The Hungarian game system
János Páder | 13/05/1956

In March and April, the Education and Methodology Subcommittee of the National Football Coaching Committee held several discussions on the most important issues of Hungarian football. There was a lot of talk about education and upbringing, improving ball handling and tactics, especially endurance. The subcommittee also considered it important to finally clarify the issue of the Hungarian game system, because this could boost the football of the large crowds in particular.

The first of the performances to be organized by the national coaching committee this year will be about the Hungarian football game system. This is held by Márton Bukovi, the coach of Bp. Dózsa. The opinion of our experts is that there is a Hungarian game system that was developed during the further development of the three-back system. Márton Bukovi, Gábor Urbancsik and others initiated or applied the withdrawal of the centre-forward and then the centre-half to their own teams, and these tactical withdrawals became a system over time. This game system has been used most perfectly by the Hungarian national team in recent years. Even today, the Hungarian national team plays in accordance with this system, but so do many sports teams. But it is not only Hungarian teams that use this game system. It was also taken over abroad. For example, the Yugoslav A-team fought against us in this game system in the last 2:2 match!

The Hungarian football game system is outlined below. The basic position of the players in the system is shown in the following drawing:



The drawing shows four defenders, two half-backs and four forwards. The fourth defender here is the left half-back. In the Hungarian national team and in most of the leading sports teams, the left half-back has been backed up for years to support the defenders (Zakariás, Kotász, Dékány, Dávid, etc.). Of course, you can also be a largely defensive player from the right. (Such was Krstic in the Yugoslav national team.)

Of the two half-backs now available, one was originally a half-back — even in the WM system — and the other was a forward retreating from the offensive line.

After the start, most of our team's offensive line consists of four strikers, or more precisely, four forward strikers. The centre-forward is most often missing from this line (for a long time it was Hidegkuti who was pulled back in the national team, and for some time Puskás; machos or Tichy in Bp. Honvéd, later Puskás; in Bp. Vörös Lobogó, Hudegkuti and Palotás, then Sipos; in Bp. Kinizsi, Vilezsál or Láng; in Bp. Dósza, Szusza). As you can see — there is not only a centre-forward among the retracted strikers, but also an insider. From the point of view of the game system, it doesn't matter which striker goes back out of the five. The important thing is to move the four strikers in front to the full width of the playing field during the game.

The name of the new game system could be four-strikers-four-backs game system as suggested.

Benefits of the new system.

First: The new game system was more offensive than the WM system because it works with four forward strikers instead of three. It is suitable not only for attacks performed with fast advances, but also for combinations (multi-serving, ending with a quick triangle game and a bouncer, which are so typical of the Hungarian offensive game). This game system allows: if the attackers are stopped from attacking, if the four forward attackers are held up, the two players on the next line can break into the gaps they create and break into the goal. Such attack endings have been common in our national team in recent years. For example, Hidegkuti and Bozsik scored a goal against the English. Shortly ago, Bozsik scored against the Yugoslavs again. In our sports teams, Puskás, Kovács I., Szojka and others have already achieved similar goals in recent years. In some cases, the withdrawn half-back or even one of the defenders will advance, so that 7-8 players can take part in the attack from time to time. (Examples are Buzánszky's advance in the last match against the Tatabánya Bányász, or Lantos's against Bp. Honvéd).

Second: Defensive play is safer in this game system because the fourth defender in the WM system reduces the danger in the middle at the best goal-breaking and shooting angle in front of the goal.