Gyula Lóránt
Encyclopedia
Gyula Lóránt also referred to as Gyula Lipovics or Lóránt Gyula, was a Hungarian
football
player and manager. He played as a defender and midfielder for, among others, UTA Arad, Vasas SC
, Honvéd
and Hungary
.
During the 1950s, he was a prominent member of the legendary Hungarian national team known as the Mighty Magyars, which also included Ferenc Puskás
, Zoltán Czibor
, Sándor Kocsis
, József Bozsik
and Nándor Hidegkuti
.
After retiring as a player, Lóránt became a coach, most notably with Honvéd
, FC Bayern Munich
and PAOK Thessaloniki FC
. While at PAOK, he guided them to a Greek Championship
title in 1976. On 31 May 1981, while still working as coach, he suffered a heart attack, watching PAOK play Olympiacos CFP and died at the game.
. It was while at Vasas SC
, where his team mates included Ladislao Kubala
, that his career prospered. However in January 1949, as Hungary became a communist state
, Kubala fled the country in the back of a truck and formed his own team Hungaria to play exhibition friendlies. The team was made up of fellow refugees fleeing Eastern Europe
. Lóránt also attempted to escape and follow Kubala, but was captured and ended up in a detention camp.
, the national team
coach, who regarded him as pivotal to his plans. Lóránt then made his debut for Hungary
on 19 October 1949 in an away game against Austria
. Sebes personally guaranteed the country’s Interior Minister and future Prime Minister, János Kádár
, that Lóránt would not abscond while in Vienna
. Kádár agreed and Lóránt responded with a superb performance as Hungary won 4-3. He subsequently joined Honvéd
where together with six of his fellow internationals, he helped the team win three Hungarian League
titles. As one of the legendary Mighty Magyars, he helped Hungary
become Olympic Champions
in 1952, Central European Champions in 1953, defeat England
twice and reach the 1954 World Cup final
.
Hungary
Nagyváradi AC
UTA Arad
Honvéd
Manager
PAOK Thessaloniki FC
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
player and manager. He played as a defender and midfielder for, among others, UTA Arad, Vasas SC
Vasas SC
Vasas SC is one of Hungary's major sports clubs. Most of its facilities are situated in Budapest's 13th district in the north of the town. Members of the Hungarian Union of Iron Workers founded the club as Vas-és Fémmunkások Sport Clubja, the "Sport Club of Iron and Steel Workers", on 16 March 1911...
, Honvéd
Budapest Honvéd FC
Budapest Honvéd FC |football]] team. "Honved" means the Homeland Defense. Originally formed as Kispest AC, they became Kispest FC in 1926 before reverting to their original name in 1944. The team enjoyed a golden age during the 1950s when it was renamed Budapest Honvéd SE and became the Hungarian...
and Hungary
Hungary national football team
The Hungary national football team represents Hungary in international football and is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation....
.
During the 1950s, he was a prominent member of the legendary Hungarian national team known as the Mighty Magyars, which also included Ferenc Puskás
Ferenc Puskás
Ferenc Puskás was a Hungarian footballer and manager. He scored 84 goals in 85 international matches for Hungary, and 514 goals in 529 matches in the Hungarian and Spanish leagues. He became Olympic champion in 1952 and was a World Cup finalist in 1954...
, Zoltán Czibor
Zoltán Czibor
Zoltán Czibor Suhai , also referred to as Czibor Zoltán, was a Hungarian footballer who played for several Hungarian clubs, including Ferencváros TC and Honvéd, and Hungary before joining CF Barcelona. Czibor played as a left-winger or striker and was notable for having a powerful shot, good...
, Sándor Kocsis
Sándor Kocsis
Sándor Kocsis Péter was a Hungarian footballer who played for Ferencváros TC, Budapest Honvéd, Young Fellows Zürich, FC Barcelona and Hungary. During the 1950s, along with Ferenc Puskás, Zoltán Czibor, József Bozsik and Nándor Hidegkuti, he was a member of the Mighty Magyars...
, József Bozsik
József Bozsik
József Bozsik was a Hungarian footballer. He represented Hungary in various international tournaments, and is a member of the Mighty Magyars.-Biography:...
and Nándor Hidegkuti
Nándor Hidegkuti
Nándor Hidegkuti was a Hungarian football player and manager. He played as a forward or attacking midfielder and spent the majority of his playing career at MTK Hungária FC. During the 1950s he was also a member of the Hungarian National Team team known as the Golden Team...
.
After retiring as a player, Lóránt became a coach, most notably with Honvéd
Budapest Honvéd FC
Budapest Honvéd FC |football]] team. "Honved" means the Homeland Defense. Originally formed as Kispest AC, they became Kispest FC in 1926 before reverting to their original name in 1944. The team enjoyed a golden age during the 1950s when it was renamed Budapest Honvéd SE and became the Hungarian...
, FC Bayern Munich
FC Bayern Munich
FC Bayern Munich , is a German sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional football team, which is the most successful football club in Germany, having won 22 national titles and 15 cups....
and PAOK Thessaloniki FC
PAOK FC
P.A.O.K. F.C. is a Greek association football club based in Thessaloniki, Greece. It is the largest supported football club in Macedonia.PAOK FC is the football department of Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans , a multi-sport club. Since its formation in 1926 the football club...
. While at PAOK, he guided them to a Greek Championship
Super League Greece
The Superleague Greece is the highest professional football league in Greece. It was formed on July 16, 2006 and replaced Alpha Ethniki at the top of the Greek football league system. The league consists of 16 teams and runs from August to May, with teams playing 30 games each...
title in 1976. On 31 May 1981, while still working as coach, he suffered a heart attack, watching PAOK play Olympiacos CFP and died at the game.
Early career
Gayla Lóránt began his career as a youth with his hometown club, Kõszeg SE, after encouragement from a local trainer. He then played for Nagyváradi AC and UT Arad in RomaniaRomania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
. It was while at Vasas SC
Vasas SC
Vasas SC is one of Hungary's major sports clubs. Most of its facilities are situated in Budapest's 13th district in the north of the town. Members of the Hungarian Union of Iron Workers founded the club as Vas-és Fémmunkások Sport Clubja, the "Sport Club of Iron and Steel Workers", on 16 March 1911...
, where his team mates included Ladislao Kubala
Ladislao Kubala
László Kubala Stecz , also referred to as Ladislav Kubala, Ladislao Kubala, was a footballer, who played as a forward with, among others, Ferencvárosi TC, ŠK Slovan Bratislava, Vasas SC, FC Barcelona and RCD Espanyol. He also played for three different national teams, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and...
, that his career prospered. However in January 1949, as Hungary became a communist state
People's Republic of Hungary
The People's Republic of Hungary or Hungarian People's Republic was the official state name of Hungary from 1949 to 1989 during its Communist period under the guidance of the Soviet Union. The state remained in existence until 1989 when opposition forces consolidated in forcing the regime to...
, Kubala fled the country in the back of a truck and formed his own team Hungaria to play exhibition friendlies. The team was made up of fellow refugees fleeing Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
. Lóránt also attempted to escape and follow Kubala, but was captured and ended up in a detention camp.
Hungarian international
Lóránt was released from detention after the intervention of Gusztáv SebesGusztáv Sebes
Gusztáv Sebes was a Hungarian footballer and coach. With the title of Deputy Minister of Sport, he coached the Hungarian team known as the Mighty Magyars in the 1950s. Among the players in the team were Ferenc Puskás, Zoltán Czibor, Sándor Kocsis, József Bozsik, and Nándor Hidegkuti...
, the national team
Hungary national football team
The Hungary national football team represents Hungary in international football and is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation....
coach, who regarded him as pivotal to his plans. Lóránt then made his debut for Hungary
Hungary national football team
The Hungary national football team represents Hungary in international football and is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation....
on 19 October 1949 in an away game against Austria
Austria national football team
The Austria national football team is the association football team that represents the country of Austria in international competition and is controlled by the Austrian Football Association ....
. Sebes personally guaranteed the country’s Interior Minister and future Prime Minister, János Kádár
János Kádár
János Kádár was a Hungarian communist leader and the General Secretary of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party, presiding over the country from 1956 until his forced retirement in 1988. His thirty-two year term as General Secretary makes Kádár the longest ruler of the People's Republic of Hungary...
, that Lóránt would not abscond while in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. Kádár agreed and Lóránt responded with a superb performance as Hungary won 4-3. He subsequently joined Honvéd
Budapest Honvéd FC
Budapest Honvéd FC |football]] team. "Honved" means the Homeland Defense. Originally formed as Kispest AC, they became Kispest FC in 1926 before reverting to their original name in 1944. The team enjoyed a golden age during the 1950s when it was renamed Budapest Honvéd SE and became the Hungarian...
where together with six of his fellow internationals, he helped the team win three Hungarian League
Hungarian League
The Nemzeti Bajnokság is a Hungarian professional league for association football clubs. The league is currently known as the OTP Bank Liga for sponsorship reasons, and it is the highest level of professional league since its inception in 1901. UEFA currently ranks the league 35th in Europe.Sixteen...
titles. As one of the legendary Mighty Magyars, he helped Hungary
Hungary national football team
The Hungary national football team represents Hungary in international football and is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation....
become Olympic Champions
Football at the 1952 Summer Olympics
The 1952 Olympic football tournament signalled the arrival of the 'Golden Team'; the 'Magical Magyars': Hungary. Ferenc Puskás, the great Hungarian known as the 'Galloping Major' for his military title, said of the 1952 competition: "It was during the Olympics that our football first started to...
in 1952, Central European Champions in 1953, defeat England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
twice and reach the 1954 World Cup final
1954 FIFA World Cup Final
- External links :* - fifa.com, FIFA, 2002.*...
.
Honours
PlayerHungary
- Olympic ChampionsFootball at the 1952 Summer OlympicsThe 1952 Olympic football tournament signalled the arrival of the 'Golden Team'; the 'Magical Magyars': Hungary. Ferenc Puskás, the great Hungarian known as the 'Galloping Major' for his military title, said of the 1952 competition: "It was during the Olympics that our football first started to...
: 1 - * 1952
- Central European Champions: 1
- * 1953
- World Cup1954 FIFA World CupThe 1954 FIFA World Cup, the fifth staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in Switzerland from 16 June to 4 July. Switzerland was chosen as hosts in July 1946. The tournament set a number of all-time records for goal-scoring, including the highest average goals scored per game...
- * Runner-up: 1954
Nagyváradi AC
- Hungarian ChampionsHungarian LeagueThe Nemzeti Bajnokság is a Hungarian professional league for association football clubs. The league is currently known as the OTP Bank Liga for sponsorship reasons, and it is the highest level of professional league since its inception in 1901. UEFA currently ranks the league 35th in Europe.Sixteen...
: 1 - * 1944
UTA Arad
- Romanian Champions: 1
- * 1947
Honvéd
- Hungarian ChampionsHungarian LeagueThe Nemzeti Bajnokság is a Hungarian professional league for association football clubs. The league is currently known as the OTP Bank Liga for sponsorship reasons, and it is the highest level of professional league since its inception in 1901. UEFA currently ranks the league 35th in Europe.Sixteen...
: 3 - * 1952, 1954, 1955
Manager
PAOK Thessaloniki FC
- Greek ChampionsSuper League GreeceThe Superleague Greece is the highest professional football league in Greece. It was formed on July 16, 2006 and replaced Alpha Ethniki at the top of the Greek football league system. The league consists of 16 teams and runs from August to May, with teams playing 30 games each...
: 1 - * 1976
External links
Sources
- Behind The Curtain - Travels in Eastern European Football: Jonathan Wilson (2006) http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0752869078
- Gyula Lóránt at eintracht-archiv.de