Antal Dunai: “Puskas was number one, but no heart like Kubala's”

Antal Dunai was born in a small town to the southern Hungary, ten kilometers from the former Yugoslavia. His brother started playing soccer and he followed in his footsteps, watching Juventus matches on television and noticing Sivori, and dreaming of the victories of the magical Magyars who toured Europe. He scored 213 goals in 379 official matches, hung up three olympic medals and only Eusebio prevented him from winning the Golden Boot. He could have played in a big one, but he settled for hAcer history in your country and landing in Spain as a coach. A rise in Xerez It was its premiere and then continue in the Betis, Murcia, Castellón and Levante. He was vice president of the Hungarian Football Federation and now, at 77, he enjoys football and a sea of ​​memories.

Ferencvaros-Barcelona. A boat soon, what comes to mind?

That the two teams wanted to sign me. Ferencvaros first twice. Before going to Pecs and before deciding on Ujpest. It was a shame because my teammate Florian Albert, who was born near my town, played there. I had also played with his brother. And then Barcelona loved me. Kubala always told me that he wanted to take me, that a forward who had a knack for scoring goals could do them in any team.

And why wasn't it?

We could not leave Hungary for political reasons. And if you ran away you had to go a year without playing and then they forgot about you, they erased you from all sides. And I had a family. I did not dare. With Ujpest we won seven leagues in a row, I lifted a Silver Boot and a Bronze Boot and we won the 1970 Gamper against Barcelona at the Camp Nou. For us it was a great victory. Surely he could have played in Spain or in another country.

You knew Kubala very well. What relationship did they have?

There are no words to define it. There are few men like Kubala. When he went to Barcelona he would take me with him to his house on the Costa Brava. I will explain an anecdote that defines him. One day we were walking through Plaça Catalunya and we heard people speak Hungarian. It was a family looking at a clothing store. Kubala watched them and wanted to greet them. He asked them if they liked something about the store and they said it was a dress, but that it was very expensive. Kubala said there was no problem. He went in and bought it.

A very generous person.

I remember his 50th birthday party. People came from all over Europe. They all loved it. He always spoke well of me and that's how I came to Spain to be a coach. He went to visit Xerez and told them about me, about a great Hungarian player who could speak Spanish and who was a great coach. They signed me and that's how I started a great stage in Spain. That year we went up to First. He also helped me in Murcia. He was the coach and received an irrefutable offer from Arabia. He said he was leaving and that I would replace him. And the club accepted.

Who is the best Hungarian player in history for you?

Puskas is number one, but there has been no one with the heart that Kubala had.

Puskas triumphed in the famous Hungary of the 1950s. What do you remember about that?

My family comes from Croatia. In fact, I was born in a Hungarian town just ten kilometers from the border with Yugoslavia at that time. At the beginning we did not have television, we learned by word of mouth. I remember they came to play once in my town. We all wanted to be Puskas or Kocsis, that marks you. So we would imitate them by playing in the streets every day.

And how did you get to be a professional?

I played soccer and also handball, but they saw talent in me. When we had the first television, we received the signal from Italy. I used to watch Juventus games and I would notice an Argentine striker named Sivori. I tried to understand his movements and his technique and then copy him. It inspired me.

In the national team he did not go as far as the magical Magyars had come, but he has three Olympic medals. How were those experiences?

The first was in Tokyo. I was young and hardly played. We were fascinated by the country, its advances. For me it is the best place I have been. In Mexico 68 I was already a proven player, I scored two goals in a hysterical final against Bulgaria. We went back and then the Bulgarians went crazy and ended up with three sent off. One of them threw the ball at the referee's head. In Munich we lived through the terrorist attack, which generated uncertainty when it came to playing the final. And we lost it to Poland. We took advantage of the fact that the Games should not theoretically be professionals and we achieved great results.

And since then, Hungary dried up. Why?

Everything has changed. Europe evolved and now young people no longer give it the enthusiasm they used to. At Ferencvaros the other day they only lined up two Hungarians. In the League there are only three competitive teams. I was vice president of the Hungarian federation for a long time and I detect that this is the main problem.