László Kubala

László Kubala

Kubala with FC Barcelona in 1953
Personal information
Full name	László Kubala Stecz
Date of birth	(1927-06-10)10 June 1927
Place of birth	Budapest, Hungary
Date of death	17 May 2002(2002-05-17) (aged 74)
Place of death	Barcelona, Spain
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Second Striker
Youth career
1939–1943	Ganz TE
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1944	Ganz TE	9	(2)
1945–1946	Ferencváros	49	(27)
1946–1948	Slovan Bratislava	33	(14)
1948–1949	Vasas	20	(10)
1949–1950	Pro Patria	16	(9)
1950	Hungária	6	(5)
1951–1961	Barcelona	186	(131)
1963–1965	RCD Espanyol	29	(7)
1966–1967	Zürich	12	(7)
1967	Toronto Falcons	19	(5)
Total		379	(217)
National team
1946–1947	Czechoslovakia	6	(4)
1948	Hungary	3	(0)
1953–1961	Spain	19	(11)
1953	Europe XI	1	(2)
1954–1963	Catalonia	4	(4)
1965	Europe XI	1	(1)
Teams managed
1961–1963	Barcelona
1963–1966	Espanyol
1966–1967	Zürich
1968	Toronto Falcons
1968–1969	Córdoba
1969–1980	Spain
1980	Barcelona
1982–1986	Al-Hilal
1986	Murcia
1987–1988	Málaga
1988–1989	Elche
1992	Spain Olympic
1995	Paraguay
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

László Kubala Stecz (10 June 1927 – 17 May 2002), also referred to as Ladislav Kubala (in Slovak) or Ladislao Kubala (in Spanish), was a Hungarian footballer who played as a forward for, among other clubs, Ferencváros, Slovan Bratislava, Barcelona, and Espanyol. A Hungarian national by birth, he also held Czechoslovakian 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. During the 1950s, he was a leading member of the successful Barcelona team, scoring 194 goals in 256 appearances. 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 TC where he was a teammate of Sándor Kocsis. In 1946 he moved to Czechoslovakia, allegedly to avoid military service, and joined ŠK Slovan Bratislava. In 1947 Kubala married Anna Viola Daučík, the sister of the Czechoslovakian national coach, Ferdinand Daučík. In 1948 he returned to Hungary, again to allegedly avoid military service, and joined Vasas SC.