Amsel Ignác

15.04.28:  Amsel Ignác, The Spider,  puts the ball over his crossbar during Ferencváros' 5-1 win over Kispest.

 

Between 1921 and 1931 Amsel represented Hungary 9 times, but was only on the winning side once. On a positive note he became the first Hungarian goalkeeper to save a penalty in internationals (v Austria, 1923).

Balls

31st May 1934, Stadio Littoriale, Bologna. Before the Hungary v Austria match, the process of selecting the match ball. I believe the picture shows Sternberg László (holding the balls) and  Hans Horvath (pointing). Referee Francesco Mattea (Italy) behind Horvath and possibly  Hungary coach Nádas Ödön on the left.

We have seen that in 1930 there was controversy over which ball was used in the final. In Italy 1934 there were 3 different models of ball in use, and the teams would decide which one to use before each game. 

Spezi

Schaffer Alfréd, (aka Alfred Schaffer) played for 21 different clubs in a 15 year career. He played top level football in Hungary, Germany, Switzerland, Czechoslovakia, Austria and the United States, and won league championships in 3 different countries (Hunagary, Germany and Austria). 
Spezi represented Hungary 15 times, scoring 17 goals.
He had 2 remarkable seasons with MTK (Magyar Testgyakorlók Köre Budapest Futball Club).
1917-18: 22 matches 46 goals.
1918-19: 19 matches 41 goals.
A feat made even more extraordinary when you consider that he had Imre Schlosser (the most prolific scorer in the history of Hungarian football ) alongside him. 
In the 1914-19 period he played 89 league games for MTK, scoring 154 goals!
He went on to enjoy a lengthy career as a manager in Germany, Austria,  Hungary, Romania and Italy. 

Hungary 1912

The luck of the draw...
Hungary were in a pretty good place before the commencement of the 1912 Olympic tournament at Stockholm.
15 games had passed since they had been beaten 8-2 by England in 1909. Of these only 3 had been lost. 8 had been won, and 45 goals had been scored. In November 1911 Imre Schlosser had scored 6 in a 9-0 win over Switzerland.
Their final warm up match had been a 6-0 win over Norway in Oslo.
Having been given a bye in the first round Hungary faced England Amateurs (Great Britain).
It was a scorching day, and an experienced Hungary XI were outgunned by the English.
Bradford City's Harold Walden got 6 goals and the legendary Vivian Woodward 1 as England ran out 7-0 winners.
Contemporary Hungarian reports state that the score did not reflect the balance of play- possession and territory were about equal but that whereas the English forwards played phenomenally Schlosser was unwell and off form.

	England Amateurs (Great Britain)
GK	Dr Ronald Brebner	Northern Nomads
FB	Thomas Burn	London Caledonians
FB	Arthur Knight	Portsmouth
HB	Harry Littlewort	Glossop North End
HB	Ted Hanney	Reading
HB	Joseph Dines	Ilford
F	Arthur Berry	Oxford City
F	Vivian Woodward	Chelsea
F	Harold Walden	Bradford City
F	Gordon Hoare	Woolwich Arsenal
F	Ivan Sharpe	Derby County
Coach: A. Birch

	Hungary
GK	Domonkos László	M.T.K.
FB	Rumbold Gyula	Ferencváros
FB	Payer Imre	Ferencváros
HB	Bíró Gyula	M.T.K.
HB	Károly Jenő	Budapesti A.K.
HB	Vágó Antal	M.T.K.
F	Sebestyén Béla	M.T.K.
F	Bodnár Sándor	M.A.C
F	Pataki Mihály	Ferencváros
F	Schlosser-Lakatos Imre	Ferencváros
F	Borbás Gáspár	Ferencváros
Coach:  Herczog Ede

Hungary won the consolation tournament, beating Germany (2 days after their record 16-0 win over Russia) by 3-1. Hungary met Austria in the final, winning 3-0 with goals from Schlosser, Pataki and Bodnár.

Poland

For their first foray into international football Poland took a Cracovia dominated XI to meet Hungary at the Hungária körúti Stadion. Indeed there is some speculatiuon that the fixture only came about because of the influence of the Cracovia coach, Jesza Poszony. As Imre Pozsonyi (he was also known as Emérico Pozsonyi) he had played in  what was 

retrospectively designated as Hungary's very first international in 1902. 
Poszony was made coach of the new Polish national squad. Following a series of trials,  an initial cohort of 33 was reduced to a squad of 16 for the first match.  Eventually 13 players made the arduous 36 hour train journey to Budapest. The team was selected by Józef  Szkolnikowski, President of the Polish FA.

GK	Jan Loth	KS Polonia
FB	Ludwick Gintel	KS Cracovia
FB	Artur Marczewski	KS Polonia
HB	Zdzisław Styczeń	KS Cracovia
HB	Stanisław Cikowski	KS Cracovia
HB	Tadeusz Synowiec   c	KS Cracovia
F	Stanisław Mielech	KS Cracovia
F	Wacław Kuchar	LKS Pogon Lwów
F	Józef Kałuża	KS Cracovia
F	Marian Einbacher	KS Warta
F	Leon Sperling	KS Cracovia

The 2 reserves were : Stefan Loth - (KS Polonia) & Mieczysław Batsch - (LKS Pogon Lwów) 

For Hungary this was the 80th international . 
 The hosts won 1-0 with an 18th minute goal from Jenő Szabó. Hungary missed a penalty and Jan Loth put in an impressive performance. It was a creditable result for Poland.

Fallen Idols

In the early part of the 20th century the footballing public in what was then the Austo-Hungarian Monarchy held British football in reverential regard.
Willy Meisl wrote of the influence of the touring teams of the 1900s , tours which  his visionary brother Hugo was instrumental in arranging.
Any British team would be enthusiastically greeted, and many ex pros from the British Isles secured coaching positions in central Europe.

The events of the summer of 1929 showed to what extent that idealised view had soured.
Newcastle United had finished 10th in Division 1, Huddersfield Town 16th. 
As reported in the Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer (03.06.29) Huddersfield Town returned from their tour complaining of bad refereeing and hard grounds. The argument was that it was impossible to play with any style against the kick and rush tactics that the continental teams had employed. A club spokesman complained that having lost the opening game of the tour Town were asked to accept reduced fees for the subsequent games (they refused).

                    Turner (Huddersfield Town) punches in the match with Ferencváros

Whereas Huddersfield Town returned to England with something of a sour taste in their mouths, Newcastle United found themselves embroiled in an international controversy which the Football Association took 4 months to resolve.
In terms of results the tour got off to a positive start- a 1-0 win over Ambrosiana in Milan. It was, however, an inauspicious curtain raiser. Newcastle complained that the ball was much smaller than the standard size and there was some refereeing controversy -Tommy Lang was dismissed after being bitten by an opponent. The players were harassed by a stone throwing crowd as they left the pitch, and these assaults continued on the team bus and even at the airport.
Following a defeat against WAC the Neues Weiner Journal wrote: 10,000 people were deceived of their money. We need no more games with English teams. That is the net result of the game with Newcastle and of most displays given by English teams in Vienna since the war.
In Bratislava Newcastle suffered the indignity of an 8-1 thrashing at the hands of a Slovakian select team, but it was in Budapest that things really got bad. Newcastle faced MTK (reported elsewhere as being a Hungary Select XI). Following the game, which United, reduced to 9 men, were beaten 4-1, the Hungarian press levelled a number of allegations at the tourists. The Newcastle players, they wrote, didn't exert themselves, and adopted rough tactics. It was even claimed that some of the players were drunk during the match. The Hungarian FA withheld Newcastle's share of the gate money (£165) - they sent it to the Football Association, requesting an investigation into the conduct of the Newcastle players The club strenuously denied the allegations. They countered that the refereeing had been extraordinarily bad- at Budapest the referee had operated from the touchline, a fact that did not prevent him from playing a goal-making pass to a Hungarian forward!
Newcastle also put the matter into the hands of the Football Association.  Meanwhile, according to The Yorkshire Evening Post (04.06.29) the Hungarian press were circulating reports calculated to undermine British prestige. These included the opinion that English players on tour:...travel about pompously, earn  high rewards for their play,and behave as if they were missionaries  from the home of football culture who were condescending to honour inferior Colonials with their visit.
The controversy became an issue of discussion by the Hungarian FA and the Football Association. A representative of the Hungarian governing body attended an enquiry held in October 1929.
The FA concluded that the Hungarians had been justified in trying to cancel the contract on the basis of substandard performances by United,  but that the match having being played, they could not withhold the money.The FA were also satisfied that the refereeing had been substandard.

Gallacher

The FA did not comment on the dismissal of Gallacher and Maitland . The referee, Gabriel Boronkay, wrote in his report to the Hungarian FA:

In the 26th minute of the second half-time, I was compelled to send off the field the English (sic) player named Maitland, on account of his having boxed his adversary (Hirzer). In the 28th minute I had to give marching orders to the English (sic) player Gallacher because of his rough foul against Borsanyi. I beg to remark that in this moment I was standing quite close to the player and I am convinced that he was tipsy, and as I heard, he drunk much cognac between the two half-times.

Hugh Gallacher offered this explanation:

It was a boiling hot day so we rinsed our mouths out with a drop of scotch and water.

15.05.29	SC Admira	3	0	Huddersfield Town	Vienna
19.05.29	MTK	4	2	Huddersfield Town	Budapest
20.05.29	Ferencváros	1	1	Huddersfield Town	Budapest
??.05.29	Sparta Prague	3	2	Huddersfield Town	Prague
26.05.29	Leipzig Select	5	3	Huddersfield Town	Leipzig

19.05.29	Ambrosiana	0	1	Newcastle United	Milan
23.05.29	WAC	2	0	Newcastle United	Vienna
26.05.29	Slovakia Select	8	1	Newcastle United	Bratislava
28.05.29	Slavia Prague	1	1	Newcastle United	Prague
30.05.29	MTK*	4	1	Newcastle United	Budapest

* some sources have Hungary XI- but contemporary press reports refer to 'The Hungaria Club' ie. MTK (Magyar Testgyakorlók Köre Budapest Futball Club)

Schlosser- 59 international goals

Schlosser Imre (Imre Schlosser-Lakatos)

A 21 year international career is in itself a remarkable achievement (in the pre 1937 era only Billy Meredith and Billy McCracken exceeded Schlosser).Only Anel Romano of Uruguay (69) played in more internationals during this era.  Schlosser's 59 international goals in 68 matches gives him a strike rate amongst the best ever (0.87 per match).

	Date					Venue	Schlosser	Total
1	07.10.06	Bohemia	4	4	Hungary	Praguea
2	04.11.06	Hungary	3	1	Austria	Budapestb	1	1
3	07.04.07	Hungary	5	2	Bohemia	Budapestb
4	05.05.07	Austria	3	1	Hungary	Vienna c
5	06.10.07	Bohemia	5	3	Hungary	Praguea
6	03.11.07	Hungary	4	1	Austria	Budapestb
7	05.04.08	Hungary	5	2	Bohemia	Budapestb	2	3
8	03.05.08	Austria	4	0	Hungary	Vienna d
9	10.06.08	Hungary	0	7	England	Budapestb
10	01.11.08	Hungary	5	3	Austria	Budapestb	2*	5
11	04.04.09	Hungary	3	3	Germany	Budapestb	1	6
12	02.05.09	Austria	3	4	Hungary	Viennae	3	9
13	30.05.09	Hungary	1	1	Austria	Budapestb
14	31.05.09	Hungary	2	8	England	Budapestb	1	10
15	07.11.09	Hungary	2	2	Austria	Budapestb	2	12
16	01.05.10	Austria	2	1	Hungary	Vienna d
17	26.05.10	Hungary	6	1	Italy	Budapestb	2	14
18	06.11.10	Hungary	3	0	Austria	Budapestb
19	01.01.11	France	0	3	Hungary	Paris f	3	17
20	06.01.11	Italy	0	1	Hungary	Milan g	1	18
21	08.01.11	Switzerland	2	0	Hungary	Zurich h
22	07.05.11	Austria	3	1	Hungary	Vienna d
23	29.10.11	Hungary	9	0	Switzerland	Budapestb	6	24
24	05.11.11	Hungary	2	0	Austria	Vienna d		25
25	17.12.11	Germany	1	4	Hungary	Munichj	2	26
26	14.04.12	Hungary	4	4	Germany	Budapesti	1	27
27	05.05.12	Austria	1	1	Hungary	Vienna d
28	20.06.12	Sweden	2	2	Hungary	Gothenburgk
29	23.06.12	Norway	0	6	Hungary	OsloL	2	29
30	30.06.12	Hungary	0	7	England Am.	Stockholmm
31	03.07.12	Hungary	3	1	Germany	Solnan	3	32
32	05.07.12	Hungary	3	0	Austria	Solna n	1	33
33	12.07.12	Russia	0	9	Hungary	Moscowo	2	35
34	14.07.12	Russia	0	12	Hungary	Moscowo	5	40
35	03.11.12	Hungary	4	0	Austria	Budapesti	2	42
36	27.04.13	Austria	1	4	Hungary	Viennap
37	18.05.13	Hungary	2	0	Sweden	Budapesti	1	43
38	26.10.13	Hungary	4	3	Austria	BudapestQ
39	31.05.14	Hungary	5	1	France	Budapesti
40	19.06.14	Sweden	1	5	Hungary	Solna n	1	44
41	21.06.14	Sweden	1	1	Hungary	Solna n	1	45
42	04.10.14	Hungary	2	2	Austria	Budapesti	1	46
43	08.11.14	Austria	1	2	Hungary	Viennap
44	05.05.15	Hungary	2	5	Austria	BudapestQ
45	30.05.15	Austria	1	2	Hungary	Viennap	1	47
46	03.10.15	Austria	4	2	Hungary	Viennap	1	48
47	07.11.15	Hungary	6	2	Austria	Budapesti
48	04.06.16	Hungary	2	1	Austria	BudapestQ	1	49
49	01.10.16	Hungary	2	3	Austria	Budapesti
50	05.11.16	Austria	3	3	Hungary	Viennap	1	50
51	06.05.17	Austria	1	1	Hungary	Viennap	1	51
52	03.06.17	Hungary	6	2	Austria	BudapestQ	2	53
53	15.07.17	Austria	1	4	Hungary	Viennap	1	54
54	07.10.17	Hungary	2	1	Austria	Budapesti
55	04.11.17	Austria	1	2	Hungary	Viennap
56	14.04.18	Hungary	2	0	Austria	BudapestQ	1	55
57	12.05.18	Hungary	2	1	Switzerland	BudapestQ	1	56
58	02.06.18	Austria	0	2	Hungary	Viennap	1	57
59	06.10.18	Austria	0	3	Hungary	Viennap
60	09.11.19	Hungary	3	2	Austria	BudapestQ
61	24.10.20	Germany	1	0	Hungary	Berlin R
62	24.04.21	Austria	4	1	Hungary	Vienna S
63	05.06.21	Hungary	3	0	Germany	BudapestQ	1	58
64	06.11.21	Hungary	4	2	Sweden	Budapesti	1	59
65	18.12.21	Hungary	1	0	Poland	BudapestQ
66	06.06.26	Hungary	2	1	Czechoslovakia	Budapesti
67	14.11.26	Hungary	3	1	Sweden	Budapesti
68	10.04.27	Austria	6	0	Hungary	Vienna d

Venues:
a Slavia Stadion	g Arena Civica	n , Råsunda
b Millenáris Sportpálya	h Hardau Velodrome	o  Sokolniki Sports Club
c Rapid Platz	i Üllői úti Stadion	pWAC Platz
d Hohe Warte	j MTV 79 Platz	Q Hungária körúti stadion
e Cricketer Platz	k  Valhalla Idrottsplats	RGrunewaldstadion
f Stade du Cercle Athlétique de Paris	L  Frogner	s Simmeringer
	M Olympiastadion

* Not all sources credit Schlosser with goal 5.
Games 30, 31 and 32 were at The Olympic Games.
 Goals 8 & 9 (game 12) were penalties.

When Schlosser scored his goals:

5	10	15	20	25	30	35	40	45		50	55	60	65	70	75	80	85	90