THE ABSOLUTE KING OF GOAL
— István Novák | 1968 —

Barely a month after the liberation of our country, on 6 May 1945, the 1945 spring-summer two-season speedway championship began with a goal-filled opening. Csepel got their revenge for the 5:0 defeat in the 1944 autumn war championship, rolling 10:1 against Ganz! The current coach of the Csepel team was a great goal scorer, with Keszthelyi II. scoring six of the ten goals.

GOAL INFLATION 

But goals were also scored in other meetings. Csepel won 13-0 against Kispest, 10-0 against Nemzeti, while Fradi beat Ganz 11-0 and Nemzet 10-0. Újpest had the most double-digit victories, beating Csepel 10:1, MÁVAG 12:3, Ganz 13:2, Nemzet 16:0, and finally won the first post-liberation championship with an excellent goal difference of 125:27 (in 22 matches) and a 3-point advantage, which, of course, could only be held in the capital under the transport conditions of the time.

In the scoring charts, Keszthelyi II., who had two five-goal performances in addition to the six-goal game mentioned above, was leading the table with a three-goal advantage before the final round. The Újpest team came out on top against MÁVAG, Zsengellér and Szusza's goal duel in the 12:3 match resulted in Szusza catching and Zsengellér overtaking the Csepel forward.

The top scorers in 1945: 36. Gyula Zsengellér (Ujpest), 35. Mihály Keszthelyi II. (Csepel) and Ferenc Szusza (Ujpest), 28. István Mike (Ferencváros), 23. József Mészáros (Kispest).

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Due to the wide range of eligibility, the 1945-1946 championship started in two groups: the Eastern and Western groups, with 14-14 participants. The first 5-5 finishers in each group made up the "Top 10", the second 5-5 finishers the "Second 10". The latter group served as the classification group, with the top four finishers remaining members of the next Nemzeti Bajnokság I.

Eight double-figure scores were recorded in the group matches, with the strikers excelling in goal scoring. Vasas' Szilágyija scored 6-6 twice, interestingly, both times against Soroksar. Mike (Ferencváros) and Deák (Szentlőrinci AC) also registered six goals. Deák set a new league goalscoring record: 9 goals in 1 match! On 25 October 1945, SZAC-Kobánya Barátság broke Schlosser and Schaffer's record of eight goals in a 13:0 meeting.

Some people do not include all the results of the group matches in the totals, but in all totals the centre-forward from Szentlőrinci AC is equally in the lead, Ferenc Deák is the new top scorer. If all the results of the group matches are not included, he is the top scorer with 54 goals, if all the results are included, the top scorer list of 1945-1946 is as follows: 66. Ferenc Deák (SZAC), 51. Gyula Zsengellér (Újpest), 45. Ferenc Szusza (Újpest), 44. Gyula Szilágyi I. (Vasas), 43. István Mike (Ferencváros).

Újpest's championship treble was a triumph for the purple and white fans in the 16-team football league, which is now back to the national league. The balance of power was evenly matched with a drop in double-figure scores, with four meetings ending in many goals.

Deák scored five goals in three games, while Újpest's Várnai scored six goals in a 12-2 win over Testvériség. The title of goal king again went to Deák.

The top scorers in 1946-1947 were Ferenc Deák (SZAC) 48th, Ferenc Puskás (Kispest) 32nd, Gyula Szilágyi I. 27th (Vasas), István Mike (Ferencváros) 22nd and Lajos Várnai (Újpest).

The fourth championship after the liberation brought a lot of excitement and firsts for Csepel, especially the final match was interesting. The goalkeeper from Lőrinci fought in a green and white jersey to defend his "royal" throne, but the title of goal king went to Kispest.

The top scorers in 1947-1948 were: Ferenc Puskás (Kispest), 41. Ferenc Deák (Ferencváros), 40. Gyula Szilágyi I. (Vasas), 27. Ferenc Szusza (Újpest), 21. Nándor Hidegkúti (MTK) and Béla Marosvári (Csepel).

In the new championship year — after a few years of absence — the green and white dream was fulfilled: in 30 games Ferencváros became champions with an impressive goal difference of 140:36 and an eleven-point advantage. For the sake of historical fidelity, it should be noted that the fruits of years of training and education have been reaped, new greats have begun to emerge and the purposeful, fortunate hand of reinforcement has also worked.

Deák was leading the scoring charts at the end of the autumn season with 13 goals, and Puskás, who had been struggling at the back, also came on strongly in the spring. He scored seven goals against Győr in the autumn. However, Deák, who arrived on the tetch, could not be caught, and the excellent centre-forward had now, however you count it, certainly improved the previous goal scoring records, and even managed to maintain his 13-goal lead over Puskás.

Top scorers in 1948-1949: 59. Ferenc Deák (Ferencváros), 46. Ferenc Puskás (Kispest); 37. Ferenc Szusza (Újpest), 33. Sándor Kocsis (Ferencváros), 28. Gyula Szilágyi I. (Vasas).

WITHOUT GOLDEN BOOTS

It was exactly two decades ago that Deák achieved his absolute goal-scoring reign, at a time when there was no golden boot for this great achievement.

In the meantime, while someone is compiling a list of the unofficial golden boot winners, we present one of the greatest centre-forward personalities in Hungarian football, the holder of a record that celebrates a rare peak and a rare anniversary in 20 years.

Ferenc Deák was born on 16 January 1922 in Pestlőrince: at the age of twelve he started playing football in the SZAC junior team. At first he was not a forward, but defended the net. Later, he replaced an ailing striker in the first team and made his debut with a four. At the age of 19, he was a regular member of the then amateur first team of SZAC.

It was then that he started on the way up, but it was only in Nemzeti Bajnokság II. that his extraordinary goalscoring ability came to the attention of more and more players. The great player's real discovery came in the top flight of the sport, in the Nemzeti Bajnokság I. His unparalleled goals scoring ability was the main feature of Deák's game. This was helped by his great physical strength, fighting spirit and the necessary speed. He sought and found the goal from every position. With his head when necessary, and with both feet when necessary. Proof of this is the fact that in 244 league matches in the highest division of the sport, in three clubs (SZAC, FTC, Újpest Dózsa), he tormented the opponent with 303 goals. Three-time top scorer. He also proved his worth in the national team, scoring 29 goals in 20 matches.

A formidable forward, he was the absolute king of goal, and his brilliant performances are worthy of commemoration and should be remembered on the occasion of its 20th anniversary.