László Kubala

László Kubala (10 June 1927 – 17 May 2002) was a Hungarian professional footballer.

He played as a forward for Ferencváros, Slovan Bratislava, Barcelona and Espanyol, among other clubs.

Regarded as one of the best players in history, Kubala is considered a hero of Barcelona.

A Hungarian national by birth, he also held Czechoslovak and Spanish citizenship, and played for the national teams of all three countries.

Kubala was noted for his quick and skilful dribbling, composed and powerful finishing, and accuracy from free kicks.

In 1946, Kubala moved to Czechoslovakia, allegedly to avoid military service, and joined Slovan Bratislava.

In 1947, he married Anna Viola Daučíkova, the sister of the Czechoslovakian national coach, Ferdinand Daučík.

In 1948, Kubala returned to Hungary, again to allegedly avoid military service, and joined Vasas.

In January 1949, as Hungary was occupied by the Soviet Union and became a communist satellite state, Kubala fled the country in the back of a truck.

Initially, he arrived in the United States zone of Allied-occupied Austria and then moved on to Italy, where he played briefly for Pro Patria.

In May 1949, he also agreed to play for Torino in a testimonial against Benfica, but pulled out after his son became ill.

On the way back from Lisbon, the plane carrying the Torino team crashed into the Superga hills, killing all 31 people on board.

Meanwhile, the Hungarian Football Federation accused Kubala of breach of contract, leaving the country without permission, and failure to do military service.

FIFA backed them and imposed a one-year international ban.

During the 1950s, he was a leading member of the successful Barcelona team, scoring 280 goals in 345 appearances (including unofficial goals).

In January 1950, Kubala, with Ferdinand Daučík as coach, formed his own team, Hungaria, which was made up of fellow refugees fleeing Eastern Europe.

In the summer of 1950, the team arrived in Spain to play a series of friendlies against a Madrid XI, a Spain XI and Espanyol.

They also played a friendly game against the legendary Millionarios lead by Alfredo Di Stéfano.

During these games, Kubala was spotted by both Real Madrid and José Samitier, then chief scout at Barcelona.

Kubala was offered a contract by Real but was persuaded by Samitier to sign for Barcelona.

Samitier used his connections within the government of Francisco Franco to help arrange the transfer.

Franco's government wanted to utilize Kubala's status as a refugee from one of the USSR's satellite countries to reinforce the regime's validity, thus helping Kubala obtain Spanish citizenship without delay.

In the midst of the Cold War, Kubala's escape to the West was used as propaganda by Franco's government and was made into a successful film, The Stars Search for Peace, which saw Kubala and Samitier playing themselves.

Kubala signed for Barcelona on 15 June 1950, and as part of the deal, Ferdinand Daučík also became the Barcelona coach.

However, the ban imposed on Kubala was still in place and he did not make his La Liga debut until 1951.

He was permitted to play friendlies, and in two consecutive games against Frankfurter S.V., which Barcelona won 4–1 and 10–4, he scored six goals and assisted another five.

He also played in the Copa del Generalísimo and helped the club win the trophy in 1951.

In his first La Liga season, 1951–52, Kubala scored 26 goals in 19 games.

This included 7 goals in a 9–0 win over Sporting de Gijón, five against Celta Vigo and hat-tricks against Sevilla and Racing Santander.

His seven goals against Gijón remain the record for most goals scored in a single match in La Liga.

He also scored in the Copa del Generalísimo final as Barcelona beat Valencia 4–2.

This season proved to be one of the club's most successful.

During the club's 1999 centenary celebrations, a fan's poll declared Kubala the best player ever to play for the Spanish club.

After retiring as a player, he had two spells as coach of Barcelona and also coached both Spain's senior national team and Olympic team.

Kubala was born in Budapest, as were his parents, who came from mixed backgrounds.

His mother, Anna Stecz, a factory worker, had Polish, Slovak and Hungarian roots, while his father, Pál Kubala Kurjas, a bricklayer, belonged to the Slovak minority of Hungary.

Kubala described himself as a "cosmopolitan".

He began his career as a junior player with Ganz TE, a factory team that played in the Hungarian third division.

At the age of 11, he was playing in teams with other players who were three to five years older.

At the age of 18, he signed for Ferencvárosi where he was a teammate of Sándor Kocsis.