STARTING XI
REMAINING SQUAD MEMBERS
3 best players not in the squad:
8 players make it from the Hungary side that won the 1952 Summer Olympics and came runner up to West Germany in the 1954 World Cup. The final was their only loss in 58 matches, between 1950 and 1956. Laszlo Kubala played for Spain during this era. Every other player in the squad played prior to this era, other than Meszoly, Albert Gorocs and Bene, who peaked in the 1960's. No player from the 21st century was remotely close to making it. The decline of Hungary as a force in international football is often put down to the fall of the communist government. The vision of the football team in their greatest era was built to go against traditional styles of play in capitalist countries. The margins between full-backs was very close. Left-back Jozsef Fogl just missed out on the squad, while his brother Karoly Fogl can be a right-back and 4th centre-back option in the squad, so there was no need for Ferenc Sipos. Gyorgy Sarosi was considered one of the best players in the world in virtually any position he played. I picked him as a holding midfielder because the best Hungarian players were already in the attacking positions - he and Bozsik offer enough protection for Orth to roam forward. Lazar, Gorocs and Konrad can cover this deeper midfield 3. Only 3 nations have a better attacking average than Hungary - they produced an incredible amount of world-class forwards. The starting three in the team stood out as all-time greats. Hidegkuti can cover Kubala's spot at second-striker, while Albert, and Czibor can be further options upfront. I finally chose Ferenc Bene as the best player not yet included. Konrad, Hidegkuti and Czibor can be wide options for the squad if necessary. Apart from Tibor Nyilasi, who is one of the stronger players in Hungary's more recent history, the 10 (at least) best players to miss out on the squad were all capable as strikers or second strikers, further demonstrating the wealth in this position. Players By Decade: 1950's (9), 1960's (4), 1920's (4), 1930's (3), 1940's (2), 1910's (1) World-Class Hungarian Players (17)
Honourable Mentions (Close to Gold):
Zsak / Meszoly / Gorocs / Nyilasi / Sas / Farkas / A.Schaffer / Toldi / Tichy
Top 10 Hungarian Players of All-Time (& their all-time positional rank)
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