László Kubala

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.[8] At the age of 18, he signed for Ferencvárosi TC where he was a teammate of Sándor Kocsis. In 1946, Kubala moved to Czechoslovakia, allegedly to avoid military service, and joined ŠK 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 SC.

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 S.L. 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. 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 RCD Espanyol. They also played a friendly game against the legendary Millonarios FC lead by Alfredo Di Stéfano.[9][10]

During these games, Kubala was spotted by both Real Madrid and José Samitier, then chief scout at FC 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.[11] 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.[12][13]

Kubala signed for FC 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 FC 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.

Kubala (center) with special guests Alfredo Di Stéfano (left) and Ferenc Puskás in a match held in his honour in 1961

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 de Vigo and hat-tricks against Sevilla and Racing de 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. Coach Daučík and Kubala, together with players like Emilio Aldecoa, Velasco, Joan Segarra and Ramallets, inspired the team to win five trophies, including La Liga, the Copa del Generalísimo, the Latin Cup, and the Copa Eva Duarte. Kubala missed much of the 1952–53 season after contracting tuberculosis, which threatened to end his playing career. However, he made a miraculous recovery and returned to help Barcelona retain both La Liga and the Copa del Generalísimo. He also scored again in the Copa final win, a 2–1 win over Athletic Bilbao. During his time with Barcelona, he scored a total of 14 hat-tricks.

In 1958, Kubala persuaded two fellow Hungarian refugees Sándor Kocsis and Zoltán Czibor to join him at Barcelona. Together with a young Luis Suárez and Evaristo, they formed the nucleus of the team that won a La Liga / Copa del Generalísimo double in 1959 and a La Liga / Fairs Cup double in 1960. However, Kubala found himself out of favour with coach Helenio Herrera and lost his place in the team. As a result, he missed the 1960 European Cup semi-final against Real Madrid which Barcelona lost 6–2 on aggregate. The result saw Herrera lose his job and Kubala restored to the team. In the 1961 European Cup, Barcelona became the first club to beat Real Madrid in the competition. Inspired by Kubala they won 4–3 on aggregate and subsequently reached the final where they lost to Benfica 2–3. Kubala briefly retired as a player in 1961 and initially became a youth coach at Barcelona, before becoming coach of the senior team for the 1962–63 season. However, after losing a Fairs Cup game to Red Star Belgrade, he was dismissed. In the summer of 1963, he played abroad in the Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League with Toronto City.[14]

Barcelona

• La Liga: 1951–52, 1952–53, 1958–59, 1959–60
• Copa del Generalísimo: 1951, 1952, 1953, 1957, 1959
• Inter-Cities Fairs Cup: 1955–58, 1958–60
• Latin Cup: 1952
• Copa Eva Duarte: 1952, 1953
• European Cup runner-up: 1960-61

Individual

• Ballon d'Or: fifth place 1957

Málaga

• Segunda División: 1987–88