It’s
not an accolade that any civilised country would be proud of winning, but the
current joint frontrunners for the shameful award of the European Union’s Most
Xenophobic and Intolerant Government are Britain and Hungary. You couldn’t get
a cigarette paper between the two of them for endemic, institutional racism, damaging,
populist political rhetoric and the complicity of a supine media in disseminating
their poisonous hate speech. Of course, the Doomsday Scenario of Brexit, of
whatever grotesque variety, will eventually hand the prize for being the
continent’s most rabid, ultra-right wing demagogue to the loathsome Viktor
Orbán, de facto eternal leader of the
fascistic Fidesz party that enjoys unquestioned dominion from Mosonmagyaróvár,
athwart the banks of the Danube in the north west to Nyíregyháza near the
Romanian border, by way of Székesfehérvár on the shores of Lake Balaton.
To
understand the prevailing nationalistic ideology at large in Britain, which in
this instance means England of course, and Hungary, one only needs a cursory
glance at history. Both Britain, the island race who have repelled all invaders
since 1066 and once boasted an empire that covered half the globe, and Hungary,
known mostly by the grand title of Magyar Szent Korona Országai (The Lands
of the Holy Hungarian Crown) that covered central Europe from the Dalmatian coast
to the Ukranian border for almost the entire period between 1000 and 1920, have
instinctively developed a kind of national pride that is based on historical
mythology, perceived superiority and distinct cultural differences to the lands
that surround. Both countries played the role of imperialist oppressors with
brutal, regal flair and both proselytise an indigenous culture that is based on
an irrefutable belief in the value of their language. Without doubt, English is
the world language; of business and of finance. Unquestionably, Hungarian is
the polar opposite; an isolated member of the Uralic language family, it has
little in common with any other Indo-European language, living or dead. This
“otherness” and separation is part of what fuels the Hungarian belief as to the
nation’s supposed special position among their neighbours. Hungarians believe
they are better than anyone else and, undoubtedly, this was true of the
Hungarian football team during the first half of the 1950s, but let’s start at
the beginning.
After
the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 restored the traditional status (both
legal and political) of the Hungarian state, which was lost after the Hungarian
Revolution of 1848, the lands of the House of Habsburg were reorganized as a
real union between the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary, headed by a
single monarch who reigned as Emperor of Austria, and as King of Hungary. The
Cisleithanian (Austrian) and Transleithanian (Hungarian) states were governed
by separate parliaments and prime ministers.
This version of Hungary, which would be vastly reduced following the
dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, following the Treaty of the Trianon
at the end of World War I, included Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and Slovakia, was
in existence when the Hungarian Football League (Nemzeti Bajnokság) was established
at the start of the twentieth century.
Paradoxically,
despite the extensive borders of the Hungarian state, the early competition was
restricted to teams from Budapest. While relatively minor clubs from the
capital, such as Csepel and Vasas, have retained membership for over a century,
with only the occasional success to break up decades of monotonous
underachievement, the dominant teams have been: Ferencváros (29 titles), MTK (Magyar
Testgyakorlók Köre) Budapest (23 titles), who shared every championship until
the emergence of Újpest (20 titles) at the start of the 1930s and the
celebrated Honvéd (14 titles), who made their mark after World War 2, until the
events of 1956 stopped Hungarian football in its tracks.
On
the international stage, Hungary competed in the second World Cup in 1934, but
exited in the second round to Austria of all teams. However, the 1938
tournament in France proved to be something of a milestone in the development
of a side who prided themselves on uncompromising, all-out attack. They beat
the Dutch East Indies 6-0, Switzerland 2-0 and Sweden, in the semi-final, 5-1
to set up a clash with holders Italy. The Azzurri proved too strong and claimed
the Jules Rimet with a 4-2 victory. Such unexpected progress instilled a sense
of patriotic belief in the innate strength of Hungarian football. Of course,
Europe was plunged into the cataclysmic horrors of World War 2 only a year
later, during which period Hungary’s leader Miklós Horthy kept the country
ostensibly neutral, though displaying a clear preference for Nazi Germany to
Bolshevik Russia if a neighbouring militaristic behemoth were to effect
occupation.
The
first tournament in which Hungary took part after peace returned was the 1952
Helsinki Olympics, where the Magnificent Magyars strolled to the gold medal. Centred
around the dynamic and potent quartet of Ferenc Puskás, Sándor Kocsis, József
Bozsik and deep-lying striker Nándor Hidegkuti, the Aranycsapat or "Golden Team" as they were known at home, stole the
hearts of football followers in a way comparable to the popularity among
neutrals of Brazil 70, Holland 74 and Keegan’s Entertainers in later years. In November 1953, they became the first foreign
side to win at Wembley, trouncing England 6-3, with Puskás and Hidgekuti simply
unplayable. If that result wasn’t bad enough, words could not adequately convey
the humiliation afforded by the return game in May 1954, when the home side
inflicted England’s worst ever defeat, running out 7-1 winners. Truly they were
Magnificent Magyars, as shown by how from May 1950 to February 1956, Hungary
played 50 games, with a record of 43 victories, 6 draws, and 1 defeat. That
solitary defeat was the 1954 World Cup Final where West Germany upset the form
book and came back from 2-0 down to win 3-2, made all the more remarkable by
the fact Hungary had beaten them 8-3 in a group game earlier in the tournament.
This
stunning loss did not dilute their popularity and a legendary friendly between
Wolves and Honved was held under lights at Molineux in December 1954 in front
of a sell-out 55,000 crowd, while being simultaneously broadcast live on the
BBC. The home side’s manager Stan Cullis lost the run of himself in the excitement
of a 3-2 win, proclaiming Wolves to be “Champions of the World.” He may have
been caught up in the intoxicating drama of the night, but Cullis accurately
showed the hold the Aranycsapat had
on the collective footballing imagination. And then, 1956 came along and
everything changed.
On
23 October 1956, a student demonstration outside the state broadcasting
authority in Budapest turned violent. The hated secret police Állam Védelmi Hatóság attacked the
peaceful protestors, resulting in the death of one of the demonstrators. News
of this outrage spread, and riotous disorder became common, firstly in Budapest
and then across the whole country. The situation was anarchic, and the
government fell. Radical impromptu workers' councils wrested municipal control
and demanded political changes. A new government formally declared its
intention to withdraw from the Warsaw Pact and pledged to re-establish free
elections. By the end of October, fighting had almost stopped, and a sense of
normality began to return, though this would prove illusory. Soviet tanks
inevitably rolled into Hungary on 4 November and within a week had retaken
control.
Brutal
repression followed swiftly; executions, exile and imprisonment were the
watchwords of the state apparatus. Sport was irrelevant. Honved led the Nemzeti Bajnokság when the Uprising began,
though the championship did not resume and was never completed. For the
national side, the repercussions would be catastrophic. Though they qualified
for the 1958 World Cup, they were eliminated at the end of the first stage by
Wales. Immediately afterwards, Puskas and Kocsis emigrated to Spain, playing
for Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively, while Hidgekuti went to Italy,
signing for Fiorentina. With the guts ripped out of the Magnificent Magyars, Hungary
needed to build again. Happily, a young side claimed the Bronze medal at the
1960 Olympics in Rome and a mature version of the same squad took gold in Tokyo
in 1964, as well as finishing third in the European Championships, before
retaining their Olympic title in Mexico City in 1968. However, it should be
noted that at this time, only so-called “amateur” players were allowed to
participate in Olympic football, meaning that the overwhelming majority of
Western European and South American countries declined to participate.
In
the World Cup, a respectable quarter final exit in Chile in 1962 was followed
by a trip to England in 1966. By this time there was another Magnificent Magyar
on the scene; Flórián Albert, the elegant forward from Ferencvaros who was
voted European Player of the Year in 1967 and scored 255 goals in his 351-game
career. Sadly, his skills weren’t enough to guide Hungary to the business end
of the tournament and they lost to Russia, of all teams, at Roker Park, of all
places, in the last 8. They failed to qualify for the 1970 and 1974 finals,
returning for Argentina in 1978, losing all three group games to the
intimidating trio of Argentina, France and Italy. All this disappointment was
forgotten when they beat El Salvador 10-1 in the opening match in Spain four
years later. Almost incredibly, their subsequent 4-1 loss to Argentina and a
draw with Belgium meant they were eliminated on goal difference.
Hungary’s
final appearance in a World Cup was 1986 in Mexico. Things began optimistically
with a 2-0 win over Canada, but a 3-0 loss to France and a 6-0 pummelling by
Russia sent them home. Many Hungarian commentators point to that latter game as
the definitive end of Hungary as a credible force in the European game.
Certainly, a single, unconvincing appearance at the 2016 European Championships
where they exited in the last 16, does not indicate the Magyars will be a
significant presence at international level in the immediate future.
Domestically
and internationally, the 1990s proved to be the worst decade for Hungarian
football. In 1996, Hungary fell to 87th in the FIFA World Rankings. Simultaneously,
the fall of the Hungarian regime at the start of the 1990s caused financial
problems for many Hungarian clubs. Formerly successful outfits like Ferencváros,
whose 1965 Fairs Cup victory is the only success by a Hungarian club in
European competition and Újpest, whose 1969 loss to Newcastle United provided
the Magpies with their last trophy, faced financial crisis and potential bankruptcy,
partially as a result of the abolition of state funding and partly on account
of the Bosman ruling that denuded them of their star players, such as they were
at the time. Twenty years on from a return to free market capitalism, Hungarian
football remains in the doldrums, with no realistic prospect of imminent
rejuvenation.
Britain
and Hungary may share similar odious political trends and social attitudes, but
at least British football can put a smile on everyone’s face, despite the worst
efforts of the Democratic Football Lads Alliance, or whatever they call
themselves.
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