Golden Team - Historic Significance

Historic Significance

The historical significance of the team lay in three areas; the introduction of new tactics, the concept of using a core set of well trained players used to playing as a team, and the idea that each player could play in any position if necessary.

The importance of Gusztáv Sebes, illustrated by the success of Hungarian national side in the 1950s, cannot be underestimated. His tactics - especially the concept of a deep lying centre forward - revolutionised a game where the majority of club of international sides had played the WM formation for the previous 20 years. The introduction and success of the Hungarian 3-2-3-2 formation led other managers and countries to experiment, with the 3-2-3-2 eventually evolving into the 4-2-4 formation. Another Hungarian, Bela Guttman, travelled to Brazil where he implemented the 4-2-4 formation with the national side and won the 1958 FIFA World Cup.

Sebes's idea of using a core set of players, drawn from just a handful of clubs, was a new idea that was critical to the success of the team. Most national teams were selected on the concept of picking the best players, not the best team; England famously had a selection committee that selected the team for each game. By using players who were familiar with each other's strengths at a club level, Sebes introduced a sense of continuity at a national level - something no other nation had at the time. The Soviet Union adopted this approach throughout the 1960s, with success at a European level; England won the World Cup in 1966 with a core of players from one club, West Ham United. Sebes also demanded rigorous training and standards of physical fitness from his players, as well as good tactic awareness - again, these were areas that many national sides of the time neglected. As a consequence, the Hungarian side were able to outrun, outpass and outplay their opposition.

Perhaps his most revolutionary idea was that every player should be able to play in all positions; previously, each player in a team was assigned a specific position or role, usually marking a specific opposition player. The Hungarian tactic of players constantly changing roles and positions contributed greatly to the success of the team - however, it could only be introduced by using a core set of talented players who were used to playing together at both a club and national level for a period of time. It would be nearly 20 years before the Dutch national team of the 1970s utilised the same approach with their concept of Total Football.