The Names Heard Long Ago: How the Golden Age of Hungarian Football Shaped the Modern Game

by Jonathan Wilson

Hungary, 1920s. A school emerges from Budapest that becomes one of the most influential in football history. But war follows, and many players and coaches leave, fleeing anti-Semitism.

Italty, Argentina, Brazil, 1950s. Hungary's side are unbeatable.

How could this happen? In the cities of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire in the years after World War One, football changed. Rising in popularity alongside the rise of a new middle class, these intellectuals brought an academic, mathematical rigor to the discussing not just what was, but what could be.

This is the story of football flourishing in Hungary, when professional leagues were established and the game became universally loved across social classes and backgrounds. This is the story of the modern game establishing itself in the hearts of a society blighted by tragedy and famine, a culture that flourished in the shadow of rising fascism and the march toward war.

This is the story of this vibrant, tragic era - and how it transformed the game as we know it.

Genres: Football, Sports, Soccer, History, Nonfiction, European History, Hungary

400 pages, Paperback

First published September 17, 2019

About the author

Jonathan Wilson is a British sports journalist and author who writes for a number of publications including the Guardian, the Independent and Sports Illustrated. He also appears on the Guardian football podcast, Football Weekly.

Reviews

[Geoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

A deep, deep, deep dive into the Hungarian influence into the development of soccer across the world. Suited best for passionate fans of soccer and soccer history.

Positives: there is a ton of research distilled into this book and it covers the Hungarian influence in Austria, Italy, Brazil, Argentina, France, Uruguay, Germany, and even the USA. It gives a good picture about the immigration patterns and opportunities in the early twentieth century and how ideas diffused from place to place. And it is searing and unflinching in its examination of the spread of anti-semitism, fascism, and the Holocaust and how it affected Hungarian players and coaches.

Negative: You get dropped right In the start of soccer in Hungary with little idea that f why you should care about reading 400 pages of Hungarian soccer history. there are a ton of coaches and players to keep track of, none of whom I’ve heard before (except Puskas of course, who only appears at the end of the book) so it can be confusing at times. And the books structure doesn’t help. Instead of sticking with a strict chronology or chapters by geography, it does a mashup of both and so people you’ve left behind 150 pages ago make a sudden, confusing reappearance. Most curiously, though, there is little tactical discussion. I’ve read the author’s comprehensive book on the development of soccer tactics, but it would have been nice here to see exactly how and why the Hungarian style (and its later mutations) operated and why it was so innovative.

On the whole, I enjoyed the book, but its probably really only attractive to those that sit at the intersection of “soccer fan” and “history buff.”

Note: I was given an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Kacper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dobra książka która pokazuje całą historię węgierskiej piłki w europie i poza nią w 20 wieku, według mnie brakuje informacji o Dori Kürschner, poza tym książka jest znakomita. Przydała by się książka o złotej ery polskiej piłki napisana w ten sam sposób. 5 gwiazd

I want the same book for the golden era of polish national team 1972-1982! The most historic and emotional book i ever read about football. The story of 4 men’s who change this sport forever. Hungarian coaches impact not only Europe but the whole football world at the 20 century. Hungarian people knew how to improve and don’t let their football legacy be destroy by the two wars. I feel like we lack information about Dori Kürschner nevertheless everything is in. Movies & books references, the difficulty to be jews in a nationalized Europe, the rise of the golden team and the life after… Hajrá Magyarország!

[Shatterlings · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is so much more than a football book, it’s a social history of Hungary, the level of research is amazing whilst also still telling a strong story. Some of the people in this book led such interesting and challenging lives, especially during the 2nd world war, it was hard to put down.

[Ian Plenderleith · Rating 4 out of 5]

(This double-review was first published by Soccer America)

Soccer Books of the Year, 2019, Part 1: Goldblatt vs Wilson The Age of Football: The Global Game in the Twenty-first Century by David Goldblatt, (Macmillan)

The Names Heard Long Ago: How the Golden Age of Hungarian Football Shaped the Modern Game by Jonathan Wilson, (Blink)

Britain's most prolific and widely read soccer authors, David Goldblatt and Jonathon Wilson, have reached the stage where it has apparently become difficult to offer an objective assessment of their books. Reviews will point to their past works as evidence of quality, while summarizing the latest in the form of an extended jacket blurb. In the incestuous circles of soccer journalism, however, critics often seem too tentative to answer the most important questions: Is this book any good? And if so, is it good enough to make it worth reading?

Goldblatt's "The Age of Football" is not quite such an epic work as his shelf-straining history of soccer "The Ball is Round." Still, it's long enough, straddling the five continents to offer an overview of soccer's health. The overwhelming conclusion: the state of our game is not good. Corruption, poor administration, avarice and death blight these pages from cover to cover, with only the odd scrap of optimism thrown in to stop the reader closing the book and taking up embroidery instead.

In terms of its scope, "The Age of Football" is a roller-coaster ride around a theme park of greed and depravity, and is a comprehensive catalogue of the scandals and stadium disasters of the past 50 years. I can only recommend it as a work of reference, because unless you've been watching nothing but Real Madrid from the safety of a tint-glassed executive box for the past few decades, there is little new information in this book. There are no author-sourced interviews, and little research beyond the archives of readily available media and the internet. Reading it is like being hit over the head with a rhetorical hammer, and finishing the book is like walking out of the stadium after a 5-0 defeat -- your depression may only be tempered by relief that it's all over.

Goldblatt also has the machinated habit of backing up any point with a quote in the form of, "As [insert name] once said, [insert quote]." Over and again. Add to this the sporadic inaccuracies (there never was a team in Wales called Trans Network Solutions) and the endless, needling subjective asides ("Even Celtic, in a good year like 2016 ... were at best a strong Championship club." Really? How do you measure something like that?), and you wonder why Goldblatt's books are subject to eulogy. He writes in a cogent, attacking style, but maintaining that pace over several hundred pages is like sprinting a marathon. It's not long before exhaustion kicks in.

Nonetheless, if you want a book to goad you into a state of revolutionary anger (and there's nothing wrong with that), then "The Age of Football" could meet your needs. If you want to read a soccer book in a state of fascinated pleasure, then you might prefer Wilson's "The Names Heard Long Ago."

Where Wilson tops Goldblatt is in terms of readability and research. I believe that the two are connected. When Wilson scours the archives to unearth interviews or talks to anyone still connected with the Hungarian soccer scene of the early 20th century, it's the quotes and anecdotes that bring his material to life. That's no mean feat when you're covering teams and personalities that most of your readership might, at best, be only vaguely aware of.

So while reading about the players and coaches who gave Hungary such a key role in the formative years of soccer history, it's not important to retain any knowledge of how many titles Ujpest Dozsa won in the 1920s. What remains is the disparity of peripatetic Magyars who moved around Europe and the world, their chaotic lives and seesaw careers more often than not shaped by the political and economic situation both at home and abroad.

The middle section of the book, covering the period before, during and after the Second World War, is a profoundly affecting testament to the truth that sport may be important but, like all other aspects of mundane existence, it can be rapidly subsumed by the insanity of terror, violence and war. Players and their families you've come to love in the first section of the book disappear, last seen on trains destined for Nazi death camps.

The book lacks a linear narrative due to the nature of its material, and to contrive one would have been a dishonest reflection of the fragmented lives it depicts. Had it covered just one team, or even one person -- pioneering English coach Jimmy Hogan, say, or the utility player György Orth, labeled by Hogan as "the most versatile, greatest and most intelligent player I have ever seen" -- then the publisher would have had had an easier hook to sell it on. The strength of Wilson's approach is that it defies the demands of marketing for a simple selling-point. His books are so much the richer for it, and provide an engrossing read for all who are entranced not just by soccer's history, but also by the immersion of its characters into their social and political context. Massively recommended.

[Jordan Florit · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good book, which is always the minimum from Jonathan Wilson.

Weaving football with history - not just that of Hungary but also across Europe and the US, when relevant - Wilson’s book taught me things I previously didn’t know about WWII, for example, and provided rich context to why and how what now seems like a fairly insignificant footballing country came to be so influential for much of the 20th century.

[Grant Rhines · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book that takes the reader back to the days when football was rawer and more equal, but not necessarily fairer. It seems like a different world that a leading coach was just as likely to find his next job in Bucharest or Buenos Aires as he was in London or Milan. Wilson captures this lost world wonderfully and tells a compelling story about how the Hungarians of the 30s through 50s are at the heart of why things look so different today.

As always with Wilson’s books, he did a great job simultaneously capturing the details of each person’s unique addition to the story while continuing to keep the overall premise in sight. I particularly loved meeting Marton Bukovi and learning more about the great Ferenc Puskas.

That being said, what will stick with me above all is the genuine tragedy—both on and primarily off the pitch—that cut short what could have been the greatest triumphs in football’s history.

[Juliette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I expected a book about tactics and gameplay. There was a lot more history (particularly the Holocaust) than soccer.
Very enlightening.

Thriftbooks sent me an ARC so I missed out on maps and photos.

[Turlough Booth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worth a lot more than 5 stars. Once again struck by how brilliant a writer Wilson is. The hours and hours this book must have taken him and boy is it worth it. An absolute masterpiece covering the incredible impact the Hungarian diaspora have had on global football. Thank you Jonathan and the team of people that helped him compile this stupendous book.

[Matti Karjalainen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Englantilaisen Jonathan Wilsonin jalkapalloaiheiset teokset ovat olleet varsin laadukkaita, mistä esimerkkinä vaikkapa taannoin suomennettu Pelien peli: jalkapallon taktiikan historia.

"The Names Heard Long Ago: How the Golden Age of Hungarian Football Shaped the Modern Game" (Blink, 2020) paneutuu unkarilaisen jalkapalloon kunniakkaaseen menneisyyteen eli ajanjaksoon joka ulottui 1900-luvun alusta Neuvostoliiton tukahduttamaan Unkarin kevääseen 1956.

Wilson on perehtynyt aiheeseensa ja tehnyt ansiokasta tutkimustyötä monessa eri maassa ja useilla mantereilla. Se ei ole ollut helppo homma; vuosisatojen myllerryksessä ihmisten muistikuvat ovat sumentuneet, seurojen arkistoja on tuhottu ja kokonaisia maita on kadonnut kartalta. Jotkut yksityiskohdat jäävät varmistamatta tai epäselviksi.

Niin tai näin, melkoinen futistarina Unkarista kuitenkin sai alkunsa! Parhaiten muistetaan 50-luvun maaginen joukkue, Aranycsapat, jossa pelasivat sellaiset legendat kuin Puskas, Kocsis ja Hideguti. Neljän vuoden ja 36 ottelun tappioton putki katkesi tosin ikävässä paikassa, Sveitsin MM-kisojen loppuottelussa 1954.

Wilsonin mukaan useamman unkarilaisten pelaajan ja valmentajan olleen aktiiviisesti kehittämässä lajia vähän siellä sun täällä. Béla Guttmann luotsasi Eusebion johtaman Benfican menestykseen (kunnes kirosi sen), Erno Erbstein manageroi Il Grande Torinoa aina kohtalokkaaseen lentoon saakka ja välillisesti myös Uruguayn MM-kultaa vuonna 1950 MM-kisoissa voittaneen joukkueen taustalta voidaan löytää ripaus valkopunavihreää. Länsinaapurimme IFK Göteborgin ensimmäiset mestaruudet olivat myös unkarilaisten siiviittämiä.

Lisäksi kirjassa törmätään moniin surullisiin ihmiskohtaloihin 1900-luvun poliittisessa myllerryksessä. Holokausti, neuvostomiehitys ja unkarilaisten oma poliittinen turbulenssi riepottelivat myös jalkapalloa.

Lukukokemus ei ollut ihan niin tenhoava kuin olisin toivonut. Vuosikymmeniä kattavassa tarinassa tuntui olevan niin paljon erilaisia säikeitä ja henkilöitä, etten meinannut aina pysyä perässä, kenestä aina olikaan kyse. Syytän toki tästä myös rajallista kielitaitoani, mikä vähintään hidasti lukemista.

[ManOfLaBook.com · Rating 4 out of 5]

For more reviews and bookish posts please visit: http://www.ManOfLaBook.com

The Names Heard Long Ago: How the Golden Age of Hungarian Soccer Shaped the Modern Game by Jonathan Wilson recounts how the Hungary’s changed soccer and became a powerhouse exporting players and coaches to the world. Mr. Wilson the Football Correspondent of the Financial Times and author of other books on the subject.

One of my favorite memories is going to the 1994 quarter-finals for the FIFA World Cup with my father. We watched Bulgaria beating the defending World Cup champion Germany 2-1. To this day it is considered one of the top ten upsets in any world cup, and one of the top ten days I spent with my dad.

The Names Heard Long Ago: How the Golden Age of Hungarian Soccer Shaped the Modern Game by Jonathan Wilson is an enjoyable book which tells of the glory days of Hungarian soccer. The author goes into a bit of details into tactics and how the Hungarians coaches learned from England and improved the system.

The book gets interesting during the mid-1930s when anti-Semitism and Nazism enters the picture. Many of the soccer clubs, star players and coaches were Jewish. While some of them managed to escape, or survive World War II due to their skills and /or fame, many others didn’t. The author tells of some of their exploits trying to live through the war, only to be hit in the face with Communism when it was over.

Even though the Nazis did ravage Hungary, as well as much of Europe, Communist Russia managed to take the well-known, and feared, Hungarian national soccer team and destroy it. I still remember when Hungary was talked about as a fearsome adversary which I was a kid, and that was about two decades after this book ends.

The book is expertly researched, Mr. Wilson obviously loves the game and its history. The author is familiar not only with the players, coaches, management, and clubs, but is also aware how they interact and how one event reflects, changes, or cascades into others – some of which are repercussions felt today in the world of soccer.

[Reza Amiri Praramadhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

While Hungarian football, both national and club can be described as mostly mediocre in today's football scene, who could have thought that they used to be one of the world's greatest, with names such as Puskas and Hidegkuti becoming the bane of the enemy team, while whole loads of football coaches spread around the world what could be called as the predecessor of total football. While the story of the Golden Team, or Aranycsapat as Magyars knew them, is the highlight of the story, this book reached this main point in a rather round roundabout way.

As usual, football was brought over by the English, most importantly, Jimmy Hogan, who became the progenitor of Hungarian's Golden Age of Football. Then, the story moved on (mostly jewish) lives of various football players and coaches, as Hungary slid into fascistic regime under Regent Miklos Horthy, and the subsequent Communist regime.

The Golden Team, undoubtedly, became source of national pride, as in their prime time (1950-1956) managed only to lose once, yet that was on the only match that mattered: 1954 World Cup final, dubbed 'The Miracle of Bern' as the underdog West Germany defeated the Golden Team, who never got another go at the World Cup Final until today. As The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 broke out, many players of the Golden Team defected, bringing abrupt end and irreparable damage to Hungary's football. In the end, I lament the shortness of space given to the story of Aranycsapat, undoubtedly the main attraction of the book, instead, we were served by harrowing but ubiquitous story of Jewish people, while certainly no more important, should be at the passenger seat. However, this book is certainly commendable for bringing into public knowledge of Hungarian coaches role in propagating particular play style of football, which evolved into total football, and later, of tiki-taka style.

[Jarvo · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Jonathan Wilson's classic 'Inverting the Pyramid' there is a section discussing how the coffee houses of Vienna and Budapest were vital spaces for the development of football tactics in the interwar years. At first glance this seemed a bit far fetched, an attempt to bring an intellectual and literary gloss to the people's game. Notwithstanding in such a rich and diverse book it was easy enough to pass over onto something else.
However within the scope of a fall length book, Wilson is able to make a much more convincing case. OK, coffee houses per se might play a relatively small part but its clear that the influence of Hungarian players, teams, and coaches over a fifty year period from the end of the first world was was enormous. Building on the work of some enlightened British coaches (prophets not welcome in their own lands), a generation of Hungarians shaped the development of football in South America, Italy, and Germany. Many of these were Jewish and as the terrible events of the middle of the C20th unfold the story that emerges is tragic, rather than romantic.
A fascinating book. There are a bewildering number of names I'd not previously heard, meaning I doubtless missed some details but there is still more than enough to ponder. Henceforth Hungary will no longer just be the country that came from nowhere to end the myth of English invincibility with a 6-3 victory at Wembley. I'll think of it as one of the crucibles of the games development.

[Jarrod S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating subject matter, well-researched. The book could use a stronger organizing thesis statement, and more diligently followed a chronological timeline with that thesis. Wilson could’ve reminded the reader more of *why* the myriad stories being told matter. The author obviously did painstaking research, and it engulfed the reader in an undercovered but fascinating period of history, but perhaps summarizing or paraphrasing some of primary sources might’ve eased reading. The details build the world, but also bog down the narrative.

On the other hand, more historical context from the field of postwar European history would’ve been very helpful, as would a touch more “zoomed out” context in the soccer world. This needn’t be long. What was going on elsewhere in Europe? How was Hungary similar or different? The author reading more secondary literature would’ve really aided the narrative and possibly helped form a stronger argument.

[Jarrod Showalter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating subject matter, well-researched. The book could use a stronger organizing thesis statement, and more diligently followed a chronological timeline with that thesis. Wilson could’ve reminded the reader more of *why* the myriad stories being told matter. The author obviously did painstaking research, and it engulfed the reader in an undercovered but fascinating period of history, but perhaps summarizing or paraphrasing some of primary sources might’ve eased reading. The details build the world, but also bog down the narrative.

On the other hand, more historical context from the field of postwar European history would’ve been very helpful, as would a touch more “zoomed out” context in the soccer world. This needn’t be long. What was going on elsewhere in Europe? How was Hungary similar or different? The author reading more secondary literature would’ve really aided the narrative and possibly helped form a stronger argument.

[Roberto · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's complete. There is everything about the most influencing people in Hungarian football in the first half of last century. It's like an encyclopedia, but well written and with a great plot. The stories are perfectly connected, giving new keys to read each footballer, trainer, manager. There is also a good historical background to understand some political features between the two wars and during WWII. A must-read for those who want to know how Hungary got to have the Aranycsapat, the most powerful team in the 1950s.

[Luqman Mohammad · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I love about Jonathan Wilson's books is how deep and detailed his research was, which makes his books feel more like encyclopedias, and The Names Heard Long Ago is no exception. My only criticism might be that some of the stories are told in great detail, which makes it a bit tiring to read.

The book goes into great detail about the history of Hungarian football: how football came to Hungary, including discussing the birth of Danubian Football, to other historical events such as World War I & II, the Holocaust, to the Hungarian communist revolution, which intersect with each other as aspects of history. Not only does this book discuss Danubian Football and the birth of the Magical Magyars, but it also discusses the many important figures of Hungarian football that shaped much of the history of football in Western Europe all the way to South America.

Highly recommended for those of you who are passionate about football and want to know how Hungary unwittingly shaped football before "modern football".

[Liam Keogh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots and lots of detail. Goes way back in order to tell the full story, making the early part of the book a little bit of a slog. Picks up substantially with the coming of the second world war with both triumphant and of course heart breaking stories. It's also the time when the pieces start to come together.

I would say the second half of the book is substantially better than the first (the "match reports" for some of the key games are very good) but is still a book for football purists

[Tamás · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating and meticulously researched deep dive into a forgotten (or at least overlooked) period of football. As a Hungarian, it still contained a multitude of new names and information, while also drawing a picture of Hungarian social and economic history. Unfortunately many of the storylines ended in the Second World War, so there was indeed a bit less excitement in the final part of the book.

[Roland · Rating 5 out of 5]

A carefully researched and well written exploration of one of the most influential countries and periods in football history and the slow and tragic demise of the teams, coaches and players involved.
Wilson's books are always a joy for a football fan but I don't think that is a requirement to read and appreciate this book.

[Matt Harrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this when I was living next door from Hungary in Slovakia and I would regularly go across the border to watch football there, so I was particularly interested in the topic. Can imagine it'd be a bit heavy for some, but undoubtedly as well-researched a football book as you will find (expect nothing less from WIlson)

[Russell Gibson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating and recommended

Very readable account of Hungarian, largely Jewish, influence on the way football has been played around the world. Also gives an insight into Hungary itself through the early to mid 20th century.

[Jon Howells · Rating 5 out of 5]

Forgotten History

A real eye opening history book about the role Hungarians have played in developing and influencing the progress of football throughout the world. Full of great stories, it also serves as a wonderful companion piece to the book Magical Magyars.

[Tom Wise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well researched book on the golden age of Hungarian football 1920-1956. Went into it only really knowing Puskas but the breadth of Hungary's influence stretched across most of Europe and Latin America too. Would recommend to any football fan/history enthusiast.

[Patrick Tarbox · Rating 4 out of 5]

I took too long to read this. It is a heavy history, so it is hard to hop in and out of it and I think my enjoyment would have been increased by knocking it out quicker.

I love Jonathan Wilson’s books, but his self-referencing while helping save space did get a little annoying.

[JP Round · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very Insightful and well researched. I probably should have read Wilson's other work first, which I intend to do.

[Dominic Garvin · Rating 2 out of 5]

well written book but I have no interest in Hungarian football

[Tom Power · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wilson tells a brilliant story, laced with tragedy, of a fascinating era. The impact Hungarians have had on works football is immense. Leaves you sad they never won that final in Bern.

[Nick Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book of Hungarian football history. Think ill keep it up, a couple of football books a year, obviously not for everyone!

[Zoltán Monoki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amazing stories in the first half of the book, starts lagging after the 2nd World War and turns into a monotonous listing of results. Ironically it kinda happened to the main characters as well.

[Daniel Pritchard · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 - This got MUCH better after about 150 pages and it started discussing the diaspora going to South America and Italy. Really interesting in parts but not my favourite of his books.