Golden Team

The **Golden Team** (; also known as the **Mighty Magyars**, the **Magical Magyars**, the **Magnificent Magyars**, or the **Marvellous Magyars**) refers to the Hungary national football team during the 1950s. It is associated with several notable matches, including the "Match of the Century" against England in 1953. The team inflicted notable defeats on then-footballing world powers England, Uruguay and the Soviet Union. The 1956 Hungarian Revolution caused the breakup of the side. The team is considered by many as one of the greatest Football teams of all time.

Between 1950 and 1956, the team played 50 matches, which included 42 victories, 7 draws and just 1 defeat. The defeat came in the 1954 FIFA World Cup Final against West Germany. Under the Elo rating system they achieved the highest rating recorded by a national side (_2231 points_, 30 June 1954), just ahead of 2nd place Germany (_2223 points_, 13 July 2014). In 2016, the BBC listed the team as the best international football team in football history.

The team is generally credited for successfully implementing an early form of "Total Football", which would later be used by the Netherlands during the 1970s.

## All-time team highs and lows

The following is a list of national football teams ranked by the highest Elo rating they ever reached. The table also includes the highest ranking as well as the lowest rating and ranking reached by each nation. The team that has achieved the highest rank in each confederation is shown in color.

|Rank|Nation|High rating|! High rating date!!High rank|! Low rating / low rank!!Low rating date|||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|1|**Golden Team**|2230|30 June 1954|1st|1527 / 75th|19 November 2003|
|2||2223|13 July 2014|1st|1639 / 24th|26 September 1920|
|3||2216|9 September 1912|1st|1790 / 17th|31 March 1928|
|4||2194|17 June 1962|1st|1813 / 20th|24 September 1922|
|5||2165|11 July 2010|1st|1800 / 19th|25 June 1969|
|6||2159|3 April 1957|1st|1751 / 26th|8 June 1990|
|7||2154|12 July 2014|1st|1550 / 53rd|24 October 1954|
|8||2137|30 May 2001|1st|1506 / 40th|18 May 1930|
|9||2132|11 June 1939|1st|1604 / 22nd|29 August 1920|
|10||2108|13 June 1928|1st|1635 / 44th|5 September 1979|
|11||2104|10 March 1888|1st|1600 / 64th|26 March 2005|
|12||2088|23 July 1966|1st|1449 / 48th|14 September 1913|
|13||2084|12 October 2018|3rd|1498 / 70th|29 March 1936|
|14||2083|1 September 1974|2nd|1526 / 61st|26 August 1956|
|15||2077|25 June 1916|1st|1536 / 61st|24 May 1967|
|16||2068|31 May 1934|1st|1550 / 74th|2 September 2011|
|17||2041|26 June 2016|2nd|1384 / 60th|6 July 1916|
|18||2037|27 June 2004|1st|1670 / 46th|4 September 2017|
|19||2035|28 June 2014|3rd|1304 / 100th|13 March 1957|
|20||2022|28 July 1966|2nd|1619 / 42nd|7 November 1962|

## Results

|Date|Venue|Opponents|Score|Comp|Hungary scorers|Attendance||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|1949-05-08|Budapest|Austria|style="text-align:center;"|6–1|Central European Cup|Puskás (3), Kocsis, Deák (2)|50,000|
|1949-06-12|Budapest|Italy|style="text-align:center;"|1–1|Central European Cup|Deák|47,000|
|1949-06-19|Stockholm|Sweden|style="text-align:center;"|2–2|Friendly|Kocsis, Budai|38,000|
|1949-07-10|Debrecen|Poland|style="text-align:center;"|8–2|Friendly|Deák (4), Puskás (2), Egresi, Keszthelyi|30,000|
|1949-10-16|Vienna|Austria|style="text-align:center;"|4–3|Friendly|Deák (2), Puskás (2)|65,000|
|1949-10-30|Budapest|Bulgaria|style="text-align:center;"|5–0|Friendly|Puskás (2), Deák, Budai, Rudas|36,000|
|1949-11-20|Budapest|Sweden|style="text-align:center;"|5–0|Friendly|Kocsis (3) Puskás, Deák|50,000|
|1950-04-30|Budapest|Czechoslovakia|style="text-align:center;"|5–0|Friendly|Kocsis (2) Puskás (2), Szilágyi|47,000|
|1950-05-14|Vienna|Austria|style="text-align:center;"|3–5|Friendly|Kocsis, Puskás, Szilágyi|65,000|
|1950-06-04|Warsaw|Poland|style="text-align:center;"|5–2|Friendly|Puskás (2), Szilágyi (3)|60,000|
|1950-09-24|Budapest|Albania|style="text-align:center;"|12–0|Friendly|Puskás (4), Budai (4), Palotás (2), Kocsis (2)|38,000|
|1950-10-29|Budapest|Austria|style="text-align:center;"|4–3|Friendly|Puskás (3), Szilágyi|45,000|
|1950-11-12|Sofia|Bulgaria|style="text-align:center;"|1–1|Friendly|Szilágyi|35,000|
|1951-05-27|Budapest|Poland|style="text-align:center;"|6–0|Friendly|Kocsis (2), Sándor, Puskás (2), Czibor|42,000|
|1951-10-14|Ostrava|Czechoslovakia|style="text-align:center;"|2–1|Friendly|Kocsis (2)|45,000|
|1951-11-18|Budapest|Finland|style="text-align:center;"|8–0|Friendly|Hidegkuti (3), Kocsis (2), Czibor, Puskás (2)|40,000|
|1952-05-18|Budapest|East Germany|style="text-align:center;"|5–0|Friendly|Hidegkuti (2), Szusza, Kocsis, Sándor|38,000|
|1952-06-15|Warsaw|Poland|style="text-align:center;"|5–1|Friendly|Kocsis (2), Puskás (2), Hidegkuti|50,000|
|1952-06-22|Helsinki|Finland|style="text-align:center;"|6–1|Friendly|Puskás, Bozsik, Kocsis (3), Palotás|25,000|
|1952-07-15|Turku|Romania|style="text-align:center;"|2–1|1952 Olympics|Czibor, Kocsis|14,000|
|1952-07-21|Helsinki|Italy|style="text-align:center;"|3–0|1952 Olympics|Palotás (2), Kocsis|20,000|
|1952-07-24|Kotka|Turkey|style="text-align:center;"|7–1|1952 Olympics|Palotás, Kocsis (2), Lantos, Puskás (2), Bozsik|20,000|
|1952-07-28|Helsinki|Sweden|style="text-align:center;"|6–0|1952 Olympics|Puskás, Palotás, Lindh (o.g.), Kocsis (2), Hidegkuti|35,000|
|1952-08-02|Helsinki|Yugoslavia|style="text-align:center;"|2–0|1952 Olympics|Puskás, Czibor|60,000|
|1952-09-20|Bern|Switzerland|style="text-align:center;"|4–2|Central European Cup|Puskás (2), Kocsis, Hidegkuti|35,000|
|1952-10-19|Budapest|Czechoslovakia|style="text-align:center;"|5–0|Friendly|Hidegkuti, Egresi, Kocsis (3)|48,000|
|1953-04-26|Budapest|Austria|style="text-align:center;"|1–1|Friendly|Czibor|44,000|
|1953-05-17|Rome|Italy|style="text-align:center;"|3–0|Central European Cup|Hidegkuti, Puskás (2)|90,000|
|1953-07-05|Stockholm|Sweden|style="text-align:center;"|4–2|Friendly|Puskás, Budai, Kocsis, Hidegkuti|40,000|
|1953-10-04|Sofia|Bulgaria|style="text-align:center;"|1–1|Friendly|Szilágyi|45,000|
|1953-10-04|Prague|Czechoslovakia|style="text-align:center;"|5–1|Friendly|Csordás (2), Hidegkuti, M. Tóth, Puskás|50,000|
|1953-10-11|Vienna|Austria|style="text-align:center;"|3–2|Friendly|Csordás, Hidegkuti (2)|65,000|
|1953-11-15|Budapest|Sweden|style="text-align:center;"|2–2|Friendly|Palotás, Czibor|80,000|
|1953-11-25|London|England|style="text-align:center;"|6–3|Friendly|Hidegkuti (3), Puskás (2), Bozsik|105,000|
|1954-02-12|Cairo|Egypt|style="text-align:center;"|3–0|Friendly|Puskás (2), Hidegkuti|28,000|
|1954-04-11|Vienna|Austria|style="text-align:center;"|1–0|Friendly|Happel (o.g.)|65,000|
|1954-05-23|Budapest|England|style="text-align:center;"|7–1|Friendly|Lantos, Puskás (2), Kocsis (2), M. Tóth, Hidegkuti|92,000|
|1954-06-17|Zurich|South Korea|style="text-align:center;"|9–0|1954 World Cup|Puskás (2), Lantos, Kocsis (3), Czibor, Palotás (2)|15,000|
|1954-06-20|Basel|West Germany|style="text-align:center;"|8–3|1954 World Cup|Kocsis (4), Puskás, Hidegkuti (2), J. Tóth|53,000|
|1954-06-27|Bern|Brazil|style="text-align:center;"|4–2|1954 World Cup|Hidegkuti, Kocsis (2), Lantos|60,000|
|1954-06-30|Lausanne|Uruguay|style="text-align:center;"|4–2 (a.e.t.)|1954 World Cup|Czibor, Hidegkuti, Kocsis (2)|50,000|
|1954-07-04|Bern|West Germany|style="text-align:center;"|2–3|1954 World Cup|Puskás, Czibor|65,000|
|1954-09-19|Budapest|Romania|style="text-align:center;"|5–1|Friendly|Kocsis (2), Hidegkuti (2), Budai|93,000|
|1954-09-19|Moscow|Soviet Union|style="text-align:center;"|1–1|Friendly|Kocsis|85,000|
|1954-10-10|Budapest|Switzerland|style="text-align:center;"|3–0|Friendly|Kocsis (2), Bozsik|94,000|
|1954-10-24|Budapest|Czechoslovakia|style="text-align:center;"|4–1|Friendly|Kocsis (3), Sándor|93,000|
|1954-11-14|Budapest|Austria|style="text-align:center;"|4–1|Friendly|Kocsis, Czibor, Sándor, Palotás|94,000|
|1954-12-08|Glasgow|Scotland|style="text-align:center;"|4–2|Friendly|Kocsis, Hidegkuti, Bozsik, Sándor|134,000|
|1955-04-24|Vienna|Austria|style="text-align:center;"|2–2|Central European Cup|Hidegkuti, Fenyvesi|65,000|
|1955-05-08|Oslo|Norway|style="text-align:center;"|5–0|Friendly|Puskás, Kocsis, Palotás (2), Tichy|34,000|
|1955-05-11|Stockholm|Sweden|style="text-align:center;"|7–3|Friendly|Puskás (2), Kocsis (3), Hidegkuti, Szojka|40,000|
|1955-05-15|Copenhagen|Denmark|style="text-align:center;"|6–0|Friendly|Kocsis (2), Sándor (3), Palotás|41,000|
|1955-05-19|Helsinki|Finland|style="text-align:center;"|9–1|Friendly|Palotás (3), Puskás, Tichy (2), Csordás (2), J. Tóth|30,000|
|1955-05-29|Budapest|Scotland|style="text-align:center;"|3–1|Friendly|Kocsis, Hidegkuti, Fenyvesi|100,000|
|1955-09-17|Budapest|Switzerland|style="text-align:center;"|5–4|Central European Cup|Puskás (2), Kocsis, Machos (2)|45,000|
|1955-09-25|Budapest|Soviet Union|style="text-align:center;"|1–1|Friendly|Puskás|103,000|
|1955-10-02|Prague|Czechoslovakia|style="text-align:center;"|3–1|Central European Cup|Kocsis, Tichy, Czibor|50,000|
|1955-10-16|Budapest|Austria|style="text-align:center;"|6–1|Central European Cup|Kocsis, Puskás, Czibor (2), Tichy, J. Tóth|104,000|
|1955-11-13|Budapest|Sweden|style="text-align:center;"|4–2|Friendly|Puskás, Tichy, Czibor (2)|90,000|
|1955-11-27|Budapest|Italy|style="text-align:center;"|2–0|Central European Cup|Puskás, J. Tóth|103,000|
|1956-06-03|Brussels|Belgium|style="text-align:center;"|4–5|Friendly|Puskás, Kocsis (2), Budai|75,000|
|1956-09-23|Moscow|Soviet Union|style="text-align:center;"|1–0|Friendly|Czibor|105,000|

## Records and statistics

- **World Record**: (4 June 1950 to 19 February 1956) 42 victories, 7 draws, 1 defeat ("_Miracle of Bern_") – 91.0% winning percentage ratio.
    - Team Record (4 June 1950 to 3 July 1954) 31 game undefeated narrative.
- **World Record**: most consecutive games scoring at least one goal: 73 games (10 April 1949 to 16 June 1957).
- **World Record**: longest time undefeated in 20th and 21st centuries: 4 years 1 month (4 June 1950 to 4 July 1954).
- **World Record**: most collaborative goals scored between two starting players (Ferenc Puskás & Sándor Kocsis) on same national side (159 goals).
- **World Record**: Highest rating ever attained in the sport's history using the Elo rating system for national teams with 2230 points on 30 June 1954.

- **20th Century Record**: Hungary manager Gusztáv Sebes holds the highest ratio of victories per game past 30 matches with 82.58% (49 wins, 11, draws, 6 defeats).  Brazil legend Vicente Feola (1955–1966) owns the second highest with 81.25 (46 wins, 12 draws, 6 defeats).
- **20th Century Record**: Most International Goals: Ferenc Puskás (84 goals).
- **World Cup Record**: 27 goals scored in a single World Cup finals tournament.
- **World Cup Record**: 5.4 goals-per-match in a single World Cup finals tournament.
- **World Cup Record**: +17 goal differential in a single World Cup finals tournament.
- **World Cup Record**: 2.2 goals-per-match average for individual goal scoring in a single World Cup finals tournament (Sándor Kocsis 11 goals in 5 games).
- **World Cup Record**: highest margin of victory ever recorded in a World Cup finals tournament match ( Hungary 9, South Korea 0 – 17 July 1954).
- **World Cup Precedent**: first national team to defeat two-time and reigning World Cup champion Uruguay in a World Cup finals tournament (Hungary 4, Uruguay 2, semi-final — 30 July 1954).
- **World Cup Precedent**: Sándor Kocsis, first player to score two hat tricks in a World Cup finals tournament (Hungary 8, West Germany 3 – 20 July 1954 & Hungary 9, South Korea 0 – 17 July 1954).
- **National Record**: Highest margin of victory recorded by Hungarian national team (Hungary 12, Albania 0 – 23 September 1950).
- **Precedent**: first national side from outside the British Isles to defeat England at home since the codification of association football in 1863, a span of 90 years (Hungary 6, England 3, see "_Match of the Century_" – 25 November 1953).
    - Hungary's 7–1 defeat of England in Budapest the next year is still England's record defeat.
- **Precedent**: first national side in the world to eclipse an 1888 Scottish record of being undefeated in 22 consecutive matches (32 games).
- **Precedent**: first non-South American national side to defeat Uruguay (Hungary 4, Uruguay 2, semi-final — 30 July 1954), breaking a 17-game Uruguayan unbeaten run against non-South American competition dating from 26 May 1924.
- **Precedent**: first national side to defeat the Soviet Union at home (Hungary 1, Soviet Union 0 – 23 September 1956).
- **Precedent**: first national team in history to simultaneously host the No.1 and No. 2 world record holders for most goals scored internationally (Ferenc Puskás 84 goals, Sándor Kocsis 75 goals) from 11 May 1955 to 14 October 1956.
- Team Record vs. Elo Ranked Opponents: (4 June 1950 – 14 October 1956), vs. world Top 10 ranked opponents: 11 wins, 2 draws, 1 loss / vs. world Top 5 opponents: 4 wins, 0 draw, 1 loss.

## Honours

- Central European International Cup
    - 1948-53
- Olympic Champions
    - 1952
- World Cup
    - _Finalist_ : 1954

## Bibliography

- Diego Mariottini, "Tiki-taka Budapest: leggenda, ascesa e declino dell'Ungheria di Puskás", Bradipolibri, 2016,

## Other websites

- _Aranycsapat_ – dedicated web page
- Gusztáv Sebes biography
- Hungary's Famous Victory
- Dr. Gerő Cup 1948–53
- National football teams' rankings