Of the footballing nations that have players with more goalscoring characteristics, more focused on the production of goals and prolific aspects of the game, Hungary is one of the most outstanding, even though this characteristic has been lost in the great Hungarian history. Of so many great scorers, this article will address aspects of Dr. György Sárosi, the main Hungarian star of the 1930s. Not only Dr. Sárosi had impressive attributes aimed at the schematization of the plays, the combinations, he had an impressive scoring ability.

ASPECTS

Being a player with much more comprehensive characteristics than other footballers, Dr. Sárosi used almost every possible means to become a goal-scoring machine. This article will divide these characteristics into the following parts: technical, tactical and physical.

TECHNICAL ASPECT

A player of very refined technique and elegant style, Dr. Sárosi had equal shooting conditions in both legs. In addition, his aerial game is among the main ones in the history of Hungarian football, especially his head game. With a quick and accurate mastery, Dr. Sárosi could arrange the ball and launch a precise shot, even though he was still far from the goal. Even when he was still centre-half, Dr. Sárosi used to score goals from long distances, something that his brother, Béla Sárosi, also had as a characteristic.



Moreover, the aforementioned technical characteristics, the acrobatic game still made it possible for Gyurka to shoot even when the vast majority of other players would not have the ability to do so – for instance, when he scored a volley goal in the second final of the 1937 Mitropa Cup. Also, not just with the ball being played, but Dr. Sárosi was an excellent free kick and penalty taker.

Another feature that made his advancement possible was his dribbling quality, a repertoire of tricks that could solve complex situations, therefore putting Dr. Sárosi in full condition to add digits to the scoreboard.

TACTICAL ASPECT

One thing that facilitated Dr. Sárosi was his tactical ability, game sense, analysis and perception of each move. One of his hallmarks was the thoughtful, highly intelligent game. Dr. Sárosi knew the right moment of each situation, whether when he was going to make a move to unmark himself or to have an opportunism in the play. On many occasions, his goals were scored with tactical intelligence attributed to his notorious technical prowess.

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⭦ Dr. Sárosi ⭧

As already mentioned before, Dr. Sárosi was the schemer and the main goalscorer of the Ferencváros team. His main move was to throw the ball to the wingers, consequently advancing to receive the ball centered, either from low or high. His inventive game made it difficult for the opponent to mark him, as predicting the Hungarian's ideas, his tactical thinking, was a difficult task.

PHYSICAL ASPECT

Dr. Sárosi was a tall, strong player with a very proportioned figure. However, he didn't fight for the ball, no. Dr. Sárosi was a player more similar to the style played decades earlier in Scotland: a game not adept at fighting phisically for the ball, only focused on the art of the ball. As much as he was a physical exponent, Dr. Sárosi did not use this advantage, and he was not considered a fast player. Consequently, he did not belong in the style of Ted Drake — fighter — or Pedro Petrone — rusher.

Gyurka was of the combinatorial style; he arrived in a position to score through clever situations. Dr. Sárosi didn't fight for the ball or reach high speeds like Josef Bican or Giuseppe Meazza.

Statistics

Dr. György Sárosi as centre-forward:

Nemzeti Bajnokság I.: 206 goals in 156 matches
Magyar Kupa: 10 goals in 8 matches
Mitropa Cup: 40 goals in 34 matches

Ferencvárosi T.C.: 256 goals in 198 matches
Hungary: 37 goals in 27 matches

Although Dr. Sárosi started the match against Czechoslovakia, 09/19/1937, as a right insider, in the second half he was placed as centre-forward. Therefore, of the seven goals scored in that match, six were added as centre-forward.


It is good to describe the above statistics in detail, to give the reader an even greater dimension. Many matches in which Dr. Sárosi started as centre-forward, he in the course of the match, either in the second half or due to a centre-half injury, became the centre-half of the team. In the 1934/35 season, for example, against III. Kerület, 10/14/1934, János Móré was sent off, therefore Dr. Sárosi abdicated the centre-forward position to replace Móré as centre-half.

Furthermore, Dr. Sárosi was not only responsible for scoring goals, but Dr. Sárosi still represented the pinnacle of his team's playmaking, so much so that he often returned to the half-back line to receive the ball and prepare his team's plays. He was a very different player from, for example, Dixie Dean and others who were only focused on scoring goals.

WITHDRAWN CENTRE-FORWARD

Dr. Sárosi played in several offensive systems throughout his career, be it the five-forward line or even theW-formation — in this he acted more like an insider. However, it is worth mentioning that the statistics above are characterized with him acting by the term középcsatár — centre-forward —, being a center-forward of the Cambridge pyramid or a center-forward of the Ödön Holits system: hátravont középcsatár — widthdrawn center-forward.

Kemény         Toldi            Kiss         Táncos  

Dr. Sárosi

Consequently, yes, on some occasions that Dr. Sárosi was quoted as középcsatár — centre-forward —, he was actually acting as hátravont középcsatár — withdrawn centre-forward —, which in today's eyes would be the same thing as an attacking midfielder. That is, in the statistics above are data from Dr. Sárosi acting, in a standard tactical organization, further back than his comrades of the forward line.


See also: The differences between Sindelar and Sárosi explained by Hugo Meisl
See also: Sárosi, from centre-half to centre-forward