| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1946-08-16)16 August 1946 | ||
| Place of birth | Budapest,Hungary | ||
| Date of death | 6 July 2023(2023-07-06) (aged 76) | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position | Winger | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1962–1968 | Melbourne Hungaria | 99 | (49) |
| 1969–1976 | St George-Budapest | ||
| 1977–1979 | Sydney Croatia | 89 | (74) |
| 1980 | Melita Eagles | ||
| International career | |||
| 1967–1977 | Australia | 61 | (25) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1978–1979 | Sydney Croatia | ||
| 1980 | Melita Eagles | ||
| 1981–1982 | Riverwood | ||
| 1983 | Canberra City | ||
| 1984 | Sydney Croatia | ||
| 1985–1986 | Rockdale Ilinden | ||
| 1987–1988 | St George-Budapest | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Attila Abonyi (16 August 1946 – 6 July 2023) was asoccer manager and player. Born in Hungary, he played for theAustralia national team.
Abonyi made his senior international debut for Australia in 1967 at the age of 20. He earned 61 caps, including appearing in the1974 World Cup; Australia's first entry into theWorld Cup.[1] In his first nine matches for Australia, he scored eleven goals all coming from the1967 South Vietnam Independence Cup. He scored his first of three international goals againstNew Zealand in November 1967.[2]
Attila Abonyi was born and raised inBudapest,Hungary. He did not play regular football in Hungary, as he could not play at a junior competitive level until the age of twelve. He migrated from Budapest toMelbourne at the age of 10 after theHungarian Revolution of 1956.[3] He started playing for the St Kilda junior club when he turned 11 years old. He moved to his home clubMelbourne Hungaria at 14, before making the senior team in 1962.[4]
Born in Hungary, he took up football after emigrating toAustralia at the age of 10 in 1957. In 1962, at 15 years old, Attila played his senior debut forMelbourne Hungaria in the oldVictorian State League. In 1967 Abonyi was a key player in helping the club achieve their first ever State League title. He was the top goalscorer for that season with 31 goals in 29 games, and he scored the goal that won them the title. In the same year, Abonyi was man of the match in helping Melbourne Hungaria win the Australian Cup, with a hat-trick, to defeat the favouredAPIA Leichhardt 4–3 in extra-time. This turned out to be his final season with Melbourne Hungaria.[5]
Abonyi moved to Sydney and joinedSt. George-Budapest between 1969 and 1976, where he was part of three New South Wales State League titles,[6] before finishing his career withSydney Croatia between 1977 and 1979. In June 1975, Abonyi made a guest appearance for a touringManchester United side, coming on as a substitute forDavid McCreery againstQueensland. He scored United's third goal in a 3–0 win.[7][8]
Abonyi made his debut for theAustralia national team in May 1967 when he played againstScotland. The national team traveled to Vietnam for a friendship tournament where he scored a hat-trick on debut againstNew Zealand, and then scored another hat-trick in his second match againstSingapore a few days later.[5]
Abonyi was well known for being a member of the Australian1974 World Cup squad inWest Germany and also representedNew South Wales andVictoria. He scored 25 international goals for Australia in 61 games between 1967 and 1977 making him tied as the fifth highest goal scorer for Australia. He made a total of 88 appearances for Australia and scored 36 goals.[9]
After retiring in 1979 Abonyi switched to coaching at the state level after taking on the player-coach for the 1978 and 1979 seasons. Sydney Croatia won the minor premierships in those two years. Abonyi then moved to Melita as a coach only, where they won the minor premiership and lost the grand final. He was then offered a full-time job with Riverwood, the only full-time coaching position in the state league at the time. In his first season they finished seventh and then runners-up in 1982 on goal difference to Sydney Croatia.[6]
Abonyi moved to Canberra in 1983 and coached Canberra City in the National Soccer League (NSL).[10] For the 1984 season Sydney Croatia in their first season in the NSL offered Abonyi the head coach position, which he accepted (as his family had remained in Sydney). He was sacked halfway through the season because of poor results and high expectations by the board. In 1987 and 1988 he assistedFrank Arok at St. George who were in the NSL. After the 1988 season, Abonyi moved away from Sydney and football (soccer).[6]
Abonyi later lived inCoffs Harbour on the north coast of New South Wales.[5] He died on 6 July 2023, at the age of 76.[11]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Melbourne Hungaria | 1962 | Victorian State League | 3 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |
| 1963 | Victorian State League | 15 | 2 | — | 15 | 2 | ||
| 1964 | Victorian State League | 19 | 4 | — | 19 | 4 | ||
| 1965 | Victorian State League | 13 | 2 | — | 13 | 2 | ||
| 1966 | Victorian State League | 16 | 10 | — | 16 | 10 | ||
| 1967 | Victorian State League | 16 | 20 | — | 16 | 20 | ||
| 1968 | Victorian State League | 17 | 11 | — | 17 | 11 | ||
| Total | 99 | 49 | – | 99 | 49 | |||
| Team | Year[12] | Competitive | Friendly | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Australia | 1967 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 11 | 9 | 11 |
| 1969 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 1 | |
| 1972 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 2 | |
| 1973 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 3 | |
| 1974 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |
| 1976 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 4 | |
| 1977 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 4 | |
| Career total | 30 | 6 | 31 | 19 | 61 | 25 | |
Melbourne Hungaria
St George-Budapest
Sydney Croatia
Abonyi Place in the Sydney suburb ofGlenwood is named for him.[13] Abonyi made a lap of honour on the MCG at half time of the1998 World Cup qualifier againstIran.[3]
...streets are named after well known football identities...
