 Egri Erbsteinc. 1938 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ernő Egri Erbstein | ||
| Date of birth | (1898-05-13)13 May 1898 | ||
| Place of birth | Nagyvárad,Austria-Hungary | ||
| Date of death | 4 May 1949(1949-05-04) (aged 50) | ||
| Place of death | Superga, Italy | ||
| Position | Wing half | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1915–1922 | Budapesti AK | ||
| 1922 | Hakoah Arad | ||
| 1922–1924 | Budapesti AK | ||
| 1924–1925 | Olympia Fiume | 18 | (5) |
| 1925–1926 | Vicenza | 28 | (2) |
| 1926–1928 | Husos | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| 1928–1929 | Bari | ||
| 1929–1930 | Nocerina | ||
| 1930–1932 | Cagliari | ||
| 1932–1933 | Bari | ||
| 1933–1938 | Lucchese | ||
| 1938–1939 | Torino | ||
| 1946–1949 | Torino(technical director) | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Ernő Egri Erbstein (Hungarian:Erbstein Ernő), also known asErnest andErnesto Erbstein (13 May 1898 – 4 May 1949), was a Hungarianfootball player and manager. He carried out his footballing activities in several countries and was most noted for his association withItalian football.
Erbstein carried out the majority of his playing career withBudapesti AK, with whom he spent almost a decade, either side of a brief spell with Hakoah Arad in 1922. After first getting a taste for Italian football with Olympia Fiume (Fiume was the Italian name for the present-day Croatian city ofRijeka) he moved toVicenza for a season.[1]
As a managerBari gave him his first chance, but his forward-thinking tactics were ineffective with the group of players at that time, but the fast flowing attractive football caught the eye of the Italian public despite Bari's relegation which saw him relieved of his duties. Short spells atNocerina,Cagliari and Bari again before moving on toLucchese where he spent five years gaining promotion to 'Serie A' during this period. Erbstein moved toTorino after that, but because ofWorld War II and the fact that he wasJewish meant that the implementation of the 'Manifesto of Race' which stripped Jewish people of their right to work. Despite these restrictions, he continued to offer his advice through an unofficial role, before leaving Italy and returning to Hungary when it became too unsafe to remain.
He was sent to aNazi forced labor camp near Budapest. He escaped in December 1944, just before he was about to be sent toAuschwitz concentration camp, together withBéla Guttmann, another famous Jewish-Hungarian player and coach.[2][3][4][5]
After the war Erbstein rejoined Torino, this time in the capacity of atrainer; this was one of the most noted spells in Italian football where they secured the Serie A title. During this successful period, this Torino side became known asGrande Torino.[6] Erbstein (astechnical director) along with EnglishmanLeslie Lievesley (as trainer) were co-managers during the 1948–49 season. Torino were defending champions of Italy and on track to progress further. Disaster struck on 4 May 1949 when Erbstein and the majority of the Torino team died in theSuperga air disaster.[7]