Football at the 1952 Summer Olympics
The Football tournament at the 1952 Summer Olympics was won by Hungary.[1]
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| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | Finland |
| Dates | July 15 – August 2 |
| Teams | 25 (from 5 (plus Great Britain) confederations) |
| Venue(s) | 6 (in 5 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Hungary |
| Runners-up | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Yugoslavia |
| Third place |  Sweden |
| Fourth place |  Germany |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 26 |
| Goals scored | 135 (5.19 per match) |
The games signalled the arrival (to Western Europeans at least) of the Hungarian national football team – the "Magical Magyars". Ferenc Puskás later said of the 1952 competition: "It was during the Olympics that our football first started to flow with real power."[2] It was during the Games that Stanley Rous of English Football Association invited the Hungarians to play a friendly at Wembley the following year.
Venues
| Helsinki | Kotka | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Olympic Stadium | Kotkan urheilukeskus | ||
| Capacity: 70,470 | Capacity: 11,400 | ||
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| Helsinki | Lahti | ||
| Töölön Pallokenttä | Lahden kisapuisto | ||
| Capacity: 18,050 | Capacity: 8,067 | ||
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| Tampere | Turku | ||
| Ratina Stadion | Kupittaan jalkapallostadion | ||
| Capacity: 20,700 | Capacity: 14,224 | ||
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Squads
The tournament
Preliminary round highlights
The preliminary round saw Hungary record a narrow victory against Romania, whilst there was an 8–0 victory for Italy against the United States, and a 5–1 victory for Brazil against The Netherlands. Great Britain succumbed to Luxembourg 5–3, whilst Egypt defeated Chile 5–4. Yugoslavia were drawn against the Indians and won 10–1.
First round highlights
The first round saw Scandinavian countries join the competition; the hosts Finland were beaten 3–4 by Austria, whilst Sweden defeated neighbours Norway 4–1. The game of the round was between Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union; Yugoslavia had been 5–1 ahead with 30 minutes of the match to go, only for the Soviet captain Bobrov to score a hat-trick and inspire his team to an eventual 5–5 draw. A replay resulted in a 3–1 victory for Yugoslavia; the Soviet side had been expected by Moscow to win the 1952 Games, and their defeat by Yugoslavia was not mentioned in the Soviet press until after Stalin's death the following year.
Quarterfinals
Sweden defeated Austria to ensure a Scandinavian presence in the semifinals. Germany surprisingly beat Brazil 4–2 after extra time, whilst Yugoslavia won comfortably in a 5–3 defeat of Denmark. Hungary demolished Turkey 7–1 to complete the four semifinalists.
Semifinals
In the first semifinal, Hungary saw off Sweden with a comprehensive 6–0 victory, whilst Yugoslavia beat Germany 3–1 to set up a Hungary-Yugoslavia final.
Bronze Medal
There was some consolation for the Scandinavian countries as Sweden defeated Germany 2–0 in the third place play-off to secure the bronze medal.
Gold and Silver Medals
Two goals from Puskás and Zoltán Czibor saw Hungary beat Yugoslavia and take the gold medal.[3]
Results
Preliminary round results
| Yugoslavia | 10–1 |  India |
|---|---|---|
Vukas  2', 62' Mitić 14', 43' Zebec 17', 23', 60', 87' Ognjanov 52', 67' |
Report | Ahmed Khan 89' |
Denmark  | 2–1 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Greece |
|---|---|---|
| P.E. Petersen 36', 37' |
Report | Emmanouilides 85' |
Italy  | 8–0 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} United States |
|---|---|---|
| Gimona 3', 51', 75' Pandolfini 16', 62' Venturi 27' Fontanesi 52' Mariani 87' |
Report |
Brazil .svg.png.webp){kind=small} | 5–1 |  Netherlands |
|---|---|---|
| Humberto 25' Larry 33' (pen.), 36' Jansen 81' Vavá 86' |
Report | Van Roessel 15' |
Luxembourg  | 5–3 (a.e.t.) |  Great Britain |
|---|---|---|
| Roller 60', 95', 97' Letsch 91' Gales 102' |
Report | Robb 12' Slater 101' Lewis 118' |
First round results
Finland  | 3–4 |  Austria |
|---|---|---|
| Stolpe 11', 34' Rytkönen 36' |
Report | Gollnhuber 8' (pen.), 30' Stumpf 59' Grohs 79' |
| Yugoslavia | 5–5 (a.e.t.) | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Soviet Union |
|---|---|---|
| Mitić 29' Ognjanov 33' Zebec 44', 59' Bobek 46' |
Report | Bobrov 53', 77', 87' Trofimov 75' Petrov 89' |
| Yugoslavia | 3–1 | Soviet Union |
|---|---|---|
| Mitić 19' Bobek 29' (pen.) Čajkovski 54' |
Report | Bobrov 6' |
| Denmark | 2–0 |  Poland |
|---|---|---|
| Seebach 17' S. Nielsen 69' |
Report |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small}
Quarterfinals results
| Hungary | 7–1 |  Turkey |
|---|---|---|
| Palotás 18' Kocsis 32', 90' Lantos 48' Puskás 54', 72' Bozsik 70' |
Report | Guder 57' |
Semifinals results
| Yugoslavia | 3–1 | Germany |
|---|---|---|
| Mitić 3', 24' Čajkovski 30' |
Report | Stollenwerk 12' |
Gold Medal match result
| Hungary | 2–0 | Yugoslavia |
|---|---|---|
| Puskás 70' Czibor 88' |
Report |
Bracket
| First Round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||||||||||
| Hungary
| 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Italy
| 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Hungary
| 7 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Turkey
| 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Turkey
| 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Netherlands Antilles
| 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Hungary
| 6 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Sweden
| 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Sweden
| 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
 Norway
| 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Sweden
| 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Austria
| 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Finland
| 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Austria
| 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Hungary
| 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Yugoslavia
| 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Denmark
| 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Poland
| 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Denmark
| 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Yugoslavia
| 5 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Yugoslavia
| 5 (3) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Soviet Union
| 5 (1) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Yugoslavia
| 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Germany
| 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Luxembourg
| 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Brazil
| 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Brazil
| 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Germany
| 4 (AET) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Germany
| 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Egypt
| 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
Medalists
Goalscorers
- 7 goals
- Branko Zebec (Yugoslavia)
- 6 goals
- Sándor Kocsis (Hungary)
- Rajko Mitić (Yugoslavia)
- 5 goals
- Vsevolod Bobrov (Soviet Union)
- 4 goals
- Larry (Brazil)
- El-Sayed El-Dhizui (Egypt)
- Willi Schröder (Germany)
- Péter Palotás (Hungary)
- Ferenc Puskás (Hungary)
- Tihomir Ognjanov (Yugoslavia)
- 3 goals
- Aredio Gimona (Italy)
- Joseph Roller (Luxembourg)
- Yngve Brodd (Sweden)
- Ingvar Rydell (Sweden)
- Stjepan Bobek (Yugoslavia)
- Zlatko Čajkovski (Yugoslavia)
- Bernard Vukas (Yugoslavia)
- 2 goals
- Otto Gollnhuber (Austria)
- Herbert Grohs (Austria)
- Humberto Tozzi (Brazil)
Irenio Jara (Chile)- Julio Vial (Chile)
- Poul Erik Petersen (Denmark)
- Holger Seebach (Denmark)
- Olof Stolpe (Finland)
- Karl Klug (Germany)
- Zoltán Czibor (Hungary)
- Egisto Pandolfini (Italy)
- Julien Gales (Luxembourg)
- Vasili Trofimov (Soviet Union)
- 1 goal
- Erich Stumpf (Austria)
- Jansen (Brazil)
- Vavá (Brazil)
- Zózimo (Brazil)
.svg.png.webp)
Ivan Petkov Kolev (Bulgaria)- Jens Peter Hansen (Denmark)
- Knud Lundberg (Denmark)
- Svend Nielsen (Denmark)
- Khamal Ahmed Elfar (Egypt)
- Mechaury (Egypt)
- Aulis Rytkönen (Finland)
Michel Leblond (France)- Georg Stollenwerk (Germany)
- Johann Zeitler (Germany)
- Jim Lewis (Great Britain)
- George Robb (Great Britain)
- Bill Slater (Great Britain)
- Paul Emmanouilides (Greece)
- József Bozsik (Hungary)
- Nándor Hidegkuti (Hungary)
- Mihály Lantos (Hungary)
- Ahmed Mohammed Khan (India)
- Alberto Fontanesi (Italy)
- Amos Mariani (Italy)
- Arcadio Venturi (Italy)
- Léon Letsch (Luxembourg)
- Joannes van Roesell (Netherlands)
- Jan Briezen (Netherlands Antilles)
- Odd Wang Sørensen (Norway)
- Jerzy Krasówka (Poland)
- Kazimierz Trampisz (Poland)
.svg.png.webp)
Ion Suru (Romania)- Aleksandr Petrov (Soviet Union)
- Sylve Bengtsson (Sweden)
- Gösta Löfgren (Sweden)
- Gösta Sandberg (Sweden)
- Tekin Bilge (Turkey)
- Ercument Guder (Turkey)
- Muzaffer Tokaç (Turkey)
- Own goal
- Gösta Lindh (Sweden, against Hungary)
Soviet Union vs Yugoslavia
The first meeting between the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia is still the most famous one. On the political level, the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin and the Yugoslav leader Josip Tito split in 1948, which resulted in Yugoslavia being excluded from the Communist Information Bureau. The origin of the conflict was Tito’s refusal to submit to Stalin’s interpretations and visions of politics and in process becoming a Soviet satellite state. Before the match, both Tito and Stalin sent telegrams to their national teams, which showed just how important it was for the two head of states. Yugoslavia led 5–1, but a Soviet comeback in the last 15 minutes resulted in a 5–5 draw. The match was replayed, Yugoslavia winning 3–1. The defeat to the archrivals hit Soviet football hard, and after just three games played in the season, CDKA Moscow, who had made up most of the USSR squad, was forced to withdraw from the league and later disbanded. Furthermore, Boris Arkadiev, who coached both USSR and CDKA, was stripped of his Merited Master of Sports of the USSR title.[4]
References
- "Football at the 1952 Helsinki Summer Games". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
- "Puskas on life and football". The Guardian. 19 November 2006. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
- Football at the 1952 Helsinki Summer Games Archived March 14, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. sports-reference.com
- "USSR – Yugoslavia, the Story of Two Different Football Conceptions". russianfootballnews.com. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
External links
| Tournaments |
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| Qualifications |
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| Squads |
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