 (3rd)	26 June 2016	2nd (2016)	1384 / 60th	6 July 1916
18	Czech Republic	2037 (1st)	27 June 2004	1st (2004,2005)	1670 / 46th	4 September 2017
19	Colombia	2035 (5th)	28 June 2014	3rd (2016)	1304 / 100th	13 March 1957
20	Portugal	2022 (3rd)	28 July 1966	2nd (2006)	1619 / 42nd	7 November 1962

Results

Date	Venue	Opponents	Score	Comp	Hungary scorers	Attendance
1949-05-08	Budapest	Austria	6–1	Central European Cup	Puskás (3), Kocsis, Deák (2)	50,000
1949-06-12	Budapest	Italy	1–1	Central European Cup	Deák	47,000
1949-06-19	Stockholm	Sweden	2–2	Friendly	Kocsis, Budai	38,000
1949-07-10	Debrecen	Poland	8–2	Friendly	Deák (4), Puskás (2), Egresi, Keszthelyi	30,000
1949-10-16	Vienna	Austria	4–3	Friendly	Deák (2), Puskás (2)	65,000
1949-10-30	Budapest	Bulgaria	5–0	Friendly	Puskás (2), Deák, Budai, Rudas	36,000
1949-11-20	Budapest	Sweden	5–0	Friendly	Kocsis (3) Puskás, Deák	50,000
1950-04-30	Budapest	Czechoslovakia	5–0	Friendly	Kocsis (2) Puskás (2), Szilágyi	47,000
1950-05-14	Vienna	Austria	3–5	Friendly	Kocsis, Puskás, Szilágyi	65,000
1950-06-04	Warsaw	Poland	5–2	Friendly	Puskás (2), Szilágyi (3)	60,000
1950-09-24	Budapest	Albania	12–0	Friendly	Puskás (4), Budai (4), Palotás (2), Kocsis (2)	38,000
1950-10-29	Budapest	Austria	4–3	Friendly	Puskás (3), Szilágyi	45,000
1950-11-12	Sofia	Bulgaria	1–1	Friendly	Szilágyi	35,000
1951-05-27	Budapest	Poland	6–0	Friendly	Kocsis (2), Sándor, Puskás (2), Czibor	42,000
1951-10-14	Ostrava	Czechoslovakia	2–1	Friendly	Kocsis (2)	45,000
1951-11-18	Budapest	Finland	8–0	Friendly	Hidegkuti (3), Kocsis (2), Czibor, Puskás (2)	40,000
1952-05-18	Budapest	East Germany	5–0	Friendly	Hidegkuti (2), Szusza, Kocsis, Sándor	38,000
1952-06-15	Warsaw	Poland	5–1	Friendly	Kocsis (2), Puskás (2), Hidegkuti	50,000
1952-06-22	Helsinki	Finland	6–1	Friendly	Puskás, Bozsik, Kocsis (3), Palotás	25,000
1952-07-15	Turku	Romania	2–1	1952 Olympics	Czibor, Kocsis	14,000
1952-07-21	Helsinki	Italy	3–0	1952 Olympics	Palotás (2), Kocsis	20,000
1952-07-24	Kotka	Turkey	7–1	1952 Olympics	Palotás, Kocsis (2), Lantos, Puskás (2), Bozsik	20,000
1952-07-28	Helsinki	Sweden	6–0	1952 Olympics	Puskás, Palotás, Lindh (o.g.), Kocsis (2), Hidegkuti	35,000
1952-08-02	Helsinki	Yugoslavia	2–0	1952 Olympics	Puskás, Czibor	60,000
1952-09-20	Bern	Switzerland	4–2	Central European Cup	Puskás (2), Kocsis, Hidegkuti	35,000
1952-10-19	Budapest	Czechoslovakia	5–0	Friendly	Hidegkuti, Egresi, Kocsis (3)	48,000
1953-04-26	Budapest	Austria	1–1	Friendly	Czibor	44,000
1953-05-17	Rome	Italy	3–0	Central European Cup	Hidegkuti, Puskás (2)	90,000
1953-07-05	Stockholm	Sweden	4–2	Friendly	Puskás, Budai, Kocsis, Hidegkuti	40,000
1953-10-04	Sofia	Bulgaria	1–1	Friendly	Szilágyi	45,000
1953-10-04	Prague	Czechoslovakia	5–1	Friendly	Csordás (2), Hidegkuti, M. Tóth, Puskás	50,000
1953-10-11	Vienna	Austria	3–2	Friendly	Csordás, Hidegkuti (2)	65,000
1953-11-15	Budapest	Sweden	2–2	Friendly	Palotás, Czibor	80,000
1953-11-25	London	England	6–3	Friendly	Hidegkuti (3), Puskás (2), Bozsik	105,000
1954-02-12	Cairo	Egypt	3–0	Friendly	Puskás (2), Hidegkuti	28,000
1954-04-11	Vienna	Austria	1–0	Friendly	Happel (o.g.)	65,000
1954-05-23	Budapest	England	7–1	Friendly	Lantos, Puskás (2), Kocsis (2), M. Tóth, Hidegkuti	92,000
1954-06-17	Zurich	South Korea	9–0	1954 World Cup	Puskás (2), Lantos, Kocsis (3), Czibor, Palotás (2)	15,000
1954-06-20	Basel	West Germany	8–3	1954 World Cup	Kocsis (4), Puskás, Hidegkuti (2), J. Tóth	53,000
1954-06-27	Bern	Brazil	4–2	1954 World Cup	Hidegkuti, Kocsis (2), Lantos	60,000
1954-06-30	Lausanne	Uruguay	4–2 (a.e.t.)	1954 World Cup	Czibor, Hidegkuti, Kocsis (2)	50,000
1954-07-04	Bern	West Germany	2–3	1954 World Cup	Puskás, Czibor	65,000
1954-09-19	Budapest	Romania	5–1	Friendly	Kocsis (2), Hidegkuti (2), Budai	93,000
1954-09-19	Moscow	Soviet Union	1–1	Friendly	Kocsis	85,000
1954-10-10	Budapest	Switzerland	3–0	Friendly	Kocsis (2), Bozsik	94,000
1954-10-24	Budapest	Czechoslovakia	4–1	Friendly	Kocsis (3), Sándor	93,000
1954-11-14	Budapest	Austria	4–1	Friendly	Kocsis, Czibor, Sándor, Palotás	94,000
1954-12-08	Glasgow	Scotland	4–2	Friendly	Kocsis, Hidegkuti, Bozsik, Sándor	134,000
1955-04-24	Vienna	Austria	2–2	Central European Cup	Hidegkuti, Fenyvesi	65,000
1955-05-08	Oslo	Norway	2-3	Friendly	Puskás, Kocsis, Palotás (2), Tichy	34,000
1955-05-11	Stockholm	Sweden	7–0	Friendly	Puskás (2), Kocsis (3), Hidegkuti, Szojka	40,000
1955-05-15	Copenhagen	Denmark	6–0	Friendly	Kocsis (2), Sándor (3), Palotás	41,000
1955-05-19	Helsinki	Finland	9–1	Friendly	Palotás (3), Puskás, Tichy (2), Csordás (2), J. Tóth	30,000
1955-05-29	Budapest	Scotland	3–1	Friendly	Kocsis, Hidegkuti, Fenyvesi	100,000
1955-09-17	Budapest	Switzerland	5–4	Central European Cup	Puskás (2), Kocsis, Machos (2)	45,000
1955-09-25	Budapest	Soviet Union	1–1	Friendly	Puskás	103,000
1955-10-02	Prague	Czechoslovakia	3–1	Central European Cup	Kocsis, Tichy, Czibor	50,000
1955-10-16	Budapest	Austria	6–1	Central European Cup	Kocsis, Puskás, Czibor (2), Tichy, J. Tóth	104,000
1955-11-13	Budapest	Sweden	4–2	Friendly	Puskás, Tichy, Czibor (2)	90,000
1955-11-27	Budapest	Italy	2–0	Central European Cup	Puskás, J. Tóth	103,000
1956-06-03	Brussels	Belgium	4–5	Friendly	Puskás, Kocsis (2), Budai	75,000
1956-09-23	Moscow	Soviet Union	1–0	Friendly	Czibor	105,000

Records and statistics

• World Record: (4 June 1950 to 19 February 1956) 42 victories, 7 draws, 1 defeat ("Miracle of Bern") – 91.0% winning percentage ratio.
  • Team Record (4 June 1950 to 3 July 1954) 31 game undefeated narrative.
• World Record: most consecutive games scoring at least one goal: 73 games (10 April 1949 to 16 June 1957).
• World Record: longest time undefeated in 20th and 21st centuries: 4 years 1 month (4 June 1950 to 4 July 1954).
• World Record: most collaborative goals scored between two starting players (Ferenc Puskás & Sándor Kocsis) on same national side (159 goals).
• World Record: Highest rating ever attained in the sport's history using the Elo rating system for national teams with 2230 points on 30 June 1954.

• 20th Century Record: Hungary manager Gusztáv Sebes holds the highest ratio of victories per game past 30 matches with 82.58% (49 wins, 11, draws, 6 defeats). Brazil legend Vicente Feola (1955–1966) owns the second highest with 81.25 (46 wins, 12 draws, 6 defeats).
• 20th Century Record: Most International Goals: Ferenc Puskás (84 goals).
• World Cup Record: 27 goals scored in a single World Cup finals tournament.
• World Cup Record: 5.4 goals-per-match in a single World Cup finals tournament.
• World Cup Record: +17 goal differential in a single World Cup finals tournament.
• World Cup Record: 2.2 goals-per-match average for individual goal scoring in a single World Cup finals tournament (Sándor Kocsis 11 goals in 5 games).
• World Cup Record: highest margin of victory ever recorded in a World Cup finals tournament match ( Hungary 9, South Korea 0 – 17 July 1954).
• World Cup Precedent: first national team to defeat two-time and reigning World Cup champion Uruguay in a World Cup finals tournament (Hungary 4, Uruguay 2, semi-final — 30 July 1954).
• World Cup Precedent: Sándor Kocsis, first player to score two hat tricks in a World Cup finals tournament (Hungary 8, West Germany 3 – 20 July 1954 & Hungary 9, South Korea 0 – 17 July 1954).
• National Record: Highest margin of victory recorded by Hungarian national team (Hungary 12, Albania 0 – 23 September 1950).
• Precedent: first national side from outside the British Isles to defeat England at home since the codification of association football in 1863, a span of 90 years (Hungary 6, England 3, see "Match of the Century" – 25 November 1953).
  • Hungary's 7–1 defeat of England in Budapest the next year is still England's record defeat.
• Precedent: first national side in the world to eclipse an 1888 Scottish record of being undefeated in 22 consecutive matches (32 games).
• Precedent: first non-South American national side to defeat Uruguay (Hungary 4, Uruguay 2, semi-final — 30 July 1954), breaking a 17-game Uruguayan unbeaten run against non-South American competition dating from 26 May 1924.
• Precedent: first national side to defeat the Soviet Union at home (Hungary 1, Soviet Union 0 – 23 September 1956).
• Precedent: first national team in history to simultaneously host the No.1 and No. 2 world record holders for most goals scored internationally (Ferenc Puskás 84 goals, Sándor Kocsis 75 goals) from 11 May 1955 to 14 October 1956.
• Team Record vs. Elo Ranked Opponents: (4 June 1950 – 14 October 1956), vs. world Top 10 ranked opponents: 11 wins, 2 draws, 1 loss / vs. world Top 5 opponents: 4 wins, 0 draw, 1 loss.

Honours

• Central European International Cup
  • 1948-53
• Olympic Champions
  • 1952
• World Cup
  • Finalist : 1954

References

Bibliography

• Rogan Taylor, ed. (1998). Puskas on Puskas: The Life and Times of a Footballing Legend. Robson Books. ISBN 1861051565.
• Terry Crouch, ed. (2006). The World Cup: The Complete History. Aurum Press Ltd. ISBN 1845131495.
• Michael L. LaBlanc & Richard Henshaw, ed. (1994). The World Encyclopedia of Soccer. Invisible Ink Press. ISBN 0810394421.
• Jonathan Wilson, ed. (2006). Behind the Curtain: Travels in Eastern European Football. Orion Publishing. ISBN 9780752879451.
• Rogan Taylor & Andrew War, ed. (1996). Kicking & Screaming: An Oral History of Football in England. Robson Books. ISBN 0860519120.
• Diego Mariottini, "Tiki-taka Budapest: leggenda, ascesa e declino dell'Ungheria di Puskás", Bradipolibri, 2016, ISBN 9788899146214

Other websites

• Aranycsapat – dedicated web page (in Hungarian)
• Gusztáv Sebes biography Archived 8 December 2006 at the Wayback Machine
• Hungary's Famous Victory
• Dr. Gerő Cup 1948–53
• National football teams' rankings