Iuliu Bodola

Iuliu Bodola (Hungarian: Bodola Gyula; 26 February 1912 – 12 March 1993) was a Romanian-Hungarian footballer who played as a striker. He represented both the Romania and Hungary national team at internationally level.[1][2] His nickname was Duduş/Dudus.[3] He is Romania's third all-time top goalscorer, and he is also the all-time top goal scorer of the Balkan Cup.

The native form of this personal name is Bodola Gyula. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.

Iuliu Bodola / Gyula Bodola
Personal information
Date of birth (1912-02-26)26 February 1912
Place of birth Brassó, Austria-Hungary
Date of death 12 March 1993(1993-03-12) (aged 81)
Place of death Budapest, Hungary
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
1922–1929 Braşovia Braşov
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1929–1937 CA Oradea 89 (62)
1937–1940 Venus București 61 (47)
1940–1945 Nagyváradi AC 90 (47)
1945–1946 Ferar Cluj 3 (0)
1946–1949 MTK Hungária 83 (35)
Total 329 (192)
International career
1931–1939[1] Romania 48 (31)
1940–1948[1] Hungary 13 (4)
Managerial career
1946 Ferar Cluj
1950–1951 Szolnoki MÁV
1951–1953 Szombathelyi Haladás
1953–1954 Pécsi Lokomotív
1954–1957 Komlói Bányász SK
1957–1959 Pécsi VS
1959–1960 Gyulai SE
1960–1961 Diósgyőri VTK
1963 Salgótarjáni BTC
1964–1971 Ormosbányai Bányász
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

Bodola started his career in 1929 (aged 17) for Clubul Atletic Oradea, before joining Venus București, with whom he was the champion of Divizia A in 1938–39 and 1939–40.[4] When Northern Transylvania became part of the Kingdom of Hungary in August 1940, he preferred to play for Nagyváradi AC, and with them he won the Nemzeti Bajnokság I in 1943–44.[4] After the end of the war, he returned to Romania with Ferar Cluj-Napoca, but in 1946 he left again for Hungary joining MTK, where he lived in Budapest until the end of his life. In November 2008, the name of the Municipal Stadium in Oradea was named after him, becoming the Stadionul Iuliu Bodola.

International career

Bodola was a very prolific scorer for the Romania national team, scoring a then-national record of 31 goals in 48 caps. He and Wetzer were the top two goalscorers of the 1929–1931 (first) edition of the Balkan Cup (which Romania won). They scored seven goals each for their country in that tournament alone.[5] He was also part of the Romania team that won the 1933 Balkan Cup and 1936 Balkan Cup, contributing with two goals in each tournament.[6][7] With 15 goals in the Balkan Cup, he is the all-time top goal scorer in the competition's history. Bodola was the hero of the 1936 Friendship Cup, scoring a hat-trick in a 3–2 win over Yugoslavia,[8] and with these three goals, he is also the all-time top goal scorer of the Friendship Cup. This was Bodola's third international hat-trick (the first two having come in 1931, in a friendly against Lithuania and in the 1929-31 Balkan Cup against Greece), which still remains a national record. He played at both the 1934 FIFA World Cup and 1938 FIFA World Cup for Romania, failing to score a single goal at both tournaments.[9]

When Northern Transylvania became part of the Kingdom of Hungary in August 1940, he decided to play for the Hungary national team, scoring on his debut on 1 December 1940 against Italy in a 1–1 draw.

For a long time (50 years) he was the absolute top scorer of the Romania national football team - with 31 goals. Subsequently, he was overtaken by Gheorghe Hagi, and then by Adrian Mutu, both with 35 goals scored. Seven decades after retiring, Bodola still occupies the third place in the all-time top scorers list of the Romania national football team, with 31 goals, the first place being shared by Hagi and Mutu, both having 35 goals in Romania's shirt.

For me, the greatest Romanian footballer of all time was Iuliu Bodola. Neither Nicolae Dobrin, nor Gheorghe Hagi could be compared with him.

Former Romania coach Angelo Niculescu[10]

Personal life

He died in Budapest in 1993 (aged 80).

His son György Bodola was a Hungarian illustrator.


Career statistics
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Romania 1931710
193274
193352
193432
193541
193645
193784
193851
193952
Total4831
Hungary 194021
194130
194231
194342
194810
Total134
Scores and results list Romania's and Hungary's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Bodola goal.
List of international goals scored by Iuliu Bodola[11]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
Romania goals
1 10 May 1931Stadionul ONEF, Bucharest, Romania Bulgaria2–05–21929–31 Balkan Cup
2 3–1
3 28 June 1931Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb, Yugoslavia Yugoslavia2–14–21929–31 Balkan Cup
4 4–2
5 26 August 1931Makabi Stadionas, Kaunas, Lithuania Lithuania1–04–2Friendly
6 2–0
7 4–2
8 29 November 1931Leoforos Alexandras Stadium, Athens, Greece Greece1–04–21929–31 Balkan Cup
9 2–0
10 4–2
11 8 May 1932Stadionul ONEF, Bucharest, Romania Austria Amateurs3–04–11931–1934 Central European Cup for Amateurs
12 12 June 1932Stadionul ONEF, Bucharest, Romania France1–06–3Friendly
13 6–3
14 28 June 1932Beogradski SK Stadium, Belgrade, Yugoslavia Greece3–03–01932 Balkan Cup
15 11 June 1933Stadionul ONEF, Bucharest, Romania Yugoslavia3–05–01933 Balkan Cup
16 4–0
17 30 December 1934Leoforos Alexandras Stadium, Athens, Greece Bulgaria1–03–21934–35 Balkan Cup
18 2–0
19 24 June 1935Levski Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria Greece1–22–21935 Balkan Cup
20 10 May 1936Stadionul ONEF, Bucharest, Romania Yugoslavia1–03–21936 King Carol's Cup
21 2–1
22 3–1
23 17 May 1936Stadionul ONEF, Bucharest, Romania Greece1–05–21936 Balkan Cup
24 5–2
25 18 April 1937 Czechoslovakia1–01–11937–38 Eduard Benes Cup
26 4 July 1937Stadion ŁKS, Łódź, Poland Poland3–14–2Friendly
27 8 July 1937Makabi Stadionas, Kaunas, Lithuania Lithuania2–02–0Friendly
28 14 July 1937Kadrioru Staadion, Tallinn, Estonia Estonia1–11–2Friendly
29 4 December 1938Stadion Letná, Prague, Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia2–02–61937–38 Eduard Benes Cup
30 18 May 1939Stadionul Venus, Bucharest, Romania Latvia1–04–0Friendly
31 4–0
Hungary goals
1 1 December 1940Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa, Italy Italy1–01–1Friendly
2 1 November 1942Üllői úti stadion, Budapest, Hungary  Switzerland1–03–0Friendly
3 16 May 1943Charmilles Stadium, Geneva, Switzerland  Switzerland1–13–1Friendly
4 3–1

Honours

Venus București

Nagyváradi AC

Romania

Individual

References
  1. "Iuliu Bodola – Goals in International Matches". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation.
  2. "Players Appearing for Two or More Countries". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 3 August 2008. Retrieved 15 April 2008.
  3. Iuliu „Duduş“ Bodola, golgheterul antisemit. adevarul.ro.
  4. "Iuliu Bodola – Stats". Romanian Soccer. Retrieved 30 November 2008.
  5. "Balkan Cup (for Nations) 1929/31". RSSSF.
  6. "Balkan Cup 1933 results". football.eu.
  7. "Balkan Cup 1936 results". football.eu.
  8. "Romania vs Yugoslavia international football match report". football.eu.
  9. "Iuliu Bodola - Goals in International Matches". RSSSF.
  10. Iuliu „Duduş“ Bodola, golgheterul antisemit. Adevarul.ro (26 March 2011). Retrieved on 2017-05-29.
  11. "Iuliu Bodola - Goals in International Matches". RSSSF. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
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