Ferenc Bene

Ferenc Bene (17 December 1944 – 27 February 2006) was a Hungarian footballer who played as a striker for Újpesti Dózsa and Hungary. He was a member of the team that won the gold medal at the 1964 Summer Olympics, in which he was the top scorer of the tournament with 12 goals in just 5 matches. He is the sixth most prolific goalscorer in total matches in recorded history according to RSSSF with over 1425 goals scored in over 1480 matches, which results in a goal-per-match ratio of almost one. Bene was a successful striker for Újpesti Dózsa (303 goals in 418 matches) and the Hungary national team (36 goals in 76 matches). He was named Hungarian player of the year twice, in 1964 and in 1969.
Club career
Early career
Ferenc Bene was born on 17 December 1944 in Balatonújlak. He began to play football in the youth ranks of MEDOSZ Marcali. Ferenc Bene made his senior league debut for Dózsa in a fixture against Somogyszob in June 1959 at the tender age of only 14,5 years, scoring once. Just two months later, on August 1959, at the age of 14 years and 8 months, he scored a hat-trick in a league game against Siofok. In September 1959, Bene scored the only goal for Somogy regional team in a youth tournament match against Baranya. After protests from opponents, the result was annulled on the basis that the then 14-year-old Bene was too young to play for a U-16 selection U16. He was later allowed to play for the county's junior team, but banned from playing for the senior club until his 16th birthday. For this reason, he played only for youth teams for the next 12 months, from September 1959 to September 1960. Bene was then recruited by Kaposvár Kinizsi, a team from the third division, where he scored 16 goals in 16 matches, including 4 against Mazai Banyasz (4–0) and 6 against Szekszardi Petöfi (7–1).
Újpesti Dózsa
In 1961 the 17-year-old Bene was discovered by former Hungarian international István Avar, who recommended him to Újpest Dózsa. He then played with Újpest Dózsa for the next 17 years, from 1861 until 1978. In total, he scored 303 goals in 418 matches, thus being one of the main architects behind the team's dominance in the 1970s, as Dózsa won 8 Nemzeti Bajnokság I between 1969 and 1977-78, and also three Magyar Kupa in 1969, 1970, and 1974-75. Bene was also crucial in helping Dózsa reach the semi-finals of the 1973–74 European Cup, which they lost to Gerd Müller's Bayern Munich. In the following year, in the round of 16 of the 1974–75 European Cup against Benfica FC, he scored a sensational goal: He kicked the ball out of the goalkeeper's hand and then held the ball in front of him for a long time before flicking to an open net with brilliant situational awareness. This was chosen as the most beautiful goal of the Cup round in Western Europe at the time.
For his efforts at Dózsa, Bene was named Hungarian Footballer of the Year in 1964 and 1969.
Later years
Leaving the club after the 1978 season, he continued to play for smaller Hungarian teams such as Volán SC (1978–79 and 1983–84) and he even enjoyed a brief spell in Finland playing for Sepsi-78 in 1981–82. He then played for Soroksári VOSE in 1983–84, at the age of 40, scoring 5 goals in 12 matches, and finally ended his career with Kecskeméti SC at the end of the 1984–85 season, having scored only 1 goal in 15 matches.
International career
Bene made his debut for the Hungary national team against Yugoslavia on 14 October 1962, at the age of 17 years 9 months 27 days. He scored his first international goal two caps later, on 19 October 1963, which was the opening goal of a 2–1 victory over East Germany in the round of 16 of the 1964 European Nations' Cup qualifying. He also scored in the quarter-finals against France, and in the tournament, Bene scored in the semi-finals against Spain, which was not enough to prevent a 1–2 defeat. However, Bene scored one more goal at the tournament in the third place play-off against Denmark, thus finishing as the tournament's joint-top scorer alongside fellow teammate Dezső Novák and Chus Pereda of Spain.
He continued to score with the national and Olympic team. When Hungary won the Olympic gold in 1964, he had a big share in the success, scoring twelve goals in five matches, including all six in the 6–0 thrashing of Morocco.
He was a versatile attacking player, who played as a center forward in Dózsa. In the national team, however, he held the position of right winger because of Albert Flórián. He was a player with a strong, muscular build, fast starting speed, and a great goal-scoring instinct.
He was also a quarter-finalist at the World Cup of 1966 (at the latter event he was the top scorer of the Hungary national team).
His last against Czechoslovakia on 12 September 1979. In total, he obtained 76 caps and scored 36 goals.
Death
He died on 27 February 2006 in Budapest, after a lengthy treatment following a fall at the end of 2005. His son Ferenc Bene jr. is also a former player, currently working as a manager.
The football academy of Kaposvári Rákóczi FC bears his name. He also received in 1994.
Career statistics
Honours
Újpest
Nemzeti Bajnokság I (8): 1969, 1970, 1970-71, 1971-72, 1972-73, 1973-74, 1974-75, 1977-78
Magyar Kupa: 1969, 1970, 1974-75
Hungary
Olympic Games: 1964
Individual
UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament: 1964
Hungarian Footballer of the Year: 1964 and 1969
See also
List of men's footballers with 500 or more goals
References
External links
1944 births
2006 deaths
Hungarian men's footballers
Men's association football forwards
Hungarian expatriate men's footballers
Hungary men's international footballers
Olympic footballers for Hungary
Olympic gold medalists for Hungary
Olympic medalists in football
Footballers at the 1964 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics
1964 European Nations' Cup players
1966 FIFA World Cup players
UEFA Euro 1972 players
Újpest FC players
Volán FC players
Expatriate men's footballers in Finland
Sepsi-78 players
Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in Finland
Soroksár SC players
Kecskeméti TE players
Hungarian football managers
Újpest FC managers
Nemzeti Bajnokság I players
Footballers from Somogy County
Nemzeti Bajnokság I managers