*** Welcome to piglix ***

Ladislao Kubala

László Kubala
Kubala.jpg
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 12 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 others, 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 skillful dribbling, composed and powerful finishing, and free kick ability. 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.


...
Wikipedia

...