The Names Heard Long Ago: How the Golden Age of Hungarian Soccer Shaped the Modern Game

by Jonathan Wilson

Overview

The story of the vibrant and revolutionary soccer culture in Hungary that, on the eve of World War II, redefined the modern game and launched a new era.

In the early 1950s, the Hungarian side was unbeatable, winning the Olympic gold and thrashing England in the Match of the Century. Their legendary forward, Ferenc Puskás, was one of the game's first international superstars. But as Jonathan Wilson reveals in The Names Heard Long Ago, this celebrated era was in fact the final act of the true golden age of Hungarian soccer.

In Budapest in the 1920s and 1930s, a new school of soccer emerged that became one of the most influential in the game's history, shaped by brilliant players and coaches who brought mathematical rigor and imagination to the style of play. But with the onset of World War II, many were forced into exile, fleeing anti-Semitism and the rise of fascism.

Yet their legacy endured. Against the backdrop of economic and political turmoil between the wars, and in spite of extraordinary odds, Hungary taught the world to play.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781568587844
Publisher:	PublicAffairs
Publication date:	09/17/2019
Pages:	400
Sales rank:	624,049
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Jonathan Wilson is the author of eight books, including Inverting the Pyramid, whichwas named NSC Football Book of the Year in 2009 and won the Premio Antonio Ghirelli prize as Italian soccer book of the year in 2013. His books Behind the Curtain: Travels in Eastern European Football; The Anatomy of England; and The Outsider: A History of the Goalkeeper were shortlisted for the NSC award in 2007, 2011, and 2013. Wilson is the founder and editor of the soccer quarterly The Blizzard, writes for the Guardian,FoxSoccer, and Sports Illustrated, and is a columnist for World Soccer. He was voted Football Writer of the Year by the Football Supporters Federation in 2012.

Hometown:

Newton, Massachusetts

Date of Birth:

February 26, 1950

Place of Birth:

London, England

Education:

B.A., First Class, University of Essex 1973; Ph.D., Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1980

Table of Contents

Part I

Prologue: The Back of the Graveyard 3

Chapter 1 The Typewriter Salesman of Manchester 9

Chapter 2 The Evangelist and the Coffee House 19

Chapter 3 Revolt Into Style 38

Chapter 4 The Regretful Hero 60

Chapter 5 Shaping Vienna 68

Chapter 6 The Black Book 74

Chapter 7 The Age of the Carp 79

Chapter 8 Through The Stormy Ocean 86

Chapter 9 The Unbeatable Jews and the Great Depression 92

Chapter 10 From Salami To Tripe 106

Chapter 11 Crafting Calcio 123

Chapter 12 The German Reformation 140

Chapter 13 South American Revolutionaries 152

Chapter 14 Darkening Skies 160

Part II 183

Part III

Chapter 1 Enduring Darkness 253

Chapter 2 Inexcusable Improvisation 276

Chapter 3 The Citizen of The World 287

Chapter 4 The Exile 295

Chapter 5 The Golden Harvest 304

Chapter 6 The Highest Level 322

Chapter 7 The Uprising 343

Chapter 8 Elegy in Amsterdam 362

Acknowledgements 371

Bibliography 373

Index 378