THE ITALIAN CHAMPIONS BEAT THOSE OF HUNGARY BY 4-0
— Vittorio Pozzo | 30/06/1932— 

Definitely, the European Cup this year sees the entry into competition of the Italian teams, of impetuous and enthusiastic character and style. The race held yesterday in Turin saw in fact another Italian victory with a large score. With such a large score, that Juventus, exactly like Bologna ten days ago, has every right to consider the doors of the semifinals of the event as semi-open.

The meeting was as lively and interesting as could have been desired. Not that the two teams on the field have reached their highest level of style and performance, that the winning team itself took a long time to take action and find the right tone of play. It was the progress of the match itself and the high value of the contenders emerging net through the vicissitudes of the race and despite the difficulties of the day, to make the contest beautiful.

The champion team of Hungary lived up to the good reputation it currently enjoys in the international football world. Hungária is in sharp decline, all the other clubs in Budapest in difficulty of all kinds, it can be said that the defense of the good name of Hungarian football is now entrusted with an exclusive character to Ferencváros.

A CLASSIC UNIT

And, on yesterday's test, the Ferencváros constitutes the most classic of the Magyar units that have been seen in the last three years. Men of international caliber in every single position, tendency to play low and low to the ground, classic movements, setting of the game in the middle of the driving range and pleasant at the same time. The impression that the whole work of the white-greens arouses is so satisfying that at certain moments it reminds us of the Budapest units that in a not so distant time dictated the law on European fields.

There are men in the team who recall the ancient memory in a clear and precise way. Example: Sárosi. The centre-half of Ferencváros is an artist of the game. Like all artists he is simple in the systems he adopts and makes the difficult seem easy. Sárosi is all about playing the ball and all calm and tranquility. And as a stylist he is predominantly a man of attack, a builder, not a destroyer. He never seeks contact with the adversary. The opponent he hits with that wide movement, based on a wide feint and complete mastery of the ball that was characteristic of some of the pre-war English masters. Sárosi, gentleman of the game, walks in the footsteps of the last Hungarian in class who preceded him in the position he occupies, Orth of Hungária.

With such a centre-half, with a defense that has the defect of seniority, but the advantage of experience and that withstood the impact of the Juventus attack better than previously thought, and with a front line that has men who know how to maneuver, unmark and advance according to every rule of art, Ferencváros behaves in such a way as to please the critic, as regards the game of half court. Later on, things change their appearance. In the penalty area, the whites and greens lose all precision of movement while not gaining practicality or energy.

THE WEAK POINT OF THE MAGYARS

This is the real flaw of the Hungarian eleven, judging by yesterday's test. By putting their feet in the space delimited by the white line of the penalty area, the attackers lose fifty percent of their value; they continue to combine when the time to finish has already been struck for a long time, and when they try to do something conclusive, flounder, hesitate or show themselves impressively imprecise. The best shooter of the line should be the inside right Takács II.; but this player with excellent technical skills shuns the fight, he doesn't like that hand-to-hand fight that is an essential necessity of today's game, in front of goal.

The other insider, Toldi, is the one who is not afraid of the adversary's charges, who on the contrary looks for them to reciprocate them promptly and roughly. But nervousness veils the possibilities of this player with a splendid physique. If we add to this, that the centre-forward Turay is a man more of impetuosity than of technical value and that the left winger Kohut has lost over the years of his career the shot that once made him known, we will have an explanation of the weakness of the Hungarian eleven in that particular of the game which is the finishing work. A particular combination that decides the result of the matches when you are faced with an energetic defense, broken by all the tricks like that of Juventus.

Due to the talents and defects mentioned above, Ferencvaros left the impression of not deserving to lose, indeed of being unlucky. The first half of the match was played in a purely technical tone by the guests, so much so that they appeared for a long time as the best of the two teams on the field. there third point he cut off the legs of the gamblers. The team, as if crushed, demobilized. And then defects came to light for it and the adversaries' skills emerged, such as to justify the result.

Against the Hungarian champions, Juventus played a game which, while emphasizing the class of which the individual elements are provided, did not fully satisfy until the last half hour, as regards the overall game.

THE TWO TIMES OF BIANCO-NERI

In this particular respect, the whole first half was rather bland. It was the setting of the game that was not practical, it was the distribution of actions that left something to be desired. The attacks, instead calling all five forwards to work simultaneously and thus engaging the entire Hungarian defense, were carried out on the basis of fragmented movements, individual or in pairs. It is that, at that time of the meeting, one of the men who was responsible for the distribution, the centre-half Monti, was struggling to find his normal rhythm of work. It is also that in the first half the Juventus extreme defense, Combi excepted, went through a moment of uncertainty, for which the entire second line retreated leaving a space of twenty or more meters between the attack and itself. Bertolini only held out in that period, and it was good fortune for the Bianconeri.

The temperature also seemed to affect the Turinese in a more damaging way than on the guests. Less mobility, slower shooting and greater difficulty in controlling the ball. It was not Juventus with a dazzling championship final.

In the second half, immediately after the third goal, the Bianconeri, as if success had given them wings, suddenly began to function better. And then we saw descents among the most valuable in style, in speed, in cohesion. It was by pure chance that the Bianconeri forwards did not collect a larger haul of goals in that period, that the guest goalkeeper finished the match as one of the busiest men on the field.

An extremely large audience attended the meeting. Every order placed was crammed and complete. In the grandstand there was a whole select crowd of political and sporting authorities, including S. E. the Prefect Ricci, the Podestà of Turin, Count Paolo Thaon di Revel, the Federal Secretary, Andrea Gastaldi, the Consul of Hungary, comm Sclopis , the Federal Deputy Secretary Conte Orsi, the lawyer Edoardo Agnelli, President of the Juventus club, comm Gazzotti, comm Bossi.

Hot and muggy day, hard and dry ground. The two teams showed up on the field, a few minutes late on the scheduled time, in the following formation:

Ferencváros: Háda; Takács I. and Korányi; Lyka, Sárosi and Lázár; Táncos, Takács II., Turay, Toldi and Kohut.

Juventus: Combi; Rosetta and Caligaris; Varglien I., Monti and Bertolini; Sergnagiotto, Cesarini, Vecchina, Ferrari and Orsi.