.jpg) Bene in 1969 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1944-12-17)17 December 1944 | ||
| Place of birth | Balatonújlak,Hungary | ||
| Date of death | 27 February 2006(2006-02-27) (aged 61) | ||
| Place of death | Budapest, Hungary | ||
| Height | 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1958–1960 | MEDOSZMarcali | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1959 | MEDOSZMarcali | 7 | (5) |
| 1960–1961 | Kaposvár Kinizsi | 16 | (16) |
| 1961–1978 | Újpest | 417 | (303) |
| 1978–1979 | Volán SC | ||
| 1981–82 | Sepsi-78 | 55 | (17) |
| 1982–83 | Volán SC | ||
| 1983–84 | Soroksári VOSE | 12 | (5) |
| 1984–85 | Kecskeméti SC | 15 | (1) |
| Total | 522 | (347) | |
| International career | |||
| 1962–1979 | Hungary | 76 | (36) |
| 1963–1964 | Hungary Olympic team | 13 | (24) |
| 1972–1973 | Europe XI | 2 | (1) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1992–1993 | Újpesti TE | ||
Medal record | |||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Ferenc Bene (17 December 1944 – 27 February 2006) was a Hungarianfootballer who played as astriker forÚjpest andHungary.
He was a member of the team that won the gold medal at the1964 Summer Olympics, in which he was the top scorer of the tournament with 12 goals in just 5 matches.[1] He is the sixth mostprolific goalscorer in total matches inrecorded history according toRSSSF with over 1424 goals scored in over 1481 matches, which results in a goal-per-match ratio of almost one.[2][3] Bene was a successful striker for Újpesti Dózsa (303 goals in 418 matches) and the Hungary national team (36 goals in 76 matches).[1][4] He was named Hungarian player of the year twice, in 1964 and in 1969.[1]
Ferenc Bene was born on 17 December 1944 inBalatonújlak. He began to play football in 1958 in the youth ranks ofMEDOSZMarcali. Bene made his senior league debut for Dózsa in a fixture againstSomogyszob in June 1959 at 14, scoring once.[5] Just two months later, in August 1959, he scored ahat-trick in a league game againstSiofok.[5]
In September 1959, Bene scored the only goal forSomogy regional team in a youth tournament match againstBaranya. After protests from opponents, the result was annulled on the basis that the then-14-year-old Bene was too young to play for a U-16 selection U16.[5] He was later allowed to play for the county's junior team, but banned from playing for the senior club until his 16th birthday. For this reason, he played only for youth teams for the next 12 months, from September 1959 to September 1960.[5]
Bene was then recruited byKaposvár Kinizsi, a team from the third division, where he scored 16 goals in 16 matches, including 4 against Mazai Banyasz (4–0) and 6 against Szekszardi Petöfi (7–1).[5]
In 1961 the 17-year-old Bene was discovered by former Hungarian internationalIstván Avar, who recommended him to Újpest Dózsa.[6] He then played with Újpest Dózsa for the next 17 years, from 1961 until 1978.[5] In total, he scored 303 goals in 418 matches, thus being one of the main architects behind the team's dominance in the 1970s, as Dózsa won 8Nemzeti Bajnokság I between1969 and1977-78, and also threeMagyar Kupa in1969,1970, and1974-75.[1]
Bene was also crucial in helping Dózsa reach the semi-finals of the1973–74 European Cup, which they lost toGerd Müller'sBayern Munich.[6] In the following year, in the round of 16 of the1974–75 European Cup againstBenfica, he scored a sensational goal: He kicked the ball out of the goalkeeper's hand and then held the ball in front of him for a long time before flicking to an open net with brilliant situational awareness. This was chosen as the most beautiful goal of the Cup round in Western Europe at the time.[6]
For his efforts at Dózsa, Bene was named Hungarian Footballer of the Year in 1964 and 1969.[1]
Leaving the club after the 1978 season, he continued to play for smaller Hungarian teams such asVolán SC (1978–79 and 1983–84) and he even enjoyed a brief spell in Finland playing forSepsi-78 in 1981–82.[1] He then played forSoroksári VOSE in 1983–84, at the age of 40, scoring 5 goals in 12 matches, and finally ended his career withKecskeméti SC at the end of the 1984–85 season, having scored only 1 goal in 15 matches.[5][6]
Bene made his debut for the Hungary national team againstYugoslavia on 14 October 1962, at the age of 17 years 9 months 27 days.[4] He scored his first international goal two caps later, on 19 October 1963, which was the opening goal of a 2–1 victory overEast Germany in the round of 16 of the1964 European Nations' Cup qualifying.[4] He also scored in the quarter-finals againstFrance, and in thetournament, Bene scored in the semi-finals againstSpain, which was not enough to prevent a 1–2 defeat.[4] However, Bene scored one more goal at the tournament in the third place play-off againstDenmark, thus finishing as thetournament's joint-top scorer alongside fellow teammateDezső Novák andChus Pereda of Spain.[4]
In 1963 and 1964, Bene played with both the Hungarian main team and the Hungarian Olympic team simultaneously, overlapping between the two sides and scoring at a prolific rate for both of them. In fact, he scored a brace in each of his first three appearances with the Olympic side, two in friendlies and the other in a 4–0 win overSweden in the first leg of the1964 Olympic semifinal round of qualifying,[7][8] thus helping his side reach the final round of qualifying against Spain in which he scored a brace in both legs[9][10] as Hungary qualified for the1964 Olympics.[8] In the Olympic tournament, Bene played a crucial role in helping Hungary winning the gold medal, scoring twelve goals in five matches, including all six in the 6–0 thrashing ofMorocco in the group stage, a four goal haul againstUnited Arab Republic in the semifinals, and the winner againstCzechoslovakia in the final.[1][4] He is one of only four players who have scored two hat-tricks in Olympic football matches, the others beingVilhelm Wolfhagen,Antonín Janda, andDomingo Tarasconi.[citation needed]
He was a versatile attacking player, who played as a center forward in Dózsa. In the national team, however, he held the position of right winger because ofAlbert Flórián. He was a player with a strong, muscular build, fast starting speed, and a great goal-scoring instinct.[6]
In the1966 World Cup, Bene scored one goal in each of Hungary's three group stage matches againstPortugal,Brazil, andBulgaria, and then also scored in the quarterfinals, which Hungary lost 1–2 to theSoviet Union. With four goals, Bene was Hungary's top scorer in the World Cup.[1][4]
On 1 May 1972, he was invited to play a match for aEurope XI againstHamburger SV, organized as a farewell game forUwe Seeler, and Bene scored once in a 7–3 win.[11]
Bene played his last international match against Czechoslovakia on 12 September 1979. In total, he obtained 76 caps and scored 36 goals.[4]
He died on 27 February 2006 inBudapest, after a lengthy treatment following a fall at the end of 2005. His sonFerenc Bene jr. is also a former player, currently working as amanager.[6]
The football academy ofKaposvári Rákóczi FC bears his name.[6] He also receivedOfficer's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary [hu] in 1994.[citation needed]
| Club performance | League | Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Hungary | League | Hungarian Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | |||||||
| 1961–62 | Újpesti Dózsa | National Championship I | 22 | 6 | ||||||||
| 1962–63 | 26 | 23 | ||||||||||
| 1963 | 13 | 6 | ||||||||||
| 1964 | 26 | 20 | ||||||||||
| 1965 | 25 | 20 | ||||||||||
| 1966 | 26 | 24 | ||||||||||
| 1967 | 30 | 22 | ||||||||||
| 1968 | 26 | 22 | ||||||||||
| 1969 | 29 | 27 | ||||||||||
| 1970 | 14 | 10 | ||||||||||
| 1970–71 | 30 | 24 | ||||||||||
| 1971–72 | 30 | 29 | ||||||||||
| 1972–73 | 30 | 23 | ||||||||||
| 1973–74 | 29 | 14 | ||||||||||
| 1974–75 | 28 | 20 | ||||||||||
| 1975–76 | 18 | 7 | ||||||||||
| 1976–77 | 12 | 4 | ||||||||||
| 1977–78 | 3 | 2 | ||||||||||
| Total | Hungary | 417 | 303 | |||||||||
| Career total | 417 | 303 | ||||||||||
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