Sindelar, Hidegkuti and Cruyff and the amazing similarities
The three players I will be talking about today are Matthias Sindelar, Nandor Hidegkuti and Johan Cruyff they are spectacular players who were incredibly gifted technically and were able to do anything with the ball at their feet; I will write about three similarities these players share.
Withdrawn Forward
The withdrawn forward is known as a false nine and is a position similar to a number ten. In this position, it requires you to have intelligence, technical ability and incredible reading of the game which not all players have. This role caused havoc in there era. These three legends played as false nine you which is a position for someone with the superior technical ability to find space and pick out a pass or shoot or you will allow runners or a striker to exploit the space as the center back as chosen to mark him.
A quote on Matthias Sindelar by Alfred Polgar “ He had brains in his legs and many remarkable and unexpected things occurred to them while they were running.” Matthias Sindelar nicknamed the paperman due to his slight frame was the best player in his role at the time.
Nandor Hidegkuti who was the false nine for the Hungarians in the 1950s was the puppetmaster of that side, an example of his brilliance was when Hungary beat England 6–3, the centre back Harry Johnston didn’t know whether to mark him or leave and this meant we finished the game with a hat-trick.
An example of his intelligence was when he played a one-two of the referee which effectively got him past two players. Johan Cruyff is known as some as the greatest European footballer of all time, and the best out of the three, quotes of Johan Cruyff include what Terry Venables said “ When you saw Cruyff off the pitch he was like a thin boy. But on the pitch, he was from another planet.” Rinus Michels said that Johan Cruyff was the ultimate space-measure in dutch football and this is a reflection of his intelligence.
Where Part of the best teams in History
Matthias Sindelar was part of the team that is widely regarded to created the original version of total football. The wunderteam where the best team in the 1930s this is based on Individuals as they didn’t quite have the success they deserved despite winning the Central european cup. They played a style which included lots of technique and intelligence blowing away team with their passing as they strolled to win which included a 5–0 win against Scotland, 5–0 and 6–0 wins against Germany and a six-nil win over Switzerland.
The Wunderteam included players like Josef Bican one of the greatest goalscorers of his generation. Walter nausch who was one of the best goalkeepers in the world, Josef smistek who was an early prototype of the ball-playing defender with his long passes. The best player on the team Matthias Sindelar who was regarded to as the Mozart of football and the player who made the team tick, when talking about total football they were the original team behind it.
The next team we are talking about will be the Hungarian team of the 1950’s nicknamed the Magical Magyars. This team went on a 31 match unbeaten streak; they included players like Ferenc Puskas one of the best players ever. Nandor Hidegkuti one of best players to play his role, Sandor Kocsis one of the best finishers ever, Gyula grosics one the best goalkeeper of his era and Josef Bozsik, an outstanding deep-lying playmaker.
This team recorded victories against England beating 6–3 and 7–1 beating West Germany 8–3. They were able to bully teams with there technical and tactical shape of a 4–2–4, Hidegkuti principal role was to be able to drop into midfield and start spraying long passes and playmaking and scoring some goals.
Should have won a World Cup
The World cup is the biggest tournament in sport, and some of the best players to ever grace the game have played and won the world cup. Lionel Messi another player who has played the false nine is arguably the best player ever to play football but he hasn’t won the world cup, and that is the argument that is used against, and it is something that has held these three back. Matthias Sindelar, one of the best players in the world, part of a great team, called the Austrian wunderteam. In the 1934 world cup Austria lost to Italy 1–0 in a highly controversial match. Meanwhile, Nandor Hidegkuti lost 3–2 to West Germany in the miracle of Bern despite the Hungarians leading 2–0. Finally, Johan Cruyff’s side lost 2–1 to the West Germans despite leading 1–0.
