WHAT IS "OPEN GAME"?
THE SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES OF A BAD TRANSLATION
Imre Schöffer | 22/12/1933, Siena

Modern football is not a defensive game. The open game is no different, outside typical momentum football. 

For as long as we've known modern football, the formation of teams on the pitch has been five forwards, three half-backs, two full-backs and a goalkeeper. This grouping could, of course, vary during the game. Whichever team had the upper hand would attack with 6 or 7 forwards, while the opposing team would defend with the same number of men. Between teams of equal ability, we saw a consistency for most of the game of three forwards, followed by two insiders, then three half-backs and finally two full-backs. In today's football, this constancy has changed to the extent that we now see two half-backs and three full-backs. 

In a drawing it looks like this:



Total symmetry, perfect balance in both defence and attack. Equal reinforcement of the defence when the team is forced to defend strongly and of the forward line when the team is on the attack. And without the team being surprised at the back by a sudden turn of events. 

Modern football is an equal chance defensive and attacking game, not a specifically defensive one. 

Now let's look at what open play is.

The oldest English football books list several ways of playing. The short, flat passing game, in which the three inside forwards or the winger with his inside forward carry the ball forward at high speed; the long passing or winger forward game and finally the open game, which has been rather unluckily translated into Hungarian as nyílt játék. In this game, all five forwards run the ball on their feet with quick, short pauses, and thus arrive in a shooting position in front of goal. 

There are many English words whose spelling and pronunciation are the same, whether they are used as nouns, adjectives, adverbs or verbs, so open really does mean open, but as yes, it means to open. And even in the conjugation it does not change: in the imperative form it is open (nyiss!). To the partner: Open the way for me to escape, or make me escape. So open game is not a nyílt játék, but an escaping game, and opening is not an open pass, but an escaping game.

It follows, however, that the scientific game, which is said to be the most perfect, is nothing more than typical momentum football, just like modern football. It should not be said, therefore, that the antidote to momentum football is the open game, because the two are one and the same.

This has not yet been explained to the players and a serious mistake has been made. The so-called style players (?) did not dare to dart or dodge, because that would have been barbaric momentum football and preferred to roll, push and shine with technique, because they thought that this was the scientific open game. 

Lesson: Hungarian footballers, don't care what system they call your game. And don't stand on the pitch, don't wait for help from the back, break forward, run away and hit the goal with the pace and momentum you have gained!