21 September 1929 - The Start Of Sándor's Story

On 21 September 1929, forward Sándor Kocsis was born in Budapest. He went on to become one of the most prolific scorers of the era.

He started his professional career in 1945 with Hungarian club Kobanyai, but spent only one season there before moving to Ferencváros. He spent two quiet years before his breakout season in 1948-49 when he scored 33 times in 30 league appearances to help the club run away with the title. He gave them another 30 goals in 30 appearances the next season, then moved to Honvéd, where he won three more league titles. His 36 goals in 1952 and 33 in 1954 were European bests for those two years.

His scoring form carried over to the national team, where he knocked in 75 goals in 68 appearances between 1948 and 1956. Along the way, he won Olympic gold (1952) and a Central European Championship (1953), as well as reaching the World Cup Final (1954).

Honvéd were in Spain for the European Cup when the Hungarian revolution started in 1956, so like many of his teammates, he remained there. He spent seven seasons with Barcelona before his retirement in 1965, though he never reached his previous scoring heights.

Later in life, he was diagnosed with stomach cancer and died in 1979 at the age of 49.

17 September 1974 - They Should Have Saved Some For Later

On September 1974, Liverpool kicked off their Cup Winners' Cup campaign by pounding Norwegian club Strømsgodset by the score of 11-0. It remains Liverpool's greatest margin of victory, with nine separate players scoring goals.

It was the second Cup Winners' Cup appearance for Strømsgodset, who were eliminated in the first round in the 1970-71 competition. They fared no better in 1974, when they traveled to Anfield for the first leg of their first-round match-up with Liverpool.

The Reds wasted no time in establishing their dominance, going ahead in the third minute with a penalty kick by Alec Lindsay. Phil Boersma doubled the lead 10 minutes later and Liverpool went up 5-0 by halftime with a strike from Phil Thompson (30'), another from Boersma (40'), and one from Steve Heighway (42'). The second half was even worse for the Norwegians, as Peter Cormack (65') got on the scoresheet, followed by goals from Thompson (74'), Emlyn Hughes (76'), Tommy Smith (85'), Ian Callaghan (87'), and Ray Kennedy (88').

The Reds were less prolific in the remainder of the tournament, winning the second leg 1-0, then dropping out of the competition on away goals after drawing 1-1 on aggregate with Ferencváros in the second round.

15 September 1941 - Scoring In The Sixties

On 15 September 1941, Hungarian striker and 1967 European Footballer of the Year Flórián Albert was born in the village of Hercegszántó. He has been described as one of the most elegant players of all time.

Albert spent his entire career with one club, Ferencváros. From 1958 to 1974, he made 351 league appearances and scored 255 goals, for a career average of just over 0.72 goals per match. Both Albert and his club had prolific success in the 1960s. In the 1959-60 and 1960-61 seasons, he was the Hungarian league's top scorer, with 27 and 21 goals respectively, and later repeated the feat in 1964-65. Ferencváros, meanwhile, won four league titles (1963, 1964, 1967, and 1968), as well as the 1965 Fairs Cup (the predecessor to the UEFA Cup). He was also the top scorer in the 1966-67 Fairs Cup with 8 goals, despite being eliminated in the third round by Eintracht Frankfurt, a feat which was instrumental in his winning the Ballon d'Or.

He retired in 1974 after making only 9 appearances and scoring 2 goals in the '73-'74 season. In 2007, Ferencváros named their stadium in his honor.

7 August 1968 - Leeds Finally Get Their Day At The Fair

On 7 August 1968, Leeds United took a significant step toward securing their first major international trophy, beating Ferencváros 1-0 in the first leg of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Final.

Leeds reached the semifinals in 1966 before getting eliminated by Zaragoza, then finished as runners-up to Dinamo Zagreb in 1967. On both occasions, the team that won the first leg went on to win the tie. Drawing on that experience, Leeds knew the importance of doing well when they hosted Ferencváros, who had won the competition in 1965. They had their work cut out for them, though, in defending Hungarian forward Flórián Albert, the 1967 Ballon d'Or winner.

But, playing before a crowd of 25,268 at Elland Road, the Leeds defense, anchored by the center-back pairing of Jack Charlton and Norman Hunter, kept Albert in check. The day's only goal was scored by Leeds forward Mick Jones, who found the net in the 41st minute.

It turned out to be the only goal of the final, as the two teams played to a scoreless draw in Hungary a month later.

21 September 1929 - The Start Of Sándor's Story

On 21 September 1929, forward Sándor Kocsis was born in Budapest. He went on to become one of the most prolific scorers of the era.

He started his professional career in 1945 with Hungarian club Kobanyai, but spent only one season there before moving to Ferencváros. He spent two quiet years before his breakout season in 1948-49 when he scored 33 times in 30 league appearances to help the club run away with the title. He gave them another 30 goals in 30 appearances the next season, then moved to Honvéd, where he won three more league titles. His 36 goals in 1952 and 33 in 1954 were European bests for those two years.

His scoring form carried over to the national team, where he knocked in 75 goals in 68 appearances between 1948 and 1956. Along the way, he won Olympic gold (1952) and a Central European Championship (1953), as well as reaching the World Cup Final (1954).

Honvéd were in Spain for the European Cup when the Hungarian revolution started in 1956, so like many of his teammates, he remained there. He spent seven seasons with Barcelona before his retirement in 1965, though he never reached his previous scoring heights.

Later in life, he was diagnosed with stomach cancer and died in 1979 at the age of 49.

17 September 1974 - They Should Have Saved Some For Later

On September 1974, Liverpool kicked off their Cup Winners' Cup campaign by pounding Norwegian club Strømsgodset by the score of 11-0. It remains Liverpool's greatest margin of victory, with nine separate players scoring goals.

It was the second Cup Winners' Cup appearance for Strømsgodset, who were eliminated in the first round in the 1970-71 competition. They fared no better in 1974, when they traveled to Anfield for the first leg of their first-round match-up with Liverpool.

The Reds wasted no time in establishing their dominance, going ahead in the third minute with a penalty kick by Alec Lindsay. Phil Boersma doubled the lead 10 minutes later and Liverpool went up 5-0 by halftime with a strike from Phil Thompson (30'), another from Boersma (40'), and one from Steve Heighway (42'). The second half was even worse for the Norwegians, as Peter Cormack (65') got on the scoresheet, followed by goals from Thompson (74'), Emlyn Hughes (76'), Tommy Smith (85'), Ian Callaghan (87'), and Ray Kennedy (88').

The Reds were less prolific in the remainder of the tournament, winning the second leg 1-0, then dropping out of the competition on away goals after drawing 1-1 on aggregate with Ferencváros in the second round.

15 September 1941 - Scoring In The Sixties

On 15 September 1941, Hungarian striker and 1967 European Footballer of the Year Flórián Albert was born in the village of Hercegszántó. He has been described as one of the most elegant players of all time.

Albert spent his entire career with one club, Ferencváros. From 1958 to 1974, he made 351 league appearances and scored 255 goals, for a career average of just over 0.72 goals per match. Both Albert and his club had prolific success in the 1960s. In the 1959-60 and 1960-61 seasons, he was the Hungarian league's top scorer, with 27 and 21 goals respectively, and later repeated the feat in 1964-65. Ferencváros, meanwhile, won four league titles (1963, 1964, 1967, and 1968), as well as the 1965 Fairs Cup (the predecessor to the UEFA Cup). He was also the top scorer in the 1966-67 Fairs Cup with 8 goals, despite being eliminated in the third round by Eintracht Frankfurt, a feat which was instrumental in his winning the Ballon d'Or.

He retired in 1974 after making only 9 appearances and scoring 2 goals in the '73-'74 season. In 2007, Ferencváros named their stadium in his honor.