Gyula Zsengellér

The native form of this personal name is Zsengellér Gyula. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.
Gyula Zsengellér
Gyula Zsengellér
Personal information
Full name Gyula Zsengellér
Date of birth (1915-12-27)27 December 1915
Place of birth Cegléd, Kingdom of Hungary, Austria-Hungary
Date of death 29 March 1999(1999-03-29) (aged 83)
Place of death Nicosia, Cyprus
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1935–1936 Salgótarjáni TC 24 (19)
1936–1947 Újpest FC 301 (368)
1947–1949 A.S. Roma 34 (6)
1949–1950 AC Ancona 30 (18)
1951–1953 Deportivo Samarios 37 (23)
Total 426 (434)
International career
1936–1947 Hungary 39 (33)
Managerial career
1950 Cosenza
1951–1953 Deportivo Samarios (player-manager)
1953–1954 Pezoporikos Larnaca
1955–1957 Pezoporikos Larnaca
1957–1959 Nea Salamis FC
1959–1960 Cosenza
1960–1961 Pezoporikos Larnaca
1961–1962 Salernitana
1962–1964 US Sarom Ravenna
1964–1965 Apollon Kalamarias
1965–1966 APOEL FC
1966–1968 Pezoporikos Larnaca
1968–1969 Niki Volos
1969–1970 Anorthosis Famagusta
1970 Pezoporikos Larnaca
1970–1971 Cosenza (assistant)
1971 Niki Volos
1972–1974 Olympiakos Volos
1974–1976 APOEL FC
1976–1979 APOP Paphos
Medal record
Representing  Hungary
FIFA World Cup
Runner-up 1938 France
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Gyula Zsengellér (27 December 1915 – 29 March 1999) was a Hungarian footballer who played as a striker. A historic player of Újpest FC, he scored 387 goals in the Hungarian league between 1935 and 1947, making him the league's third-highest goalscorer of all-time. He was also a member of the Hungary national team that reached the final of the 1938 FIFA World Cup, being the tournament's second-highest scorer.

After finishing his playing career, he worked as a coach for several clubs in Italy and Cyprus, guiding Pezoporikos Larnaca to a championship title and APOEL FC to a cup.

Club career

He was a world-class striker. He was an outstanding player technically, tactically, in terms of game intelligence and goal-scoring ability. He was not a physically strong player, he avoided body-to-body play, but he always put his teammates in good positions. A two-footed player.

Zsengellér as described in the 1968 book Alberttől Zsákig, written by Zoltán Antal and József Hoffer.[1][2]

Born in Cegléd on 27 December 1915, Zsengellér began his career at Salgótarjáni TC, before joining Újpest FC in 1936, with whom he played for 11 years, until 1947.[3][4] During his time there, he was the Hungarian league's top-scorer in five seasons (1938, 1939, 1943, 1944 and in the spring season of 1945), Europe's top goalscorer in 1939 and 1945 (56 and 36 goals, respectively),[3] and also the top scorer of the Mitropa Cup in 1939 with 9 goals,[5][6] including a brace in the first leg of the finals against Ferencvárosi, helping his side to a 6–3 aggregate victory.[3] In total, he scored 368 goals in 302 league matches.[1][2]

In 1947, Zsengellér left both Újpest and the country, becoming the last player that the Hungarian Football Federation allowed to sign a contract abroad, joining Italian side A.S. Roma, where he stayed for two years.[3] In the 1949–50 season, he played for Ancona, before finishing his career playing for Colombian Deportivo Samarios, where he worked as a player-coach between 1951 and 1953.[3] According to IFFHS, he is the fifth highest goalscorer in the history of top-tier national leagues with 415 such goals (386 in Hungary, 6 in Italy, and 23 in Colombia), only behind Lionel Messi, Josef Bican, Ferenc Puskás, and Cristiano Ronaldo.[7]

International career

On 2 December 1936, the 20-year-old Zsengellér made his international debut for Hungary in a friendly against England at Arsenal Stadium in London, which ended in a 6–2 loss.[8] In his second appearance, on 11 April 1937, he scored a hat-trick in a 1936–38 Central European Cup match against Switzerland in Basel.[8] The following year, on 25 March, he scored a 5-goal haul in a 1938 World Cup qualifier against Greece (11–1).[3][8][9] In total, he earned 39 caps, scoring 33 goals, making him the eighth-highest goalscorer in the history of the Hungarian national team.[8]

Managerial career

After his retirement, Zsengellér started a long and successful managerial career, working mainly in Italy and Cyprus, winning the Cypriot First Division with Pezoporikos Larnaca in 1954 and the Cypriot Cup with APOEL FC in 1976.[1][2] In 1958, he was appointed as the manager of the Cypriot national team, a position he held for two years.[2]

Death and legacy

Zsengellér died on 29 March 1999, at the age of 83. He was initially buried in Cyprus, where his grave stood until October 2013, when his family brought his remains to Hungary and reburied them in his hometown of Cegléd.[1][2][3] His son Zsolt was a sports journalist and former employee of Képes Sport.[3]

A Turkish newspaper described him as the Paganini of football.[1]

Career statistics

Club statistics

Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Hungary League Hungarian Cup League Cup Europe Total
1935–36 Salgótarjáni BTC National Championship I 24 19
1936–37 Újpest Budapest National Championship I 24 35
1937–38 25 31
1938–39 26 56
1939–40 12 11
1940–41 26 28
1941–42 28 27
1942–43 30 26
1943–44 29 33
1944 9 12
1945 21 36
1945–46 35 51
1946–47 29 18
1947–48 7 4
Total Hungary 325 387
1948–49 AS Roma Serie A 28 5
1949–50 6 1
Total Italy 34 6
1951 Deportivo Samarios Categoría Primera A 19 13
1952 18 10
Total Colombia 37 23
Career total 396 416

International goals

Hungary score listed first, score column indicates score after each Zsengellér goal.
List of international goals scored by Gyula Zsengellér[8]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 11 April 1937 Stadion Rankhof, Basel, Switzerland   Switzerland 2–0 5–1 1936–38 Central European Cup
2 3–1
3 4–1
4 19 September 1937 Hungaria uti, Budapest, Hungary  Czech Republic 1–0 8–3
5 16 January 1938 Stade Municipal, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg  Luxembourg 4–0 6–0 Friendly
6 25 March 1938 Hungária körúti stadion, Budapest, Hungary  Greece 1–0 11–1 1938 FIFA World Cup qualification
7 3–0
8 4–0
9 10–0
10 11–0
11 5 June 1938 Vélodrome Municipal, Reims, France  France 4–0 6–0 1938 World Cup Round of 16
12 5–0
13 12 June 1938 Stade Victor Boucquey, Lille, France   Switzerland 2–0 2–0 1938 World Cup quarter-finals
14 16 June 1938 Parc des Princes, Paris, France  Sweden 3–1 5–1 1938 World Cup Semi-finals
15 5–1
16 26 February 1939 Rotterdam, Netherlands  Netherlands 1–0 2–3 Friendly
17 19 March 1939 Cork, Ireland Ireland 1–1 2–2
18 27 August 1939 Polish Army Stadium, Warsaw, Poland  Poland 1–0 2–4
19 24 September 1939 Üllői úti stadion, Budapest, Hungary  Germany 2–0 5–1
20 3–1
21 4–1
22 3 May 1942 2–1 5–3
23 16 May 1943 Geneva, Hungary   Switzerland 2–1 3–1
24 6 June 1943 Yunak Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria  Bulgaria 1–0 4–2
25 2–0
26 3–0
27 4–1
28 12 September 1943 Solna, Sweden  Sweden 1–1 3–2
29 19 August 1945 Üllői úti stadion, Budapest, Hungary  Austria 2–0 2–0
30 20 August 1945 3–0 5–2
31 30 September 1945  Romania 3–1 7–2
32 14 April 1946 Vienna, Austria  Austria 2–1 2–3

Honours

As a player

Újpest
Hungary

As a manager

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Tizennégy év után magyar földben nyugodhat a legenda" [After fourteen years, the legend can rest in Hungarian soil]. www.fociclub.hu (in Hungarian). 27 October 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Magyar földben nyugodhat Zsengellér Gyula" [Gyula Zsengellér may rest in Hungarian soil]. ujpestmedia.hu (in Hungarian). 6 November 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "Zsengellér Gyula címke oldal" [Gyula Zsengellér tag page]. www.nemzetisport.hu (in Hungarian). 29 March 2024. Retrieved 9 July 2025.
  4. ^ Ruiz M., Juan Guillermo (27 December 2011). "Un día como hoy en el fútbol: Diciembre 27" [On this day in football: December 27]. GolGolGol Futbol. Archived from the original on 21 February 2013.
  5. ^ "Mitropa Cup 1938-39". www.bdfutbol.com. Retrieved 9 July 2025.
  6. ^ "The best top goal scorers". IFFHS. 18 May 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2025.
  7. ^ "Messi: 500 national league goals!". IFFHS. 4 March 2024. Retrieved 9 July 2025.
  8. ^ a b c d e "Gyula Zsengellér, international football player". eu-football.info. Retrieved 9 July 2025.
  9. ^ "A 11-1-es magyar–görög, és ami utána jött" [The 11-1 Hungarian-Greek and what came after]. magyarnemzet.hu (in Hungarian). 23 March 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2025.
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