ZOLTÁN CZIBOR, HUNGARIAN AGE OF GOLD IN FOOTBALL

Today, The Grandma has renewed her F.C. Barcelona's annual pass, and she has been thinking about the evolution of football during the latest decades. She has been remembering great Hungarian players like László Kubala and Zoltán Czibor, who was born on a day like today in 1929.

Zoltán Czibor (23 August 1929-1 September 1997) was a Hungarian footballer who played for several Hungarian clubs, including Ferencváros and Budapest Honvéd, and the Hungary national team before joining FC Barcelona.

Czibor played as a left-winger or striker and was notable for having a powerful shot, good pace and excellent ball control.

During the 1950s, he was part of the Magical Magyars, reaching the World Cup final with them in 1954.

After the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, he moved to Barcelona, where he became a prominent member of the successful FC Barcelona team of the late 1950s.

After three seasons at FC Barcelona, he joined their local rivals Español for the 1961/62 season.

After brief spells at FC Basel, FK Austria Wien and Primo Hamilton FC, he retired as a professional footballer and returned to Hungary.

As a youth Czibor played for Komárom AC and Komárom MÁV and was working as a train engine driver before he was noticed by Sándor Mezei, the coach of the Hungary youth team. He subsequently played for Ferencváros TC where he won his first Hungarian League title in 1949. After a spell with Csepel SC he conscripted into the army team, Honvéd. During his playing career in Hungarian club football, Czibor scored 100 goals in 175 matches.

Czibor made his debut for the senior Hungary team in 1949. He went on to play 43 times for Hungary and scored 17 goals. Together with Ferenc Puskás, Sándor Kocsis, József Bozsik and Nándor Hidegkuti, he formed the nucleus of the Golden Team that went unbeaten for 32 consecutive games.

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In 1953, Czibor joined Honvéd where his teammates included fellow internationals Puskás, Kocsis, and Bozsik. During his time at the club, he won a further two Hungarian Leagues titles in 1954 and 1955. He finished 1955 as top goalscorer in the league after scoring 20 goals.

Czibor initially went to Italy and played a couple of unofficial games for AS Roma before another Hungarian refugee, Ladislao Kubala, persuaded him and Sándor Kocsis to join him at FC Barcelona where he became a vital member of the team.

He subsequently scored on his La Liga debut in a 6–0 win over Valencia CF and as part of a team that also included Ramallets, Evaristo and Luis Suárez, Czibor won a Copa del Generalísimo/La Liga double in 1959 and La Liga/Fairs Cup double in 1960. Although he did not play in the Copa final, he scored twice in the Fairs Cup final as FC Barcelona beat Birmingham City 4–2. FC Barcelona and Czibor also reached the final of the European Cup in 1961, where FC Barcelona lost 3–2 to Portuguese club S.L. Benfica.

After three seasons at FC Barcelona, he joined their local rivals Español for the 1961/62 season. He had brief spells in Switzerland with FC Basel, and in Austria with FK Austria Wien.

He then moved to Canada in 1964 and joined the Hamilton Steelers in the Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League.

Czibor finished the 1964 season with Hungária SC Toronto in the National Soccer League. He then played for Toronto City in 1965.

Zoltán Czibor died in Hungary in 1997, aged 68.

More information: F.C. Barcelona

 The most difficult thing in football is to score a goal.

Pep Guardiola