Mátyás Toth

Mátyás Tóth (also known as Mátyás Tóth III; 1 April 1918 – 12 February 2002) was a Hungarian–Romanian footballer who played as a forward for teams such as Újpest, Nagyváradi AC, ITA Arad or Vasas, among others.

Club career Tóth was born on 1 April 1918 in Békés, Austria-Hungary and began playing football in 1936 at Újpest in the Nemzeti Bajnokság I. After a short period between 1938 and 1939 when he played for Phöbus, Tóth returned to Újpest where he stayed until 1941.

Shortly after winning the title, Tóth went to Nemzeti Vasas. He returned to Vasas in 1947 where he ended his career two years later, totaling 231 appearances with 83 goals in the Nemzeti Bajnokság I.

In 1946 he played two games for Romania in the Balkan Cup, even though he did not have Romanian citizenship.

Afterwards he returned to play for Hungary, his first game being a 3–0 away victory against Romania during the 1947 Balkan Cup. He was also part of Hungary's squad in the 1936 Summer Olympics, but he did not play in any matches.

International goals Scores and results list Hungary's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Tóth goal. + List of international goals scored by Mátyás Tóth for Hungary # Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1 22 October 1939 Stadionul ANEF, Bucharest, Romania 1–0 1–1 Friendly match 2 12 November 1939 Stadion Beogradski S.K., Belgrade, Yugoslavia 2–0 2–0 Friendly match 3 1 November 1942 Üllői úti Stadion, Budapest, Hungary 3–0 3–0 Friendly match 4 15 September 1943 Helsingin Olympiastadion, Helsinki, Finland 1–0 3–0 Friendly match 5 3–0 6 15 September 1948 Stadion Wojska Polskiego, Warsaw, Poland 5–2 6–2 1948 Balkan Cup

Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Tóth goal. + List of international goals scored by Mátyás Tóth for Romania # Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1 8 October 1946 Qemal Stafa Stadium, Tirana, Albania 2–2 2–2 1946 Balkan Cup

Managerial career Tóth coached several modest teams in Sweden such as Köpings, Örnsköldsvik, Bodens, Eskilstuna, Oddevold, Mo-Domsjö, Mora and Halmia.

Later life and death In 1949 after communism took over Hungary, Tóth left the country and fled to Italy. The Hungarian Football Federation suspended him for life, thus ending his career at age 31 even though he had offers to play for A.S. Roma and Lazio Roma. As a fugitive, he was placed in a camp where his health was negatively affected by improper living conditions. To escape his situation, Tóth decided to ask Crown Prince Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden for help. He had met the Prince in September 1943 before a Hungary away game against Sweden. At that time, knowing the prince would shake the players' hands, Tóth had made an effort to learn some Swedish phrases so he could talk to him. He wrote a letter to him, explaining his situation. In it, he falsely stated that he was Protestant, despite actually being Catholic. He also attached a picture of himself. Three weeks later the prince sent him money and an airplane ticket to go to Sweden.

Tóth remained in Sweden until the end of his life. He coached a few modest teams and organized the Swedish prison championship. He died on 12 February 2002 at the age of 83 in Halmstad.

Honours Nagyváradi AC Nemzeti Bajnokság I: 1943–44 ITA Arad Divizia A: 1946–47