Ladislau Kubala

(Budapest, 1927 - Barcelona , 2002), Spanish football player of Hungarian origin . He was one of the most iconic players in the early fifties of the twentieth century and the only player in the world who, throughout his career, defended the colors of three national teams ; Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Spain .Kubala began playing football at the School of the Hungarian Federation , where he remained for a few seasons until 1939 when he joined the ranks of the Ganz, the Third Division team of his country. In 1944 already made ​​his debut for Ferencvaros and when he turned 17, he was summoned by the national team to play their first match against Austria and internationally.In 1945 he joined the Czechoslovak Bratislava but again returned to Hungary to sign a contract with his former club, Ferencvaros , now renamed Vasas . For three seasons, he was an international player of the Czechoslovak eleven times and the Hungarian national team in six others.In 1948 he left his native country and settled in Zürich , where he had contacts with the Torino, the Italian club but at the last minute changed economic conditions and the signing was frustrated . Then he traveled to Rome and, together with Polish refugees , Yugoslavs, Romanians and Hungarians , was part of a team of exiles , the Hungaria , which held exhibitions across Europe.

In April 1951 came to Spain and joined FC Barcelona , thanks to the mediation of Samitier . After two years in the country managed to change his statelessness for Spanish citizenship and become one of the most valuable players for the fans of FC Barcelona team . Since his debut with the Blaugrana shirt April 29, 1951 against Sevilla in Cup match Kubala played for FC Barcelona during a long decade that played more than 300 games and scored nearly 250 goals .His record with the Catalan club includes four league titles (1952, 1953 , 1959, 1960 ), two Cups Fair (1958, 1960 ), five Generalissimo Cups (1951, 1952, 1953 , 1957, 1959 ), two Cups Eva Duarte and Copa America . In the year of his retirement , 1961 , came to contest the final of the European Cup against Benfica , although it was the Portuguese team who won the title . With the Spanish national team debut on July 5, 1953 , in a match played against Argentina combined , and was an international player in nineteen more times, the last one against France on April 2, 1961 . Overall, marked ten goals with the national team .After retiring as a player , he continued technical staff linked to Barça as director of the School Football players and coach of the first team in the 1962-1963 season. After briefly passed by the bench of Murcia and the Spanish before traveling to Canada, where he signed as coach of the Toronto Falcon's first (1965-1966) and after the Toronto City ( 1966-1967) . In 1968 he returned to Spain to take charge of Cordoba and a year later he was appointed coach of the Spanish national team ; position he held until 1980. Kubala was national team in 68 matches , 36 of them officers , and managed to sign a card of 31 wins , 21 draws and 16 defeats .Between 1982 and 1986 he was coach of Al Hilal in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia ) and , on his return to Spain , he was " Mr. " consecutively from Real Murcia, Malaga and Alicante Elche . In 1990, he was elected president of the Association of former FC players Barcelona and in 1991 was appointed assistant coach of the Spanish Olympic Team , led by Vicente Miera , who won the gold medal at the 1992 Barcelona Games . Spanish football paid a deserved tribute on April 24, 1993 at the stadium in Montjuic Barcelona , who played a game with the selection of Catalonia and international combined . In 1995 he was hired by the Paraguayan Federation as head coach of the national team in order to prepare a World Cup 1998 but resigned and returned to Spain .