Showing posts with label Flórián Albert. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Flórián Albert. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

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.

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

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.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

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.