# Iuliu Bodola

Iuliu Bodola (Hungarian: Bodola Gyula; 26 February 1912 – 9 September 1992) was a Romanian-Hungarian footballer who played as a striker. He represented both the Romania and Hungary national team at internationally level. His nickname was Duduş/Dudus. He is Romania's third all-time top goalscorer, and he is also the all-time top goal scorer of the Balkan Cup.

## Club career

Bodola started his career in 1929 (aged 17) for Clubul Atletic Oradea, before joining Venus București, with whom he was the champion of Divizia A in 1938–39 and 1939–40. When Northern Transylvania became part of the Kingdom of Hungary in August 1940, he preferred to play for Nagyváradi AC, and with them he won the Nemzeti Bajnokság I in 1943–44. After the end of the war, he returned to Romania with Ferar Cluj-Napoca, but in 1946 he left again for Hungary joining MTK, where he lived in Budapest until the end of his life. In November 2008, the Municipal Stadium in Oradea was renamed after him, becoming the Stadionul Iuliu Bodola.

## International career

Bodola was a very prolific scorer for the Romania national team, scoring a then-national record of 31 goals in 48 caps. He and Wetzer were the top two goalscorers of the 1929–1931 (first) edition of the Balkan Cup (which Romania won). They scored seven goals each for their country in that tournament alone. He was also part of the Romania team that won the 1933 Balkan Cup and 1936 Balkan Cup, contributing with two goals in each tournament. With 15 goals in the Balkan Cup, he is the all-time top goal scorer in the competition's history. Bodola was the hero of the 1936 Friendship Cup, scoring a hat-trick in a 3–2 win over Yugoslavia, and with these three goals, he is also the all-time top goal scorer of the Friendship Cup. This was Bodola's third international hat-trick (the first two having come in 1931, in a friendly against Lithuania and in the 1929-31 Balkan Cup against Greece), which still remains a national record. He played at both the 1934 FIFA World Cup and 1938 FIFA World Cup for Romania, failing to score a single goal at both tournaments.
When Northern Transylvania became part of the Kingdom of Hungary in August 1940, he decided to play for the Hungary national team, scoring on his debut on 1 December 1940 against Italy in a 1–1 draw.
For a long time (50 years) he was the absolute top scorer of the Romania national football team - with 31 goals. Subsequently, he was overtaken by Gheorghe Hagi, and then by Adrian Mutu, both with 35 goals scored. Seven decades after retiring, Bodola still occupies the third place in the all-time top scorers list of the Romania national football team, with 31 goals, the first place being shared by Hagi and Mutu, both having 35 goals in Romania's shirt.
   "For me, the greatest Romanian footballer of all time was Iuliu Bodola. Neither Nicolae Dobrin, nor Gheorghe Hagi could be compared with him."

## Personal life

Bodola died in Budapest in 1993 (aged 80).
His son György Bodola was a Hungarian illustrator.

## Career statistics

Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Romania | 1931 | 7 | 10 |
| Romania | 1932 | 7 | 4 |
| Romania | 1933 | 5 | 2 |
| Romania | 1934 | 3 | 2 |
| Romania | 1935 | 4 | 1 |
| Romania | 1936 | 4 | 5 |
| Romania | 1937 | 8 | 4 |
| Romania | 1938 | 5 | 1 |
| Romania | 1939 | 5 | 2 |
| Total | Total | 48 | 31 |
| Hungary | 1940 | 2 | 1 |
| Hungary | 1941 | 3 | 0 |
| Hungary | 1942 | 3 | 1 |
| Hungary | 1943 | 4 | 2 |
| Hungary | 1948 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 13 | 4 |
    Scores and results list Romania's and Hungary's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Bodola goal.
List of international goals scored by Iuliu Bodola :
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| Romania goals |||||||
| 1 | 10 May 1931 | Stadionul ONEF, Bucharest, Romania | Bulgaria | 2–0 | 5–2 | 1929–31 Balkan Cup |
| 2 | 10 May 1931 | Stadionul ONEF, Bucharest, Romania | Bulgaria | 3–1 | 5–2 | 1929–31 Balkan Cup |
| 3 | 28 June 1931 | Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb, Yugoslavia | Yugoslavia | 2–1 | 4–2 | 1929–31 Balkan Cup |
| 4 | 28 June 1931 | Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb, Yugoslavia | Yugoslavia | 4–2 | 4–2 | 1929–31 Balkan Cup |
| 5 | 26 August 1931 | Makabi Stadionas, Kaunas, Lithuania | Lithuania | 1–0 | 4–2 | Friendly |
| 6 | 26 August 1931 | Makabi Stadionas, Kaunas, Lithuania | Lithuania | 2–0 | 4–2 | Friendly |
| 7 | 26 August 1931 | Makabi Stadionas, Kaunas, Lithuania | Lithuania | 4–2 | 4–2 | Friendly |
| 8 | 29 November 1931 | Leoforos Alexandras Stadium, Athens, Greece | Greece | 1–0 | 4–2 | 1929–31 Balkan Cup |
| 9 | 29 November 1931 | Leoforos Alexandras Stadium, Athens, Greece | Greece | 2–0 | 4–2 | 1929–31 Balkan Cup |
| 10 | 29 November 1931 | Leoforos Alexandras Stadium, Athens, Greece | Greece | 4–2 | 4–2 | 1929–31 Balkan Cup |
| 11 | 8 May 1932 | Stadionul ONEF, Bucharest, Romania | Austria Amateurs | 3–0 | 4–1 | 1931–1934 Central European Cup for Amateurs |
| 12 | 12 June 1932 | Stadionul ONEF, Bucharest, Romania | France | 1–0 | 6–3 | Friendly |
| 13 | 12 June 1932 | Stadionul ONEF, Bucharest, Romania | France | 6–3 | 6–3 | Friendly |
| 14 | 28 June 1932 | Beogradski SK Stadium, Belgrade, Yugoslavia | Greece | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1932 Balkan Cup |
| 15 | 11 June 1933 | Stadionul ONEF, Bucharest, Romania | Yugoslavia | 3–0 | 5–0 | 1933 Balkan Cup |
| 16 | 11 June 1933 | Stadionul ONEF, Bucharest, Romania | Yugoslavia | 4–0 | 5–0 | 1933 Balkan Cup |
| 17 | 30 December 1934 | Leoforos Alexandras Stadium, Athens, Greece | Bulgaria | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1934–35 Balkan Cup |
| 18 | 30 December 1934 | Leoforos Alexandras Stadium, Athens, Greece | Bulgaria | 2–0 | 3–2 | 1934–35 Balkan Cup |
| 19 | 24 June 1935 | Levski Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria | Greece | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1935 Balkan Cup |
| 20 | 10 May 1936 | Stadionul ONEF, Bucharest, Romania | Yugoslavia | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1936 King Carol's Cup |
| 21 | 10 May 1936 | Stadionul ONEF, Bucharest, Romania | Yugoslavia | 2–1 | 3–2 | 1936 King Carol's Cup |
| 22 | 10 May 1936 | Stadionul ONEF, Bucharest, Romania | Yugoslavia | 3–1 | 3–2 | 1936 King Carol's Cup |
| 23 | 17 May 1936 | Stadionul ONEF, Bucharest, Romania | Greece | 1–0 | 5–2 | 1936 Balkan Cup |
| 24 | 17 May 1936 | Stadionul ONEF, Bucharest, Romania | Greece | 5–2 | 5–2 | 1936 Balkan Cup |
| 25 | 18 April 1937 | Stadionul ONEF, Bucharest, Romania | Czechoslovakia | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1937–38 Eduard Benes Cup |
| 26 | 4 July 1937 | Stadion ŁKS, Łódź, Poland | Poland | 3–1 | 4–2 | Friendly |
| 27 | 8 July 1937 | Makabi Stadionas, Kaunas, Lithuania | Lithuania | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 28 | 14 July 1937 | Kadrioru Staadion, Tallinn, Estonia | Estonia | 1–1 | 1–2 | Friendly |
| 29 | 4 December 1938 | Stadion Letná, Prague, Czechoslovakia | Czechoslovakia | 2–0 | 2–6 | 1937–38 Eduard Benes Cup |
| 30 | 18 May 1939 | Stadionul Venus, Bucharest, Romania | Latvia | 1–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
| 31 | 18 May 1939 | Stadionul Venus, Bucharest, Romania | Latvia | 4–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
| Hungary goals |||||||
| 1 | 1 December 1940 | Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa, Italy | Italy | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 2 | 1 November 1942 | Üllői úti stadion, Budapest, Hungary | Switzerland | 1–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
| 3 | 16 May 1943 | Charmilles Stadium, Geneva, Switzerland | Switzerland | 1–1 | 3–1 | Friendly |
| 4 | 16 May 1943 | Charmilles Stadium, Geneva, Switzerland | Switzerland | 3–1 | 3–1 | Friendly |

## Honours

Venus București
* Romanian Championship League: 1938–39, 1939–40
Nagyváradi AC
* Hungarian Championship League: 1943–44
Romania
* Balkan Cup: 1929–31, 1933, 1936
Individual
* Balkan Cup top scorer: 1929–31 with 7 goals