Flórián Albert - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Flórián Albert was a Hungarian

Hungary

Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

international football

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

player, later manager and sports official, who was named European Footballer of the Year

European Footballer of the Year

The "", literally translated as "the golden ball" and often referred to as the European Footballer of the Year award, was an annual association football award. It was presented to the player who had been considered to have performed the best over the previous calendar year...

in 1967. Nicknamed "The Emperor", he has been described as one of the most elegant footballers of all time.

A club legend of Ferencvárosi TC, Albert joined the team yet as a schoolboy and spent his whole playing career by Fradi. He also starred for Hungary, winning 75 international caps and scoring 31 goals. He was joint top-scorer at the 1962 World Cup with four goals and played a key role in Hungary's third-place finish at the European Championship in 1964.

He stayed loyal to Ferencváros after his retirement as well, actively participated in the club's life and also held administrative positions. Since 2007 the stadium of Ferencváros wears his name.

Albert died in October 2011, aged 70, in a hospital in Budapest after complications of a heart surgery sustained a few days earlier.

Early life

The son of a blacksmith, Albert was born and brought up in the little town of Hercegszántó

Hercegszántó

Hercegszántó is a village in the Bács-Kiskun county of Hungary, famous for being the birthplace of footballer Flórián Albert....

near the border with the former Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....

, where he got his first taste of the game playing with his two brothers. His mother was Hungarian Croat

Croats of Hungary

The Hungarian Croats are an ethnic minority in Hungary. According to the 2001 census, there were 25,730 Croats in Hungary or 0.26% of population....

, from the group of Šokci. She died when he was 2. When the family later moved to Budapest, Albert participated on a talent day by Ferencvárosi TC. He impressed the coaches and was selected by club. Albert was at the age of 11.

Career

Albert spent his entire club career with Ferencvárosi TC, where he played from 1952 to 1974. He came through the ranks quickly and made his debut in the senior team on 2 November 1958 against Diósgyőr, in a match he hit the back of the net two times. The forward was also spotted by Hungarian national team

Hungary national football team

The Hungary national football team represents Hungary in international football and is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation....

manager Lajos Baróti

Lajos Baróti

Lajos Baróti was a Hungarian association football player and manager. With eleven major titles he is one of the outstanding coaches of his era.-Career :...

in a youth match between Hungary and Yugoslavia, and not much later Albert already received his first call-up. His first appearance in the national selection came on 28 June 1959 against Sweden, who finished runners-up in the World Cup a year earlier. Albert contributed with two assist to Hungary's 3–2 win over the Scandinavians. He scored 31 goals in 75 caps

Cap (sport)

In sports, a cap is a metaphorical term for a player's appearance on a select team, such as a national team. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of association football...

for the Hungarian team, with them he has collected the bronze medal on both of the Olympic Games in 1960 and the European Championship in 1964. At the 1962 World Cup, despite Hungary got knocked out in the quarter-finals, Albert, tied with five others, managed to win the Golden Boot Award with four goals.

On club level, his biggest success came in 1965, when in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup

Inter-Cities Fairs Cup

The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup was a European football competition played between 1955 and 1971. The competition was the idea of Swiss pools supremo Ernst Thommen, Ottorino Barassi from Italy, and the English Football Association general secretary Stanley Rous, all of whom later became senior officials...

, Ferencváros, that knocked-out among others AS Roma and Manchester United F.C.

Manchester United F.C.

Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...

en route to the final, triumphed over Juventus F.C.

Juventus F.C.

Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...

1–0 in the decisive match and obtained the cup title.
Albert appeared in his next World event in 1966 in England, where he produced an excellent display against Brazil in a duel that is regarded as one of the greatest matches in the history of the World Cup. The Magyars, after lost to Portugal in their first round encounter, entered the match against Brazil as a must-win. Hungary eventually beat the South Americans 3–1, to keep alive their hopes and Albert, who received a standing ovation from the supporters, made the fans to forget the absence of Pelé with his performance. By winning their final group match, Hungary made it to the quarter-finals, just to fell short against the Soviet Union.

The year 1967 was a special one for Albert, who not only won the Hungarian Championship with Ferencváros and collected the Hungarian Player of the Year title, but in December first celebrated the birth of his son, and later he was handed over the Ballon d'Or in recognition of his outstanding attributes. Albert topped the voting with 68 points, twenty-eight ahead of Bobby Charlton

Bobby Charlton

Sir Robert "Bobby" Charlton CBE is an English former professional football player, a member of the England team who won the World Cup and Ballon d'Or for European Footballer of the Year in 1966...

, who came second.

In 1968 Albert appeared in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup final again, this time against Leeds United, but lost by a one goal margin (0–1). On 15 June 1969, in a World Cup qualifier against Denmark, Albert collied with Knud Engedal, goalkeeper of the Scandinavians, and suffered a serious fractured leg injury, following that he was sidelined for almost a year and could never win back his form any more. Albert returned into action in the Hungarian Championship on 27 April 1970 against Salgótarján and on 4 April 1971 he played his first international match after the injury, a friendly match against Austria. His final major event was the 1972 European Championship, where he caputed a fourth place with Hungary, recording two appearances in the tournament. In the same year he captured the Hungarian Cup title for the first time, thus making his collection of domestic silverwares complete.

Albert played his final league match on 17 March 1974 against Zalaegerszeg. He came on as a substitute in the second half and contributed to the 3–0 victory with a goal, the last one in his career. Albert, following received greetings and gifts from the old boys, the opponents and his son, ran to the stands bowed for the fans and left the field on the shoulders of his teammates.

Following his retirement, he had two short spells as a manager in Libya by Al-Ahly Benghazi, however, with only limited success. After returned from North Africa, Albert worked for Ferencváros in several positions, such as technical director, department leader and later honorary chairman. In 2007, Ferencváros' stadium was named after him. In the same year, he got a prize in his village of birth, Hercegszántó, becoming an honorable citizen. In 2010 Budapest

Budapest

Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...

, a year later Ferencváros

Ferencváros

Ferencváros is the 9th district of Budapest , Hungary.- Name :The southern suburb of Pest was named after King Francis I on 4 December 1792 when he was crowned king of Hungary.- History :The development of Ferencváros began in the late 18th century....

awarded him honorary citizenship.

Personal life

Albert married to Irén Bársony, an actress on 30 November 1963. The couple had two children, a girl, Magdolna and a son, Flórián Albert, Jr.

Flórián Albert, Jr.

Flórián Albert is a Hungarian former footballer who played at both professional and international levels, as a midfielder.-Career:...

, who, similarly to his father, became a football player by Ferencváros, and later had spells in Israel and France and also played for the Hungarian national team. Albert's grandchild, Flórián Patrik aims to turn into a professional footballer as well.

Death

On 27 October 2011, Flórián, after suffering a vasoconstriction, underwent coronary artery bypass surgery. Although a press release the following day by his former club Ferencváros stated that the operation had been successful, he subsequently suffered a heart attack and died in the early hours of 31 October 2011.

His funeral took place on 6 November 2011 in the Cemetery of Óbuda. Hundreds of mourners accompanied Albert to his final rest, including Viktor Orbán

Viktor Orbán

Viktor Orbán is a Hungarian populist and conservative politician and current Prime Minister of Hungary...

, Prime Minister of Hungary; Pál Schmitt

Pál Schmitt

Pál Schmitt is the current President of Hungary. He was elected President of Hungary in a 263 to 59 vote in the Parliament of Hungary and was sworn in on 2010....

, President of Hungary; Sándor Csányi, president of the Hungarian Football Federation; Gábor Kubatov, president of Ferencvárosi TC; and former team mates Kálmán Mészöly

Kálmán Mészöly

Kálmán Mészöly is a former Hungarian football player and coach.He played 61 matches and scored 6 goals for the Hungary national football team, and participated in the 1962 FIFA World Cup, the 1964 UEFA European Football Championship, and the 1966 FIFA World Cup.He played in several World All...

, Gyula Rákosi

Gyula Rákosi

Gyula Rákosi is a former Hungarian footballer.During his club career he played for Ferencvárosi TC. He earned 41 caps and scored 4 goals for the Hungary national football team from 1960 to 1968, and participated in the 1962 FIFA World Cup, the 1964 European Nations' Cup, and the 1966 FIFA World Cup...

, Lajos Szűcs

Lajos Szucs (footballer born 1943)

Lajos Szűcs was a Hungarian football striker, who played for Dorog, Ferencváros, Budapest Honvéd FC and Vasas Izzó...

and Tibor Nyilasi

Tibor Nyilasi

Tibor Nyilasi is a retired Hungarian football player and manager. He signed with Ferencvaros in 1972 and played there until transferring to Austria Vienna in 1983. For the Hungarian National Football Team he made 70 appearances from 1975 to 1985, scoring 32 goals...

. The event was also live broadcasted by Hungarian public television Magyar Televízió

Magyar Televízió

Magyar Televízió is the Hungarian national public service television company, with three TV channels, called m1 , m2 and m3....

.

In the afternoon same day, Ferencváros played a league clash against Paksi SE

Paksi SE

Paksi SE is a Hungarian football club based in Paks. Since its founding in 1952 it has played at either a county or national level. In 2006 it ascended to Borsodi Liga, or NB I, the top division in Hungarian football, for the first time. It plays its home games at Stadion PSE. The team colors...

. Before the match the floodlights were switched off and the stadium turned into dark, with candles lit by the fans are being the only lights in the arena. Ferencváros players wore a special all-black kit in the occasion and fans paid tribute to Albert with a banner saying "God shall be with you Emperor". Supporters of SK Rapid Wien

SK Rapid Wien

The Sportklub Rapid Wien is an Austrian football club playing in the country's capital city of Vienna. Rapid is the most popular club in Austria and also record title holder having won the Austrian national football title 32 times...

, who have close ties with Ferencváros, also shown honor to Albert with a transparent in their game against SV Ried.

The friendly match against Liechtenstein

Liechtenstein national football team

The Liechtenstein national football team is the national football team of Liechtenstein and is controlled by the Liechtenstein Football Association. The organisation is known as the Liechtensteiner Fussballverband in German. The team's first match was an unofficial match against Malta in Seoul, a...

played on 11 November was pronounced a memorial game for Albert by the Hungarian Football Federation. The clash was originally scheduled to thee Sóstói Stadion, but later was moved to the Ferenc Puskás Stadium to give more people the opportunity to attend on the event. In four corners of the arena memorial places were erected, where the supporters could pay their tribute to the Golden Ball winner. A five minute long compilation of the best moments of Albert was also projected before the kick-off.

Hungary eventually won the match 5–0 in front of a sold-out crowd with the goals of Dzsudzsák

Balázs Dzsudzsák

Balázs Dzsudzsák is a Hungarian footballer who plays for Russian Premier League club Anzhi Makhachkala and the Hungarian national team as a winger.- Early life :...

(2), Priskin

Tamás Priskin

Tamás Priskin is a Hungarian professional footballer, who plays as a striker for Derby County, on loan from Ipswich Town. Born in Czechoslovakia, Priskin joined Hungarian side Győri ETO FC at the age of 15, making his debut at 16 and obtaining Hungarian citizenship in 2005. He moved to English...

, Koman

Vladimir Koman

Vladimir Koman Jr. is a Ukrainian–born Hungarian footballer, currently playing for Italian Serie B team Sampdoria. He is most known for his strong performance in the in the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup, gaining the Silver Boot by scoring five goals for the Hungarian team...

and Feczesin

Róbert Feczesin

Róbert Feczesin is a Hungarian professional football player who is currently playing for Brescia Calcio in Italy....

. Dzsudzsák commented after the match that he is sure that Flórián would have been happy if he could have seen the match, and added, he hopes they rejoiced him in the heaven.