Flórián Albert

Flórián György Albert (15 September 1941 – 31 October 2011) was a Hungarian professional football player, manager and sports official, who was named European Footballer of the Year in 1967. Nicknamed "The Emperor", he played as a forward, and has been described as one of the most elegant footballers of all time.

A club legend of Ferencvárosi TC, Albert joined the team as a schoolboy and spent his whole playing career at Fradi. He also starred for Hungary, winning 75 international caps and scoring 31 goals. He was joint top-scorer at the 1962 World Cup with four goals and played a key role in Hungary's third-place finish at the European Championship in 1964.

He stayed loyal to Ferencváros after his retirement as well, actively participated in the club's life and also held administrative positions. From 2007 the stadium of Ferencváros bore his name, until 2014 when the new stadium of the team was constructed, named “Groupama Arena”. A statue was erected in his honour in front of the stadium in 2014.

Albert died in October 2011, aged 70, in a hospital in Budapest after complications following heart surgery carried out a few days earlier.

Early life The son of a blacksmith, Albert was born and brought up in the little town of Hercegszántó near the border with the former Yugoslavia, where he got his first taste of the game playing with his two brothers. His mother was of Šokci origin. She died when he was two. When the family later moved to Budapest, Albert participated on a talent day held by Ferencváros. He impressed the coaches and was selected by the club. Albert was 11 years old at the time. and not much later Albert already received his first call-up. His first appearance in the national selection came on 28 June 1959 against Sweden, who finished runners-up in the World Cup a year earlier. Albert contributed with two assist to Hungary's 3–2 win over the Scandinavians. He scored 31 goals in 75 caps for the Hungarian team, with them he has collected the bronze medal on both of the Olympic Games in 1960 and the European Championship in 1964. At the 1962 World Cup, despite Hungary being knocked out in the quarter-finals, Albert, tied with five others, managed to win the Golden Boot Award with four goals.

On club level, his biggest success came in 1965, when in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, Ferencváros, that knocked-out among others AS Roma and Manchester United F.C. en route to the final, triumphed over Juventus FC 1–0 in the decisive match and obtained the cup title.

Albert appeared in his next World event in 1966 in England, where he produced an excellent display against Brazil in a duel that is regarded as one of the greatest matches in the history of the World Cup. Albert returned into action in the Hungarian Championship on 27 April 1970 against Salgótarján and on 4 April 1971 he played his first international match after the injury, a friendly match against Austria. His final major event was the 1972 European Championship, where he captured fourth place with Hungary, recording two appearances in the tournament. In the same year he captured the Hungarian Cup title for the first time, thus making his collection of domestic silverware complete.

Albert played his final league match on 17 March 1974 against Zalaegerszeg. He came on as a substitute in the second half and contributed to the 3–0 victory with a goal, the last one in his career. Albert, after receiving greetings and gifts from the old boys, the opponents and his son, ran to the stands, bowed for the fans and left the field on the shoulders of his teammates.

Following his retirement, he had two short spells as a manager in Libya with Al-Ahly Benghazi, however, with only limited success. After returning from North Africa, Albert worked for Ferencváros in several positions, such as technical director, department leader and later honorary chairman. In 2007, Ferencváros' stadium was named after him. In the same year, he received a prize in his village of birth, Hercegszántó, becoming an honorable citizen.

Personal life Albert married Irén Bársony, an actress, on 30 November 1963. The couple had two children, a girl, Magdolna, and a son, Flórián Albert Jr., who, like his father, became a football player with Ferencváros, and later had spells in Israel and France and also played for the Hungarian national team. Albert's grandchild, Flórián Patrik, aims to become a professional footballer as well.

Death

On 27 October 2011, Flórián, after suffering a vasoconstriction, underwent coronary artery bypass surgery. Although a press release the following day by his former club Ferencváros stated that the operation had been successful, he subsequently suffered a heart attack and died in the early hours of 31 October 2011.

In the afternoon same day, Ferencváros played a league clash against Paksi SE. Before the match the floodlights were switched off and the stadium turned into dark, with candles lit by the fans are being the only lights in the arena. Ferencváros players wore a special all-black kit in the occasion and fans paid tribute to Albert with a banner saying "God shall be with you Emperor". Supporters of SK Rapid Wien, who have close ties with Ferencváros, also shown honor to Albert with a transparent in their game against SV Ried.

The friendly match against Liechtenstein played on 11 November was declared a memorial game for Albert by the Hungarian Football Federation. The clash was originally scheduled to take place at the Sóstói Stadion, but later was moved to the Ferenc Puskás Stadium to give more people the opportunity to attend the event. In the four corners of the arena memorial places were erected, where the supporters could pay their tribute to the Golden Ball winner. A five-minute-long compilation of the best moments of Albert was also projected before the kick-off.

Hungary eventually won the match 5–0 in front of a sold-out crowd with two goals by Balázs Dzsudzsák, and further strikes from Tamás Priskin, Vladimir Koman and Róbert Feczesin. Dzsudzsák commented after the match that he is sure that Flórián would have been happy if he could have seen the match, and added that he hopes they rejoiced him in Heaven.

Career statistics Club

International

Scores and results list Hungary's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Albert goal.

Honours Ferencváros Inter-Cities Fairs Cup: 1964–65 Hungarian League: 1963, 1964, 1967 and 1968 Hungarian Cup: 1972

Individual Ballon d'Or: 1967 World Cup Best Young Player Award: 1962 World Cup top scorer: 1962 (shared with five other players at 4 goals) World Cup All-Star Team: 1966 UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament: 1964 FUWO European Team of the Season: 1966, 1967, 1968 ADN Eastern European Footballer of the Season: 1967 European Cup top scorer: 1965–66 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup top scorer: 1966–67 Hungarian Championship top scorer: 1960, 1961, 1965 Hungarian Footballer of the Year: 1966, 1967 Officier's Cross of Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary: 1994 Middle Cross of the Order Merit of the Republic of Hungary: 2011 Sportsperson of the Nation (A Nemzet Sportolója): 2004 Honorable Citizen of Hercegszántó: 2007 Honorable Citizen of Budapest: 2010 Honorable Citizen of Ferencváros: 2011