DR. GYÖRGY SÁROSI
— István Novák | 1968 —

As we have already mentioned, the first title of the top scorer of the Nemzeti Bajnokság was won by György Sárosi, a young and very skilful player from Ferencváros, who had previously been moved from the centre of the half-back line to the forward line, in the 1935-1936 championship. It is worth looking at his career, as he was a prominent figure in our football sport in the 1930s.

He was a player of great intelligence, perfect ball control and superb heading. As a centre-half and then in every position of the internal trio, he proved that he was — world class.

HE STARTED AT THE FTC

Born in Budapest on 16 September 1912, he attended the Eötvös Gymnasium. In the meantime, he also played for the "FTC", but it was not the real FTC, but the Fehérvári úti Torna Club founded by Pál Titkos... The owner of the team ended up in the blue and white colours, while Stefancsics (Sárosi's original name) went first to MAFC, then to the real FTC, also an amateur team, in the hands of tata Izsák.

He learned the basic elements of the game, was good with the ball and his head movement was above average.

He made the amateur team several times, but he never really stood out enough to attract attention. Hugo Meisl, the leader of Austrian football, was the first international expert to declare after a Hungarian-Austrian amateur national team match that Stefancsics would be a great player!

Ferencváros' professional team was struggling with team-building problems, and they were looking for a youngster to replace Márton Bukovi. The team's supporters, but also the management, saw in Stefancsics, the amateur FTC player who had become Sárosi in the meantime, the player who has something.

On 15 March 1931, in the 7-0 Ferencváros-Bástya (Szeged) match played at Ullói út, he played his first league match as a centre-half and received a lot of praise for his play.

From then on, he became a permanent member of the Ferencváros team. In just six months, he rose to the level of the best players, and after only six first division league appearances, he was also a member of the Hungarian national team!

The young footballer's excellent playing skills, modesty and good manners have made him very popular both on and off the pitch, everywhere and in all circles.

He was later promoted to centre-forward in his team. In a short time he got used to his new role, both at his club and with the national team.

FOUR-TIME GOALSCORER

Early on, as a centre-forward, his name was among the top scorers, and as a forward he finished second on the scoring charts in the last two professional leagues. His first goal kingdom in 1935-1936 was followed by three more. In 1939-1940, he held the proud title with 23 goals, and in 1940-1941 with 27. In the 1944 autumn war championship, Sárosi also scored the most goals, 13 in all.

As football became more modern and the WM system became more widespread, Sárosi did not like the closer, man-to-man game. But his exceptional skills enabled him to excel in the new phase of the sport's development.

One of the highlights of his playing career was the Hungary-Czechoslovakia national team match on 17 September 1937. Our opponents were leading 3:2, then... We won 8:3. The last seven goals of our team were scored by Sárosi. With head, with foot, from the goal, all of them differently, shining in all the scoring opportunities. And in the Czechoslovak goal, the world-famous Plánička was there...

Sárosi played in the top flight of Hungarian football for more than a decade and a half. On 18 April 1948, in a 2-0 draw against Vasas, he played his last game for Ferencváros. He then left for abroad.

His tally: 351 goals in 383 league games (which is especially valuable considering that he played a lot in the half-back line at the beginning of his career and later). He was a 61-time Hungarian national team player, scoring 42 goals in the national team. He played twice in the World Cup, once a silver medallist. He still holds the absolute top scorer title in the Mitropa Cup with 44 goals. He was a member of the Central European national team.

After retiring from active play, he made several attempts to coach abroad, but he was not as successful.

At home — maybe — it would have worked for him!



Isaque Argolo: When this article was written, the MLSZ only counted 61 official matches played by Dr. Sarosi for Hungary. However, in May 2002 MLSZ decided to declare the match against Portugal, on 29/01/1933, as official. Moreover, in another mentioned competition, Novák decided to ignore the 6 goals scored by Dr. Sárosi in Mitropa Cup 1940.


See also: István Novák: Following the goal scorers
See also: Dr. Sárosi's capacity of scoring