Ferenc Deák

Ferenc Deák (16 January 1922 – 18 April 1998) was a Hungarian footballer who played as a striker for clubs such as Szentlőrinci AC, Ferencváros and Budapesti Dózsa, and who played internationally for Hungary, scoring 29 goals in just 20 caps. His nickname was Bamba. He holds the European record for most goals scored in a single season in top division championships with 66 since 1946. With over 795 goals in official matches scored during his career, he is the eighth top goalscorer of all time. Including friendly and unofficial matches, he is also the seventh top goalscorer of all time with over 1374 goals in just 839 matches. His best season was the 1945–46 league season, when he scored 66 goals in 34 matches, and because of it, he was voted the Hungarian Player of the Year. He still holds the record for the most goals scored in a single European league season with 66. In absolute terms, only American Archibald Stark did better with 67 goals in the 1924–25 season, but he needed 44 matches to reach that figure. thus having a ratio of 1.45, which is a world record, being just ahead of Just Fontaine, who scored 30 goals in 21 matches for France for a ratio of 1.43.

He scored 3 hat-tricks for Hungary, including a poker against Bulgaria in the 1947 Balkan Cup, where the Hungarian team beat the Bulgarians 9-0. This 4-goal haul helped him to be the top goal scorer of the 1947 Balkan Cup with 5 goals as Hungary won the tournament in its first attempt. With 9 goals in the Balkan Cup, he is among the all-time top goal scorers in the competition's history. Then, in 1949, the newly appointed coach, Gusztáv Sebes, judged the excellent center to be politically unreliable (the same politic issues that forced him to leave Ferencváros in 1950), so he expelled him from the team and replaced him with Hidegkuti. Bamba was very worn out, as he missed Hungary's Olympic victory at the 1952 Summer Olympics, the match of the century in 1953, the 1954 World Cup which Hungary nearly won and all the successes that made the Hungarian national team the best team in the world for many years.

International goals Hungary score listed first, score column indicates score after each Deák goal. + List of international goals scored by Ferenc Deák No. Cap Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1 1 6 October 1946 Üllői úti stadion, Budapest, Hungary 2–0 Friendly 2 3 2 30 October 1946 Stade Émile Mayrisch, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg 7–2 4 5 6 3 17 August 1947 Üllői úti stadion, Budapest, Hungary 9–0 1947 Balkan Cup 7 8 9 10 4 20 August 1947 3–0 11 6 21 April 1948 7–4 1948–53 Central European Cup 12 13 7 2 May 1948 Praterstadion, Vienna, Austria 2–3 14 8 23 May 1948 Üllői úti stadion, Budapest, Hungary 2–1 1948–53 Central European Cup and 1948 Balkan Cup 15 9 19 September 1948 Stadion Wojska Polskiego, Warsaw, Poland 6–2 1948 Balkan Cup 16 10 3 October 1948 Megyeri úti Stadion, Újpest, Hungary 2–0 Friendly 17 11 24 October 1948 Stadionul ONEF, Bucharest, Romania 5–1 1948 Balkan Cup 18 19 14 8 May 1949 Megyeri úti Stadion, Újpest, Hungary 6–1 1948–53 Central European Cup 20 21 15 12 June 1949 1–1 22 17 10 July 1949 Oláh Gábor utcai Stadion, Debrecen, Poland 8–2 Friendly 23 24 25 26 18 16 October 1949 Praterstadion, Vienna, Austria 4–3 27 28 19 30 October 1949 Megyeri úti Stadion, Újpest, Hungary 5–0 29 20 20 November 1949 5–0

Honours Club Ferencváros

Nemzeti Bajnokság I: Champions (1): 1948–49

International Hungary

Balkan Cup: Champions (1): 1947

Individual

Hungarian Football Federation Player of the Year: 1946 Hungarian League Top Scorer (3): 1945–46, 1946–47 and 1948–49 Top goalscorer of the 1947 Balkan Cup with 5 goals.