Sándor Szucs
Encyclopedia
Sándor Szűcs was a Hungarian
football player. He started to play for Szolnoki MÁV
, but he spent his best years playing for Újpest FC
as a defender and helped the club win the Hungarian League
in three consecutive years from 1945 to 1947.
Between 1941 and 1948 Szűcs played 19 times for Hungary
, being one of the best defenders of Europe during the 1940s. He played together with such great players as Ferenc Szusza
and Gyula Zsengellér
for Újpest and Ferenc Puskás
, József Bozsik
, Ferenc Deák
, György Sárosi or Nándor Hidegkuti
for Hungary.
of Hungary, an era of conceptual, pre-arranged trials
was started by the regime, with many victims. Also the communist party tried to get involved in every part of everyday life, and renaming the club Újpest to Budapesti Dózsa and putting them under police control was just one step of the events.
In 1951, as a result of a conceived plan, Szűcs, who was still an active player of Újpest, was tricked and blackmailed to defect the country by ÁVÓ
. However, as the organizer of the events, the state police captured him not far from the border. After months spent in prison, he was sentenced to death for High treason
during a secret pre-arranged trial and executed later. The law referred in the sentence was never used again or any time before.
The real reason behind the events was to warn off Puskás
, Bozsik
and other members of the Hungarian Golden Team from defection. The warn off was "successful", since no other Hungarian football players tried to leave the country until 1956.
, while a football tournament for youth players of the district is held every year. A documentary movie was filmed on his story in 2005.
Today, the earlier forgotten Sándor Szűcs is regarded as a martyr
, who was a victim of the Stalinist regime's rampage, and the only Hungarian football player to be executed.
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 player. He started to play for Szolnoki MÁV
Szolnoki MÁV FC
Szolnoki MÁV FC is a Hungarian football club, from the city of Szolnok. In 2010 it gained promotion to the National Championship.- Current squad :As of September 6, 2011. According to transfermarkt.de...
, but he spent his best years playing for Újpest FC
Újpest FC
Újpest Football Club , earlier known as Újpesti TE and Újpesti Dózsa, is a Hungarian football club, based in Újpest, Budapest. The club's colours are purple and white...
as a defender and helped the club win the 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...
in three consecutive years from 1945 to 1947.
Between 1941 and 1948 Szűcs played 19 times for Hungary
Hungary national football team
The Hungary national football team represents Hungary in international football and is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation....
, being one of the best defenders of Europe during the 1940s. He played together with such great players as Ferenc Szusza
Ferenc Szusza
Ferenc Szusza was one of Hungary's greatest football players.Szusza was a top division player of Újpest FC from 1941 to 1960...
and Gyula Zsengellér
Gyula Zsengellér
Gyula Zsengellér was a Hungarian footballer and a legend of Újpest FC, most famous for his part in taking the Hungarian national team to the 1938 World Cup Final. He was that tournament's second-highest scorer, behind Leonidas of Brazil.His first international cap came on 2 December 1936, when...
for Újpest and 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...
, 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:...
, Ferenc Deák
Ferenc Deák (footballer)
Ferenc Deák was a Hungarian football player for teams such as Szentlőrinc SE, Ferencváros and Bp. Dózsa...
, György Sárosi or 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...
for Hungary.
Death
After the communist take-overPeople'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...
of Hungary, an era of conceptual, pre-arranged trials
Show trial
The term show trial is a pejorative description of a type of highly public trial in which there is a strong connotation that the judicial authorities have already determined the guilt of the defendant. The actual trial has as its only goal to present the accusation and the verdict to the public as...
was started by the regime, with many victims. Also the communist party tried to get involved in every part of everyday life, and renaming the club Újpest to Budapesti Dózsa and putting them under police control was just one step of the events.
In 1951, as a result of a conceived plan, Szűcs, who was still an active player of Újpest, was tricked and blackmailed to defect the country by ÁVÓ
State Protection Authority
The State Protection Authority was the secret police force of Hungary from 1945 until 1956. It was conceived of as an external appendage of the Soviet Union's secret police forces, but attained an indigenous reputation for brutality during a series of purges beginning in 1948, intensifying in 1949...
. However, as the organizer of the events, the state police captured him not far from the border. After months spent in prison, he was sentenced to death for High treason
High treason
High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps...
during a secret pre-arranged trial and executed later. The law referred in the sentence was never used again or any time before.
The real reason behind the events was to warn off 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...
, 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 other members of the Hungarian Golden Team from defection. The warn off was "successful", since no other Hungarian football players tried to leave the country until 1956.
Aftermath
All the newspapers and books issued in Hungary withheld every piece of information, and officially nobody knew about the execution until the political changes in the country in 1989. Also the place of his grave was strictly confidential. After the communist regime's fall, Szűcs's story was widely published. In 1989 the death sentence was revoked and named a violation of laws. In 1991 he was posthumous awarded a police lieutenant-colonel title, because Újpest was the police club from 1950, and he had to become a policeman. Since 1993, an elementary school was named after him in ÚjpestÚjpest
Újpest may refer to:*Újpest, a district of Budapest, Hungary.*Újpest FC, a football team based in Újpest....
, while a football tournament for youth players of the district is held every year. A documentary movie was filmed on his story in 2005.
Today, the earlier forgotten Sándor Szűcs is regarded as a martyr
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
, who was a victim of the Stalinist regime's rampage, and the only Hungarian football player to be executed.