For most of the 1950s, the Hungarian National Football Team dominated the beautiful game. The team were massive favourites for the 1954 World Cup and, between 1950 and 1956, went four years and 31 games unbeaten. During those six years, they suffered only one loss: the 1954 World Cup final against West Germany.
Unfortunately, politics reared its ugly head during the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, as players departed one after another, bringing the Mighty Magyars to an end long before they reached their true peak.
Yet the warning signs were already there, as the revolution wasn’t the only time the team faced political pressure. Five years earlier, the Soviet-backed regime had shown what would happen to those who tried to escape. The actions of Mátyás Rákosi’s government sent a clear warning to the players who remained in Hungary as they learned of the state-sanctioned execution of one of the greatest players the nation had ever seen.
Defender Sándor Szűcs may have stopped representing his nation in 1948, but that was a decision taken by the communist government, who banned him from doing so because of an extramarital affair. Had the government not stepped in, he would’ve been one of the first names on the Hungarian team sheet. By 1951, there had been an exodus of players who had defected to the West, spearheaded by fellow Hungarian László Kubala, who then set up a team of defectors that would play friendlies against major club sides. As a result, surveillance by Eastern European governments on their biggest names increased.
Under the guise of an offer from AC Milan, Szűcs attempted to become the latest to make it to a freer world. He and his partner travelled with a contact who had offered to take them into Austria before arranging safe passage to Italy.
Before crossing the border, Szűcs and his partner were apprehended by members of the Hungarian secret police. It happened after their supposed contact told him to surrender his gun, revealing himself to be a secret police agent.
It had been a trap all along.
At the time, the defender was playing for the police team and therefore held the rank of lieutenant in the force, causing the authorities all sorts of reputational damage. Crucially, by carrying a weapon during his attempted escape, he was in violation of a law that carried a punishment of either life imprisonment or the death penalty. The latter was handed to Szűcs and carried out by hanging on 4 June 1951.
The story was kept secret from the wider public until the fall of communism in 1989. However, the players quickly learned of the fate of their teammate, and the case became a stark warning to anyone contemplating defection.
Those who remained managed to put it behind them and continued their rise to the top of world football. They gained widespread attention following their 6-3 demolition of England, then also seen as one of the best teams in the world, at Wembley Stadium in the 1953 “Match of the Century”. Those ninety minutes at the home of English football marked the arrival of the Magyars and proved the catalyst for the performances that made them the favourites for the ultimate prize the following year.
The Hungarians didn’t actually have to qualify for their place in Switzerland. The two teams that would’ve been in their qualifying group didn’t take part. FIFA rejected Iceland’s participation because the Icelandic FA submitted its application after the deadline, while Poland withdrew from the qualification process, with Hungary’s dominance widely viewed as a major factor behind the decision.
If anyone thought the inactivity would hurt their chances of lifting the Jules Rimet Trophy before they even started, they were badly mistaken. Hungary topped Group 2 ahead of their eventual conquerors, West Germany, having won both of their games and finishing with four points.
They then met Brazil, who would go on to become the standard-bearers of world football after the end of the Magyars’ era, but it was Hungary who advanced thanks to a 4-2 victory. They repeated the scoreline against defending champions Uruguay to secure their place in the final, which would turn out to be a rematch against the Germans.
Though there were allegations of doping on the part of their opponents, when it was all said and done, it was West Germany who lifted the trophy, with Puskás and company forced to accept a 3-2 defeat. As it would turn out, that would be as good as it got.
The death warrant for the team was effectively signed on 4 November 1956, when the Soviet Union launched its brutal suppression of the uprising. Now under no illusions that the desire to control their own careers outweighed any fear of the repercussions of defection, the great team began to fall apart.
Puskás put his playing career on hold before securing a move to Real Madrid, where he joined Alfredo Di Stéfano to begin a golden age for Los Blancos.
Another star chose Spain too, as striker Sándor Kocsis opted for the other side of El Clásico and joined Barcelona. The Blaugrana also snapped up pacey winger Zoltán Czibor, with both men reuniting with Kubala.
The story of the Mighty Magyars proves they weren’t just a team blessed with extraordinary ability. They were a shining light for their people during the nation’s darkest days, unfairly ripped away from them by events that had nothing to do with what happened on the pitch.
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